El comienzo- the beginning

9 de enero del 2008

So here I am in the library of Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, or PUCMM, pronounced "puca-mime-a." It's the university for rich kids, but about 30% of their kids are on financial aid and they have tons of Haitian students. Reminds you of anywhere? haha Except this school is much prettier. It's like having class in a rainforrest.

Man, I'm spelling things wrong and thinking en Español. I’m telling you, algunas veces, soy una domininca. It takes so much mental power right now to speak and listen in Spanish. And that commitment makes it more tough to go back to English. It’s like giving up an addiction. I want the English, but I feel so guilty even when simply reading or watching something in English. Speaking and understanding Spanish is already getting easier though. Que bueno!

At first, I definitely had my doubts about the program… When I arrived on Saturday, we were taxied up to a hotel on the top of a mountain for the beginning of orientation. It was AMAZING. We had a view of the entire city. Fog would drift in and out along with rain and sun. I was preparing myself for some insensitive, racist, classist comments. But thus far, nothing huge yet. There are tons of International Relations students and a couple of Africana/African American studies majors. And I’m excited that our CIEE director has a Ph.D in History and Anthropology and focuses her research on the indigenous Taíno Indians and popular culture. I want her to help with starting a bit of possible thesis research and to talk about Fulbright Fellowships. She received one for her doctorate research and the last SEVEN people she helped received one! I want to be number 8.

My host family here is great. I have a 47-year old mother, Maritza, and a 6-year old sister, Emely. That little child is crazy! I already have footage of her pretending to be me when we were playing with her cousin Manuela. She’s so smart, fun, and loving. The sister I never had haha. Also having a kid is a great person to practice a bit of Spanish with. I think the match has been great. The mother is open and isn’t as traditional as some of the others. We had a short conversation about race relations between the Haitians and Dominicans. She's pretty easy going.

My house? Not as extravagant as all the others that my friends are staying at. But it’s more than enough. (And I’d rather not have the extravagance.) We have two TVs, three bedrooms, and also one for their “muchacha” or “doña,” which is basically, a maid/nanny/housekeeper/cook type person. It's crazy that they even have one because there are only two people in the family… but I guess the mom works so hard when she’s home she wants to be with her daughter. I can understand the single mother overachiever mentality, I guess… Having a doña also reflects the economic conditions of the country… but let me not go into that just yet.

Clearly I can’t describe of every single second or else I’ll be there and no longer here. But I’ll tell you the thing I’ve enjoyed most about being here is talking to “Los Estudiantes de Apoyo,” who are PUCMM support students for international students. They have given us tours of the city and the school and I already feel like I could hang out with them. Paola y Marbelle from today were freakin’ CRAZY. They taught us tons of slang and when this boy in my group horribly mispronounced something, Marbelle says, "Damn, someone needs more Spanish lessons." I made fun of some Asian girl on a study abroad poster by calling her “una china” (chee-na). And man… Paola was like, how did you know that?!?! (That if you’re Asian in the DR you are by default un chino o una china!) So fun.

Weirdest thing though… Some things here remind me so much of Vietnam. It’s probably a combination of these two reasons. 1) I feel like the only Asian on the planet so I'm extra aware of my "Chinese-like" features... hmph. 2) It’s a tropical, 3rd World country. The lights, the streets, the stores, the fruits.

I’m really excited for the rest of the semester. Classes start next Monday. After our language level exam yesterday, I hope I'll get into level two Spanish because then I'll be allowed to take some direct-enrollment classes and the class on Haitian Dominican relations. Haven't been able to explore much of the city because of orientation. I think I will soon though because I need a phone card and a map. I can't wait to start exploring, taking classes, making more friends, volunteering... So many new things to do and learn =D