Severet

Tuesday morning we woke up and drove to Severet. Again we picked up our translators, Dr. José, Laura, Nicole and Meg along the way. The church in Severet was up a small hill, which our driver decided to climb. Nothing had really been done in anticipation of our arrival (the local health workers are supposed to hang rope for us to use to divide the space into private consultation rooms.

The guys turned church pews on their sides and hung the strings and curtains. The pharmacy team (Rob and Dr. José) got their meds in order and set up. When we opened for business, there weren’t that many people there. I helped Meg do triage. The only thing I could not do was take patients’ blood pressure. I asked their name, age, contact information, medical history and chief complaint. Then I weighed them. The morning was fairly slow, but we wound up seeing more patients than Monday morning.

After lunch, the pace picked up steadily. I continued to work triage. It seemed like every other person I helped was actually a family (usually a mom with a bunch of kids). They go in together to see the doctor, although one woman (really I think she was younger than I) tried to leave her baby in my arms while she went to see the doctor. I stopped periodically to take photos of what was going on in the clinic.

We closed up shortly after 5:30. Dorka, one of the two cooperadoras de salud (local health workers) had prepared dinner for us. I, along with some of the other volunteers, walked to her house, which was about 10-15 minutes from the church. She made a stew of chicken and root vegetables, which we ate with rice and avocados from a tree in her yard. I used the bathroom at her house, which was an outhouse with two cement holes in the ground. Even under those conditions, I thought I was much cleaner than its Bolivian and Moroccan counterparts. Dinner was delicious and filling. Afterwards, we drove back to Tubagua with a red sunset in the background, followed by lightening out at sea.

Negro Melo

Monday morning we woke up, ate breakfast and packed up the truck to go to Negro Melo. Along the way we picked up Nicole, Meg, a Dominican doctor (Dr. José) and the translators, Roosevelt and Ricky. To get to Negro Melo, we took the long way up the “better” (aka lessy rocky, but still quite rocky) roads. It’s a small community of about 85 people who basically live along the same street. We were there to serve Negro Melo and Arroyo de Leche, a community which is located 20 minutes further up a hill too steep for trucks to climb.

Once we unloaded into the local church, we started hanging consult room dividers aka bed sheets on strings. The patients who arrived throughout the morning had previously booked appointments. HHI volunteers working in the two towns arranged the appointments based on need: people with hypertension and diabetes were given preference. I worked as an interpreter for Dr. Wes, an ER doctor from Alabama. The first patients we saw had high blood pressure, hernias and seizures. There wasn’t much Dr. Wes could do for them because we don’t have a surgical facility, however he did as much as he could.

Interpreting wasn’t actually as hard as I had imagined it could be, although I did have to explain how a hernia forms and what sinuses are. I had purchased a medical dictionary in Santo Domingo which did come in handy. I only really had trouble understanding the woman who was having seizures, but that’s do to her condition rather than language. After a packed lunch of sandwiches (and a salad bag for me) the clinic held walk-in hours. This was definitely more chaotic as people crowed the doorway trying to get in.

Meg and Laura worked as triage, taking blood pressure and asking medical history. Then the patients moved into one of the three consult rooms and from there to the pharmacy where they were given medicines and then explained how to use them. Throughout the afternoon Dr. Wes saw some children complaining the “gripe” – common cold, patients with anemia, babies who needed vitamins and a girl with a burn on her leg from a motorcycle accident. I explained to them everything he was telling me and relayed their messages back to him. He saw a few women with young babies – mothers my age.

It was a long day. We helped everyone who came to the clinic in whatever way we could. After clinic we came back to Tubagua with Laura, Meg and Nicole for dinner (chicken kabobs, rice, beans, salad, avocado, fried corn meal poppers and bananas for dessert).

Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata

Friday morning, Chris and I went to the oldest church in the western world. Then we stopped into the Panteón Nacional where a lot of politicians and famous statesmen are buried. It was set up like a church however half of the tombs were empty and awaiting future use.

Darleny, and her Spanish friend Miguel met us for lunch. We ate meró (I think it’s sea bass) and rice on the plaza by the original cathedral. Then we took a ride on the new metro which is extremely clean and bright. Each station has a guard on each platform and each train has at least one on board. There is only one metro line: we took it all the way to the northern end, which is a poor neighborhood. Up there, we bought some sugar cane and limoncillos (little green fruits which look like mini-limes, but are eaten like lichee).

After returning to the city we had drinks and snacks at a bar in La Zona Colonial. It was a cute, hip place where Chris drew a picture of the three of us on the “wall of fame.”

That night I had dinner with one of the volunteers, Rob. We were the only two who were traveling through Santo Domingo. We went to a restaurant in Gascue called Conuco. He ate goat, but I ate con con (the rice that gets stuck at the bottom of the pot), tostones, yucca with onions and avocado. He’s my parents’ age, had started a wellness business, sold it to WebMD and is now doing philanthropic work.

Saturday morning Darleny and I met for breakfast. We ate mangú (mashed green plantains) with fried eggs and onions. I had a granadilla (a kind of passion fruit, but not as good as chinola) shake with it. Then she took me to the bus station where I met Rob and we got our bus to Puerto Plata.

The bus ride, like most other things in this country, was really loud. We passed many car-repair shops, bodegas and horses. There was a car accident (and armed police men) along the way, but other than that, the ride was basically uneventful. When we got to Puerto Plata we found Laura, Meg and Nicole (the leaders at HHI). We had time before the rest of the people were flying in from the US so we went to the fort and walked around it. Then we went for juice and off to the airport. The airport is half-indoors and half-outdoors. Check-in and the arrivals halls are outside with a large roof overhead. Customs and security were inside.

After picking up Lissa and Ayaz we headed to Tubagua, where we’re staying. Lissa is almost done with her medical residency in Chicago. Ayaz is a family medicine doctor in Storrs, CT. He’s been on an HHI trip before and is serving as our leader.

Tubagua is in the trees located halfway up a mountain. It’s got a great view of the entire area, including Puerto Plata (and the mountain there), Montellano, the airport and the Caribbean. Dinner was sea bass cooked with coconut, guenpan (bread fruit, but really a starch), avocado with basil and garlic, and a tossed salad with chinola (passion fruit) dressing. For dessert we had papaya with cinnamon.

Sunday morning I woke up at 6 am. I’m sleeping on a platform which only has a two walls, so the light and sunrise woke me up. Well, the rooster wasn’t going to let me sleep either. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, fruit and salsa and other jams.

We had an orientation about what we were going to expect in the communities and then two Dominican doctors joined us for lunch. I couldn’t eat most of the food, but the fried plantains were quite yummy.

In the afternoon we went to Pancho Mateo, one of the communities we’re going to be helping. We were given a tour of the Dominican and the Haitian batey sections. The community health worker, Cedric, took us through the area, stopping to tell us about the lack of water, poor sanitary conditions and life in Pancho Mateo. 4,000 people live with no running water and no bathrooms. They can pay Dominicans to truck in water from streams ($.30 for 15 gallons) or $1.25 for 1 gallon of purified water (used for drinking and cooking). People go to the bathroom on the side of town. When the area floods, everything is carried into the town. When there is a draught, the dust from the “bathroom” area is blown through the town. There is a school in the town. It was set up by an organization because the state-run school is too far away. The roads are not paved in the community, and probably won’t be paved until the next political elections. Politicians promise things like roads and waters to the community and carry through with the promise during election time to garner votes.

After Pancho Mateo (we’re going back Wednesday and Thursday) we went to Cabarete to go to the beach. It was a very commercial beach lined with bars. I’m pretty sure you can only get to the beach by going through the restaurants. The water was fabulous, except we started seeing lightening and got out. After dinner on the beach (I had mahi mahi with mango sauce), we came back to Tubagua to sort medicine and chill out.

Santo Domingo!!

I arrived Wednesday afternoon following an uneventful flight. I actually had one of the least painful experiences ever while attempting to pass through immigration and customs. Seriously, no one asked me to further clarify what was on my immigration form (pleasure visit) nor did anyone care about the contents of my bags (OTC medicines to donate).

Darleny (a friend from my SVA Graphic Design class this summer) picked me up with one her college friends, Chris – a Dominican guy born and raised on Manhattan’s LES. We drove into the city and dumped my things at my hotel before walking around La Zona Colonial (the colonial area) and having drinks and snacks at a café. Then we took Darleny home to her family’s apartment where they have a view of the Caribbean Sea.

Chris and I came back to our hostels (he’s staying up the street) to get ready before heading to Darleny’s concert. She plays second clarinet in the national orchestra and the concert took place at a theater not unlike the one in Lincoln Center (on the left – I forget the name). Afterwards we went out with her friends to a taco place near the hostel.

Thursday morning I woke up and ate a colorful breakfast of papaya, passion fruit, watermelon and cantaloupe on the roof of my hostel. They turn the place into a bar at night (although it’s surprisingly not too loud) and from the roof there is a view of nearby (okay, across the street) church steeples and the surrounding area. You can’t really see the water, but there are trees around it and there’s a nice breeze.

Then I walked around the city heading towards the theater to meet Darleny after her practice. I walked by the Palacio Nacional (National Palace), a nice residential neighborhood and the government buildings which were pretty ugly and reminded me of Government Center in Boston. They were in that same brutalist, almost Soviet, too much concrete style. I went to the bus station to try to buy tickets to Puerto Plata but was told you can’t buy tickets until the day of travel, however I was allowed to reserve (no money transaction) tickets.

While wandering around, I discovered I was near the Museo de Arte Monderno (Modern Art Museum) and decided to go in. I was thrilled to discover they had an exhibit of contemporary, LOCAL art. It’s the first international Caribbean triennial (Dad, this is essentially a “first annual” – I know you are grammatically unhappy with this idea). Artwork was mostly from 2009 and 2010. Artists from all over the Caribbean, including Miami, Colombia and Venezula were represented. The exhibit took over the entire museum was divided by the language spoken on the island – Dutch Caribbean, French, English-speaking and Spanish-speaking. The pieces, most of which were installations and video work, were so current that one was on the theme of the BP oil spill and another was actually a video on an iPod touch inside a shell mounted on the wall. I was really glad to have found this place!

I still had time before meeting Darleny so I did one of my favorite things to do while traveling abroad – I went to the grocery store!!!!!! I’m such a food nerd, which is weird for someone with allergies like mine, but still. Here’s the thing: the Dominican Republic has both Spanish and American influences, which means they get foods from both places! I bought Spanish rice cakes (including dark chocolate and coconut covered ones) and Silk soymilk. How awesome is that?

Darleny and I met up with Chris and his girlfriend for lunch at a little café/buffet place. I ate coleslaw, fish, plantains and a side of mashed yautía – a root vegetable, starchier and not as sweet as sweet potatoes. Then, Darleny and I went to a bookstore – a mini-Barnes and Noble – and two shopping malls. The bookstore was actually called Thesaurus; it had a little café, a decent selection of books in English (and a million copies of Junot Diaz), music, magazines and gifts. The first mall we went to (Acropolis) was similar to Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv, but nowhere near as confusing. It used to be the “nice” mall until they stated building Blue Mall – which is still incomplete but has stores like Louis Vouton, and many not-so-high fashion foreign stores like Helly Hanson. It was definitely interesting to see both places and understand the cultural influences from American. I’m staying near a pedestrian street which used to be the big shopping area before these malls were built. Now, people would rather go somewhere that’s air-conditioned. The malls are also in the center of city. We drove around a bit on 27 de Febrero street where there’s a walking mall and huge clock.

Darleny had to go back to practice, so I hung out at the hostel (read: in the A/C) and then walked around La Zona Colonial with Chris. We went to an old café where I got a papaya juice shake (with water/ice) and then an espresso. I could drink these fruit juices on a daily basis without complaint. The espresso was good also, and guess what Joseph? They grind the coffee beans themselves.

Next we went to three art exhibits in the area. The first was a series of photographs done in a confrontational, direct style. The photos were of “the other” which we took to mean at Haitians. What struck me most was being able to see the reflections in people’s eyes. Then we stopped in at a the Silvano Lora Foundation where we saw an exhibit of flat, metal collages. Finally, we went to the Spanish cultural center where they had several photography exhibits up. One was called “taxidermy” and was a series of shots of naked people (probably 100 in total)- head (front and back), torso, side, rear end, etc.- each as separate photos, but organized in columns by person. Another was about sports and athletics in Japan and New York, which included a runner in a Yale sweatshirt in Central Park (we determined she was near the Carousel and the Dairy).

After a quick shower, Darleny picked us up and we went to eat on the malecón (the closest English translation is boardwalk, but it’s really closer to the Tel Aviv namal than anywhere I’ve been in the US). We went there specifically to eat mofongo – a dish of mashed plantains served with a side of fried pork, which I barely touched because I’m not much of a meat-eater. The restaurant was right on the water and the food was tasty. They served us a broth-like soup first and then the dinner came with avocado. Here, avocados are green rather than black, and they’re HUGE. Chris got tostones with his dinner, so I definitely had some of those. I also had a zapote-passion fruit juice, which was delicious and a bit tangy.

Friday morning I woke up at 6am and went running along the malecón passing the restaurant we had eaten at. It’s pretty hot here, so this was the only time of day I could run. I passed a few people working out – mostly walking. There were also many people on their way to work and lots of trucks driving by. Their drivers all honked and yelled at me, as they do when they see most women (wearing spandex doesn’t make them any quieter). I didn’t bring anything with me, so I had to stop to ask a woman the time and we would up chatting briefly about dogs. She was super-apologetic where her yippy, little things jumped on me, but I explained I had a Labrador and her dogs could do no harm by jumping. I covered five miles (2.5 out and back) before returning to the hostel to shower and sit under the A/C for a bit. I would have a lot of trouble living here and training for the marathon at the same time.

Looking through old photos

So, I'm 17 and Joe is 15....I'm not really sure why he's pushing me around. I think we might be setting up for Cotillion.

Jeux d'Enfants

Watch this movie. It's called "Love Me If You Dare" in English. It's about a French boy and girl who start a game of daring each other. The game continues up through adolescence and adulthood until the dares start getting really crazy - and emotion-filled. It's worth reading the subtitles and getting Edith Piaf stuck in your head - I'm now downloading "La Vie en Rose." Just go watch it. Or come over tomorrow as I will be watching it again.

First Two Weeks in NJ- September

So, I've been home for two weeks now. Most of that time has been spent sitting on the couch. I've send my resume out at least 60 times.....it's getting exhausting/frustrating.....ahhhhhhhh

Most of the time I'm not even sure who is getting my resume, and I feel like I'm sending it into cyber oblivion.....

In happier news/Other things I've done since coming home:

Helped my grandma prepare for Rosh Hashana and found wheat-free challah, which was also nut-free (this was a challenge) and tasted nothing like challah....oh well.

Celebrated the baby bro turning 21!!!!

Saw Vermeer's Milkmaid at the MET - it's on special loan for the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in NYC. It had been a whole two months since the last time I saw this painting!!!

Got an iPhone. I no longer understand how I used to live. I mean, my Spanish phone was a piece of crap.....and a blackberry without a data plan is just silly. Of course, I don't like getting my emails at 5am because I wake up really excited, roll over and see that it's just BN.com or amazon....

Bought running tights because working out in capri leggings and knee socks got old fast.

Had Starbucks only once....and realized that coffee really does make me NUTS.

Went to Yale and got to have lunch at Claire's!!!!! Joe forgot I was coming and ate with Arsi in the dining hall so we didn't have to go to Caseus!!!! I got a wheat-free cupcake at Claire's (the semi-hippie/veggie/gf-friendly cafe)!!!!!!!!!!! - see image above.

Bought black ballet flats to replace the ones I destroyed in Spain. Of course, I don't actually like the new ones so I have to send them back. I'm just really bad at shopping - somethings will never change.

Fell asleep during E.T. - some things will REALLY never change. My friend told me she would have been shocked and somewhat saddened if I had actually managed to stay awake the whole time.

Picked a color for my room, I think - the paint isn't on the walls yet.

Attempted to clean out some of my crap. Attempted being the operative word here....I still own way too much stuff.

Surprised a friend on her birthday. Probably one of the best b-day presents I've given. There's nothing like being able to ring someone's doorbell and say, "Surprise! I just flew 6,000 miles, Happy Birthday, and, yes, I de-friended you on Facebook because I was afraid you'd find out I was here."