Paz Y Bien 2009

Sometimes I Smile Because I Have No Idea What Is Going On January 29, 2009

Sometimes I smile because I have no idea what is going on. I have to admit that I am learning Spanish, but here is the thing with languages; they are huge. Sometimes despite my greatest efforts I just can´t figure out what people are trying to tell me. Some of my students don´t quite understand that I don´t understand what they are telling me. One little boy in particular, Brayan (pronounced like my name), talks to me like I´ve mastered his language ten times over. I haven´t.

I think that I understand why babies will cry and carry on like they do. They can´t express themselves. I can tell people that I am hungry and when I have to use the bathroom which gives me a one up on babies, but I still have some dificulty in expressing myself sometimes. Not being able to express yourself is frustrating.

The expression that I am writing about isn´t the kind of expression of ones innermost soul, the kind that can only come from highly overpriced abstract art or music that bursts out of suburban garages and irritates neighbors. I simply mean that am stuck using primitave Spanish to say whatever I want to say. If I want to share a thought that includes an important word that I don´t know in Spanish then that means that that thought might need to go unsaid. That is frustrating and so I smile.

Hola, St. Ignatious fourth graders

The Language Known as English January 24, 2009

After another week of attempting to teach English. I am even more astounded as to the strangeness of the English language. I know that every language has its quirks, but right now I am seeing the English ones. How many different sounds does each letter in the English language have. Think about the letter “A”. It has two sounds, right?: Short A as in apple and long A as in train, but that´s not all. What about “boat” where there is a letter “A”, but it has know sound at all. Or what about the word “what”? That has a completely different sound. That is only the first letter of the alphabet and I am sure that I am missing a few sounds. I won´t even get started with “ph” or “gh”.

Please, reply with some other pronunciation quirks from the English language to help me prove my point and, perhaps to prepare me for teaching more of these oddities.

Ha, phonics, my eye.

Cast of Characters And The Languages That They Speak January 21, 2009

Do the nuns speak only Spanish or do some people speak to you in English also? What a good question, Ang.

The two nuns with whom I am sharing a house are not actually Dominican (as in the nationality not the religious order) they are Brazilian. Their first language is Portuguese, but they speak to me in Spanish. Their Spanish is slower and more articulate than most of the native speakers. Brigid is a novice (sister in formation or training) who is also currently staying at the house and she is Canadian. She speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese. She helps translate for me when I don´t understand something which can be quite frequently. Patrick is from Washington state, is also at this house and has a working knowledge of the Spanish language. He also helps me with translations when I am in a bind. Pat and Sister Brigid will be leaving for the United States this Saturday and I will be down two English speakers.

Now, for the mission center. Sister Valdiar is also a Brazilian sister and she runs the place. She speaks Portuguese and Spanish with a nice thick Portuguese accent. Her English pretty much includes, “good morning”, but beyond that, if I don´t understand her she will simply hold onto my wrist and lead me to were I need to go. The next three are Dominicans. Martha has taken her final vows like Sister Valdiar, but her English vocabulary is easily three times that of Sister Valdiar´s.  Mercedes is an aspirant (someone who aspires to be a nun but hasn´t taken any vows yet) and she speaks Spanish. Jennifer has taken temporary vows (the last step before taking final vows) and knows the most English out of all of the nuns. She studied English at the University that she is currently attending. She has a basic grasp on the English language and she tries to use it when she can.

Carlos is not a nun nor does he live with nuns. He is a college student that helps the nuns with computers and even teaches a computer class at the mission center. He might have better grammar than most Americans, but he is still working on pronunciation and certain colloquialisms. He will be my English lifeline after Pat and Brigid leave.

Most everyone else here only speaks Spanish, except for the people trying to sell things to tourists.

I hope that that answers your question in a lengthier way than you had originally hoped.

A Note on Some of My Photos January 17, 2009

When you see the photos that I posted I hope that you can appreciate the beauty of this country. I also hope that you do not get a skewed view (which I suppuse is likely). I haven´t taken (and therefore haven´t posted) any pictures that really capture the poverty that I am seeing here and there are few reasons for that.

Firstly, I am trying to blend in. Yea, I know. I don´t really look or sound very Dominican (though I do think that my tan is coming in rather nicely). I already have a couple of strikes against me and in a country were the most popular religion, next to Catholicism, is baseball I should be careful with two strikes against me. I don´t need to advertise that I´m not from around here by waiving a camera around. When I commute in the morning, I want to be like everyone else trying to get to where they need to be.

Secondly, if I am busy taking pictures I will be missing out on a bunch of things.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, I want to respect the dignity of the people here. I wouldn´t necesarily want a stranger taking pictures of my house in order to report on the things that I don´t have. I already feel like I am intruding.

This being said… or rather typed, I will be taking more pictures and some of them will probably show some of the poorer conditions here. I think that educating people about poverty is important and pictures are good tools for educating people. I will also try to take and use these pictures while upholding the dignity of the people whom I am living and working with here in Santo Domingo.

Traveling the Streets of Santo Domingo January 16, 2009

Imagine, if you will, a taxi.  There is already somone in the the front passenger seat of this taxi and you and your friend get in. This taxi travels only from point A to point B, like a bus, but it is a car. It isn´t yellow with a special sign on the roof, nor is there a man inside that asks you a series of trivia questions for money. It is just a run of the mill run down car. I hope that your imagination is keeping up so far beacause we aren´t done yet. So, now there are four people in the taxi (the driver, the passanger, you and your friend). You pay the driver 13 pesos and you are off. You travel a block then stop. ¿did I mention that the driver has his hand out the window trying to flag down more passengers? No, well, he is doing just that and he is successful. Three more passengers get in the Taxi. You must be thinking that someone must have gotten out or that this taxi is a van. No and no. It is a regular four door sedan and yes, there are now seven people in this taxi (the driver and six passengers). Now these six passengers are all full grown men Please imagine how we are all packed in this car. There are four of us in the back seat and two men sharing the front passenger´s seat. The idea of personal space is different in the Dominican. Anyway, we are off again. Seven men in a car cruising down the busy streets of Santo Domingo, using the horn instead of a turn signal and using those lines that they paint on the roads as… um, well we weren´t really using those lines for anything at all, but they are still there. (Steve, your driving might never scare me again.) 

I thank you and your imagination for sharing the  adventure of the my afternoon commute. Not every taxi ride is quite that crowded, but that is how they do things here and you know what they say, “when in Rome”.

Life Here is “Tough” January 11, 2009

Culture Shock January 7, 2009

In preparing for my stay in the D.R. I told my self, “It will be hot and everyone will speak Spanish.” I was surprised that I was surprised that it was hot and that everyone speaks Spanish. even though I have been here before I was still shocked by the extreme change in culture, climate and language. This wasn’t an uncomfortable shock. It was like  jumping into a pool; your body just needs a few moments to get used to the temperature of the water then you can enjoy myself. It will, however take me more than a few moments to get used to the temperature, but I will.

This week I am teaching English at a day camp at the school run by the sisters. Regular school is not in session this week because their Christmas break covers Three Kings Day (which happens to be today). This week is like a warm up for me and the real deal starts on the 12th when school starts back up again.

As something to reflect on… Think about the beatitudes (blessed are the …). Write the first one down.

Did you think, “blessed are the poor in spirit…” or, “blessed are the poor”?

That will be all for now. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

Paz y Bien

Before I Go… January 2, 2009

Welcome to my main mode of communication to the United States. I also have a new e-mail address, otruba.bryan@gmail.com. If you call me or text me I probably won’t answer. Nothing personal, it’s just that international fees are a bit expensive.

I will be in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from January 3 through March 14. I will be teaching English and beyond that I’m not real sure yet.

Paz Y Bien

Bryan