La Rubia!

With all of the first impressions I've recorded, what are people saying about me?  Well, primarily, la rubia!  Yes, in the Dominican Republic, I am blonde.  Also, the general consensus is that I'm 20 years old, although people have guessed as young as 17.  After I've been talking to someone for a little while about my project development and my background, people always interrupt to ask how this can be if I'm only 20 years old.  After getting over the shock - yes, genuine shock - that I'm 26, the follow-up question is typically concerning my children and their whereabouts, and when they learn that I have no children, a look of vague confusion sets in.  And no, no one asks if I am married.

The frequency of this conversation reveals a bit about Dominican society.  In 2011, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP) revealed that the Dominican Republic takes the lead in both Latin America and the Caribbean in the number of pregnant adolescents.  A common topic of conversation here among the socially concerned is about the issue of reducing the number of pregnant 13-year old girls.  It's very common for unmarried young people to live together, which isn't necessarily negative in and of itself, but in a machista society, the girls/women are discarded after they no longer please the men.  In an effort to increase the commitment level of their men, women often try to get pregnant, but when this strategy fails repeatedly, they are left with children from different men.  In a country with no safety net, this spells a lifetime of struggle. 

While we're playing the number game, this week the Dominican Republic celebrated coming in second place (first place was held by Venezuela) in terms of alcohol consumption by men in Latin American countries in a study completed by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Costa Rica.  (It should be noted, however, that the amount of pure alcohol consumed per year - 5.5 liters - pales in comparison to the quantity consumed in Europe, Canada, and the United States, respectively.)  The Dominicans' response?  "We need to work harder to get to first place!"

At any rate, I've learned an incredible amount in the last week and a half through extensive conversations with community leaders and people working in health clinics, schools, and other NGOs.  I'm still in Santo Domingo for the time being, although I did end up visiting Bonao last week, and I will be having another series of meetings there tomorrow.  It looks like I'll be moving there on the 11th at the very latest, which I'm definitely looking forward to.

The school in Bonao is really incredible.  It's 100% powered by solar panels, it has spacious and clean classrooms, and there are even sports fields for the children.  Although something like this would be relatively normal in the US, it's a tremendous departure from the reality of public schools in Santo Domingo.  Additionally, what's particularly exciting to me is that peace is one of the cornerstones of the school; the ethic of peace has been informally integrated into all parts of the school, from monthly values to universal community service.  I was able to spend last Friday afternoon with four youth (Youth for a Culture of Peace) who attended a workshop in Santo Domingo some months ago, and I'm working to build a capacity-building workshop for them.  After they're trained and feeling comfortable, the goal is to have them facilitate workshops following the same format in their communities.  They're pretty awesome kids, and they're really excited to be given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and lead peace activities.

Youth for Peace and Me in the library getting to know each other and discussing the project.

The idea is to create a flexible framework that can be replicated in IDDI's other areas of operation throughout the country and also Haiti.  This also means that I'll be able to travel to these areas and talk with the people there!  Everyone wins. 

In other exciting news, the director of IDDI has asked me to develop a formal peace education curriculum for the school to be implemented in August when classes resume, something they've wanted for a very long time.  I'm extremely excited to be given this opportunity; it's going to be a challenge for sure, but it's one that I'm ready to take.  If anyone has expertise or experience in this area, please point me to any resources you think might be helpful.

And, just for kicks, a peak at my Sunday, which happened to be Mother's Day in the Dominican Republic, at Playa Guayacanes:

  

First Impressions of Santo Domingo

I made it to Santo Domingo!  I arrived on Sunday night, right in the middle of presidential elections.  Danilo Medina, from a conservative party, and Margarita Cedeño, his wife the wife of the current president, as vice-president won the elections, and although his opponents accused Danilo of vote-buying and fraud, nobody seems to care very much about it one way or the other. The only reminder of the elections are the ubiquitous purple Danilo billboards throughout the city.  Today, the city shut off the water, which I'm told happens frequently, so everyone who has them are using their water reserves.  No problem, because everyone just drinks beer!  El Presidente, very fittingly, is the local beer.

I've been staying with a very gracious Spanish host near IDDI's office in the central part of the city, and everyone at IDDI has been very welcoming and kind.  Several people I've had the opportunity to get to know a bit better have been pretty astounded by the americana with a Caribbean attitude; I'm just going with the flow and flying by the seat of my pants at the moment, and I'm very happy to do so.  I'd say that this mentality has been serving me well here - nothing is very planned out.  I only have a vague idea of what I will be doing from one given point in time to another; for example, I'm pretty sure they're sending me to the campo near Bonao on Friday, but I'm not sure if I'm staying for a day, a week, a month, or the whole time.  Or even if this will actually occur on Friday at all. 

Another interesting shift is in entering into a more collectivist society.  The only alone time I have is when I am asleep, which is obviously very different from my lifestyle stateside.  And while I've consciously decided to embrace this, collectivism certainly has its upsides.  I feel very well taken care of, and I have been left to fend for myself in literally no situations thus far.  Dominicanos are very open and easy to talk to, and I've already made a few friends I feel close with.

Anyway, I am not sure yet what I will do for my project.  IDDI has a network of youth mediators (ages 18-24) in Santo Domingo (about 30) who work with low levels of conflict and conflict prevention in their communities.  I met with one of them today to ask him about the process, what he does, and his general impressions.  I'm still waiting to look at training materials to get a better idea of their capacity, but it seems really interesting.  Of course, they can't work in some of the poorer barrios, because their priorities are in preventing/treating cholera, improving sanitation and health, and dealing with youth delinquency and lack of education.  I will get into it more later, but we drove through a few barrios today, and to say the least, they were pretty astoundingly bad.  The Ozama river that flows through Santo Domingo is one of the most contaminated in Latin America, I'm told, and some of the worst barrios are right next to it.  Here's a preview:

 
(Not my photo - I haven't taken any since I've been here - and the photo does not show the worst of it.)

Anyway, Bonao does not have the same types of problems as in the city, and from what I've been told, the level of conflict is somewhat lower.  Nonetheless, it might be interesting to develop a youth mediator capacity in the campo.  Or to spread their network in some other way.  I'm also going to have the opportunity to travel to Haiti with IDDI with someone who heads up their projects over there, which I am really excited about.  Another idea we discussed is that with going to a few places, I could write up a flexible framework that they could use on the island, Hispaniola, to deal with a low level of conflict.  (Anything that becomes violent goes to relevant authorities, like police and courts.)

 We shall see how my project begins to shape up!  I'm hoping for the internet to be connected in my house so that I can read up a bit and access resources.  They keep saying tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes.

The semester is over and summer begins!

I am thrilled to report that I submitted my final paper for my culture, peace, and conflict class last night!  That was *hopefully* the last class I’ll take at American University.  I wrote about cultural violence in post-conflict Sri Lanka, and I highlighted the Sarvodaya movement, which is working toward sustainable development and peace in the country.  (On a side note, if anyone’s dying to know more about this topic, I can definitely hook you up.)  Anyway, the course was one of the best I’ve taken at AU – the professor did a great job of connecting theory with practice.  It’s awesome to leave a class with a clear understanding of how the materials covered in class will help me along my professional path. 

Now to switch gears into my adventure-filled summer.  My very thoughtful employer is hosting a happy hour for me tonight after work.  With class being over and this party tonight, the horizon feels much closer.  Only two more weeks left in DC!

Earlier this week, I met with a board member of the organization I’ll be joining for the summer.  Tito gave me a background of IDDI and Bonao in addition to some great insights and guidance.  I ended up chatting with him about my final paper and Sarvodaya, whose programs remind me a bit of IDDI’s.  He suggested that while writing my paper, I look more closely at Sarvodaya’s programs to see if I could adapt some of their ideas into something to do this summer in the Dominican Republic.  I never liked the phrase “to kill two birds with one stone,” so maybe “to release two birds with one hand” could describe it better?  Yeah?  In any case, a wise man Tito turned out to be. 

This simple yet clever idea led me to look into Sarvodaya’s Shanthi Sena Peace Brigade.  The program focuses on youth leadership development, and its goals include creating a peaceful society.  Part of the program includes 4-day amity camps for youth over the age of 15 who come from diverse backgrounds.  They open up space for cross-cultural dialogue and peacebuilding, as participants begin to build relationships across societal divides.  Some of the areas of training include:

• Leadership training 
• Conflict transformation training
• Emergency disaster management training & service
• First aid & primary health care
• Environmental conservation
• Cultural & sports programs
• Community development activities
• Promotion of literary pursuits

A Shanthi Sena program in action.

Cross-cultural relationship building pictured right here!

More information can be found at http://www.shanthisena.org/.  Very cool stuff.

I'm feeling really enthusiastic about adapting this idea into a proposal to present to IDDI after the weekend.  During the summer, youngsters will be out of school, and who doesn’t want to spend a few days at an awesome peace camp?  I’ll interpret any lack of response as an awed silence. 

On a side note, another part-time international peace and conflict resolution student who is a dear friend of mine is moving to Ecuador this summer for an internship.  You should check out his far more entertaining blog here: http://mainerstrangeland.blogspot.com/.