Lights out!

Electricity here in the Dominican Republic is a luxury, not a right. It has been by far the most frustrating part of our whole trip, with mosquito attacks coming in at second place. For whatever reason, the electicity cuts out at random times throughout the day and night. There is no warning and the amount of time it is out is unknown. My absolute only complaint about my entire adventure is that I was not made aware that the condo that I would be renting had a schedule for the generator. Meaning that whenever town power went out the generator would only kick on during certain times. From 10am to 6pm if there is no town electricity, there is also no condo electricity. Electricity also powers the water pump, so no power also means no water. After several rounds with the condo administrator and talks with local folks that ‘that is just the way it is’, I accepted the 10-6 schedule. However I was real annoyed that I was never told that this amazing condo with all its splendor only supplied power during certain hours. This morning the administrator made the big mistake of turning the generator off at 9am. My laundry was in the middle of its cycle and I had yet to take a shower. One thing I have learned here is that you have to raise hell before anyone will listen to you. That means you have to yell loud and say the same thing over and over. Being passive will get you nowhere and people will only take advantage of you. Up until this morning, I have been more than patient and tolerant and the maintenance folks and administrator know that and have taken advantage of that. I have also had a huge language barrier to express my point so I have just accepted the B.S. But this morning, I had had enough. In my best Spanish, I went outside and starting yelling as loud as I could that it was not time for them to cut the power. Rather shocked at my tone, the administrator tried to tell me that the generator had been running for a long time and that it needed to rest. I went on to say that I did not care and that it was not time. I was shaking and on the verge of tears as I had not felt that much anger in a long time, since life for us has been so relaxing. Imagine my surprise when my fit of anger actually worked. He walked back to the machine and turned it back on. I was so proud of myself. I did it! I yelled at a grown man in Spanish and he complied! I think I like this yelling is Spanish to get my way. I only wish I had started my yelling sooner.

The Moto

I finally have gotten tired of walking and decided that I was going to try out the Moto transportation system here. Motorcycles are the transportation of choice here, but they seemed so dangerous to me when I first arrived, but after wearing out my sandals from all the walking I decided to give it a try. My first ride was intense. I think I probably left marks on the shoulder of the driver from holding on so tight. They go so fast and traffic is a nightmare that you really just have to have faith that the driver is paying attention. After several more trips on a Moto, I was ready to add some kids to the mix. I am proud to say that we are all professional Moto passengers and I can’t believe I waited so long to utilize them. I guess if anything, I got some great exercise but my walking days are over. I can get to where I want to go so fast. I’m hooked on Moto!

Mr. B brings the flu

I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. I am actually surprised it took so long. We all got sick. Mr. B came out for a visit. We were all so excited and had big plans when he arrived for his weeklong stay. Now I am not sure if he brought the bug or if it was just coincidence but he arrived on a Saturday and by Monday the entire house was showing signs of illness. Going to the hospital is no easy task and takes just about the entire day to accomplish. It requires 2 buses to a different town, and very long waits with no A/C while the mosquitoes feast on you. The good news is that it is very cheap to see a doctor here. It cost 100 pesos, which is about $3 bucks. Even the cost of medication is low. By Tuesday we made our first trip to the hospital with Miss M, on Wednesday we took Miss P and Miss O On Thursday Mr. B himself was lifeless in bed and on Friday Senora X and myself went down. On his last day here Senora A was also on her way down. She was the last one to get sick. The only survivor of the nasty bug that spoiled an entire week intended for fun in the sun was Baby R. Breast milk rocks! Mr. B has left already and the girls were pretty bummed that they never got to go on the boat with him, but I guess there is always next time.

The Wrap

The wrap that I carry Baby R in has been quite the talk of the country. Not a single day has gone by where someone has not made a comment about it. I get stared at like I have a green alien sitting on my head. The wrap has been amazing on this trip. With so many kids and with so much movement that we do on a daily basis, it has been a life saver. It allows me to move freely and use both hands. Baby R absolutely loves it and is most content strapped to me. It would be fair to say that he stays in the wrap just about the entire day, even through his naps. I see the wrap as a wonderful thing, however, here it seems to be looked upon as a torture device. I have received only 1 positive comment the entire time that I have been here and that came from the priest at the outdoor church that we attended a few weeks back. At the end of mass, I noticed the entire congregation staring at me once again and then they started clapping. Since I could not follow what he was saying, I had to ask Senora X what the heck was going on. Apparently the priest really liked the idea of baby-wearing and was telling everyone that I should be commended for wearing my baby as it benefits the baby to be so close to the mother. So at the end of the day, when a whole country seems to be against the wrap, I have one priest who loves it and therefore his vote cancels out everyone else.

Eating in Aisle 3

Last week we went on our weekly trip to San Pedro to go to the super market. Usually Baby R stays asleep for the entire journey, but for some reason he decided that he wanted to stay awake the whole time. It was really no problem since he stays in his little wrap and attached to me. After a while he started showing signs that he was getting hungry so I started to scout out where I could go in the super busy grocery store. I have breast fed all of my kiddos and have learned to be pretty discreet when out in public when necessary. I have fed babies on beaches, on subways, on top of the Eiffel tower, at church, but I had yet to nurse in a grocery store. Not able to find a place to go, I had Senora X ask a worker who was sitting on a stool if there was a location that I could go. Without skipping a beat, the woman stood up and slid the stool to me right there in the middle of aisle 3. Hmmm, I was hoping more for a room or quiet place in the store. With a very hungry baby crying at this point, I just sat down and fed him. The worker stood up and waited patiently for her stool. I was quite shocked of how acceptable my actions were since the Dominican woman and men have quite an issue with the wrap that I carry him in and have absolutely no problem telling me so. Anyhow, as people walked up and down the aisle, not a single person took a second look. I wish that breastfeeding in public was as accepted in the U.S. as it is here.

Just a trim....

In case you ever planned to come to the Dominican Republic to get a haircut, let me warn you....A trim here is very different than a trim in the U.S. We were in the city yesterday and we passed a salon. Miss O needed a trim as her ends were a bit dry. She just needed a little bit off the ends. I was holding her from the front while the woman started her 'trim' after a few minutes she asked me to rotate to the side so she could begin on the other side of her head, and that is when I saw her destruction of my poor little baby girls' curls.....Too much had already been taken off and it was too late to fix it. I was sick to my stomach. So much for a trim.

Uncle Louie

A few weeks into our trip, my Uncle Louie joined us. Last year Mr. B encouraged Uncle Louie to get his passport in the event that one day we ever go to the Dominican Republic he could join us. When this trip became a reality, I called him and asked him if he wanted to join us. He wasted no time sending me a check so that I could purchase his ticket. Uncle Louie is retired and lives in the big city of Miami, Arizona so he must have been ready for some new surroundings. He spends most of his days exploring the country. He is able to see more than we are able to as traveling with all of us is kept to a minimum. We enjoy hearing about his adventures at the end of the day. He sleeps on the couch and requires only 2 drawers of space. When he is around, he enjoys smoking, which the girls remind him that it is not healthy and they ask why he does not turn green like Pinocchio does in the movie. He likes to listen to local music outside on the patio and drink his coffee. He has developed several models of a fly swatter with materials he gathers on his adventures and thoroughly enjoys the look on the girls face when he takes his teeth out to eat. It has been nice to have him around as he requires very little and my only complaint is that he never puts the toilet seat down! He has really taken a liking to this town of Juan Dolio and is considering staying after we leave.

Residencia Abdimar

Residencia Abdimar, our new home, is a beautiful condo. It is only 8 months old and so everything is new and clean. It is a 6 floor condo community with about 36 condo units. Almost all of the condos are owned by people who live in the capital, Santo Domingo. When we arrived I only noticed one other person living in the building, however, once the weekend came around the pool and beach was full of people. Residencia Abdimar is a weekend getaway for most of the owners. I have come to love the quiet of the week and having all of the facilities all to ourselves, yet look forward to the commotion of the weekend full of families, loud music, LOTS of Presidente (the local beer) and barbeques.
Besides the one full time resident, the only other people here during the week is the armed guard (often times with no bullets), the building administrator-Elizabeth, and the maintenance crew-Paublo, Flaco, Orlando, and Juanito. The maintenance crew takes care of the grounds and also acts like a concierge service. They will run to the market for you, take your trash, help with unloading the groceries, set up the beach chairs and umbrella on the beach, chase after a certain little someone who likes to run around the pool and most importantly they will store your Presidente in the freezer by the pool and keep your cup full. Everyone is most helpful and friendly.
We settled quickly into our home away from home and tried to learn as much about our surroundings as possible. Across the street is a little market that carries most of the essentials, including the 5 gallon water bottles that we have to use for all of our drinking and cooking needs, as the tap water is not safe for consumption. We did a lot walking up and down the main street just checking out what our new town has to offer. There is a lot of construction with new condo buildings going up and lots of little shops selling artwork, cigars and other type of souvenirs. We do a lot of walking. Senora X and Miss O take a walk each morning while I have school with the girls.
Since Miss M and Miss P would be missing school for a few months, I made sure to meet with their teachers before we left to gather as much educational materials as possible. The teachers set me up with plenty to do with them. Since Baby R sleeps the longest in the morning, we decided that I would hold class each morning. I work with Miss M and Miss P for a few hours. I have discovered that teaching your own children is much more difficult than teaching a classroom of 30. It is hard to keep them focused, but we do manage to get things done after I start telling them that we can’t go swimming until they finish their work. Once finished, we put our suits on and head down to the pool and beach.
After several hours outside, we usually come in for a nap. It doesn’t take long for everyone to fall asleep, including myself and Baby R. After a few hours of shuteye, we either head back to the pool or set off for a walk. Our days are pretty stress free and slow paced with only the occasional temper tantrum and lots of diaper changing. In addition to school and swimming, the girls do a lot of coloring, art projects, sea shell collecting, mosquito killing, eating, buying popsicles and running around the grounds. They also have their DS game system and their cartoons in espanol to enjoy. There is only 1 clock in the house and most of the day I have no idea what time it is, rather I just run through our routine and before I know it, it is time for bed.
Some days we head into the nearest town of San Pedro to eat pastelles (kinda like tamales) and to go to the grocery store called Jumbo. Just getting to San Pedro is always an adventure. It requires us to catch a bus from the main road, go about 15 minutes to the town and then catch another bus to the market. Since there are 7 of us with 4 being children it is not exactly easy when you mix in lots of fast driving cars and motorcycles, heat and humidity, overcrowded transportation, super loud music on the bus and at least one child upset about something. There is certainly never a dull moment on our outings.
I have found 2 churches; one is real close to us and is an outdoor church, the other one is a beautiful cathedral in San Pedro. The outdoor church has a really special mass. There is something pretty awesome about being outside during mass that I really enjoyed, but the heat was just too much for my kids. The cathedral has no AC, but lots of fans that make it comfortable. Since traveling with everyone is quite a job, I usually just take Baby R and 1 of the older girls when I do go to San Pedro for mass.
I am certainly getting the hang of how to get around, and would say that I do a so-so job of communicating with people in Spanish. Most of the places we go and the people we see live in poverty; many of the places are dirty with trash all over. We see lots of children without shoes and young children on the hustle trying to shine your shoes or braid your hair. There are also many old men pushing heavy carts selling fruit and vegetables. By American standards we would be quick to feel sorry for them and think that life must be miserable here, as was my first feelings, but as you start to look deeper into Dominican life you notice that for most people here, they are quite happy. There is a lot of laughter in the children, people are courteous and quick with a smile, the old men are singing as they push their carts and the even older men playing their dominoes under a tree seem the happiest of all. Maybe it is all they know, or maybe they make do with what they have, I am not really sure but what I do know, is that there is something profound to be said that less may actually be more.