Cockroaches.
Spiders.
and Ants.
Oh my.
A few weeks ago, I made friends with a very small cockroach living in my bathroom. I named him Fred. Soon I learned Fred had an even bigger cockroach friend, also living in the bathroom (they surprised me one night at 2:00 in the morning)... I decided not to name him. Last night I found an EVEN BIGGER, palm- sized cockroach in my kitchen. I guess he lives there with the orange salamander who runs under the microwave every time I turn the lights on. There's also the tiny red ants that swarm in numbers of 100+ at any sign of leftover food or sugar (including my arm if I accidentally get too close). One night I tried to get a late night snack of cereal and found some ants floating in my milk, I assume the sugary cereal box is filled with them. This past weekend I took a sip of water only to realize afterward that there were two dead bugs floating in it and five more on my night table. Oh and then there was the time I encountered a wolf spider in my shower and above my bed (google for reference, they are huge). Shall I go on?
Don't worry though!! A bit of good news, the parasite has officially left my body!
Truth be told, I have gotten used to the infestation of insects in my home. I've stayed very brave. I shooed away the wolf spider by throwing water at it. I drowned (accidentally) one of the cockroaches in my shower. And I've learned to flick away any (small) insects that come near me. Not to forget saying hi to Fred whenever I wake up in the middle of the night to pee. I guess you could say I'm becoming a real outdoorsy kinda gal.
Two weekends ago, I was given the opportunity to travel to and live in a rural farm community. Rio Grande Abajo reached out to our program to work on their first ever clinic in their village. They were recently denied a live-in doctor because the clinic was not yet suited to be a proper living environment. We helped complete the first floor much needed cleaning and threw on a fresh coat of paint. I was asked to create the lettering on the outside which labeled the clinic ,"Centro de Salud- Maria Elena Hiraldo" - a large and permanent responsibility. Living in this village for a few days has by far been my best experience in the Dominican Republic yet. Although, if I thought the city had a ton of bugs, I soon realized that the country (or campo in Spanish) had infinitely more.
To set the scene: The houses were all hand built by the community members: tin roofs and colorful cement or uneven wooden slats. Chickens, donkeys, horses, dogs, and turkeys roamed the area. In my home, sheets separated the rooms which multiple families lived in, the shower contained only a trash can filled with water and a small bucket to dump the water on yourself, and there was one portable fan for the hot and humid environment. The kitchen was a cement room with only a stove, a fridge and a doorway leading to the chicken coop. My room housed the exoskeleton of a cicada and the molted skin of a giant wolf spider. The campo nicely contrasted loud Santiago life, the screeching of roosters replaced the constant honking of conchos and acted as our 7 am alarm clock. Completely surrounded by the mountains, the peace and quiet of the campo was a refreshing and much needed break from city life. That is, until I woke up on the last morning to the heart-breaking wail of a pig being turned into my neighbors lunch for later that day.
My favorite thing about the Dominican Republic is the fruit. The entire country is a free farmers market of freshly picked fruit right off the tree. After a long day of painting, a hungry Becca was upset that our two hour hike was planned before lunch instead of after. I was soon pleasantly surprised when the local community members began collecting various fruits off the trees for us to eat; fruits I didn't even know existed. If I ever go to heaven, I imagine it will be filled with all the delicious fruit I received on this day. I was given fresh chinola (passionfruit), mango, guayaba (guava), limoncillos (no translation except 'small lime looking fruit with giant pits surrounded by fruit you suck on'...see "ESTOY SUDANDO" for a picture), ciruela (which apparently means plum but these taste and look nothing like any plums I have ever had) and cocao (cocoa). I mean who even knew there was fruit in a cocoa pod thingymajig or that a cocoa pod thingymajig even existed. The fruit it a white placenta-like material that coats the cocoa beans before they are ripe, and you suck on them as well. The point is, all these fruit were incredibly scrumptious, therefore the hike ended up being an amazing experience. When we reached our destination we drank fresh mountain water filtered naturally by the clay in the ground and it was apparent fruit we eat in the U.S is nothing compared to a ciruela.
Final report of the month: I went brown water rafting and had a near death experience. Check out Facebook for more pictures!
