On a totally different note...

Things have been relatively low key these past couple of weeks. The weather appears to be cooling down a bit (and by a bit I mean five degrees or so). The family I eat lunch with has been asking me if I have a jacket, because it will get cold in November and December. I can only smile to myself and say “bring the cold on please.” Other than that, just living the life in the Dominican countryside.

Speaking of Dominican countrysides... I guess it was almost two weeks ago, there was a serious and alarming incident with two Haitians in my community. Well, to be frank, one decapitated the other with a machete. No one knows why, just that the person who murdered the other person took the head and only the headless corps was found in the farms around La Caya.

Please don't be too alarmed. Yes, absolutely it is freaking scary, and yes I need to be careful all the time, especially when I'm running alone- but these kind of things also bring out the worst in the relations between Dominicans and Haitians. When the news broke, everyone in my town had this attitude of and I quote, "well that's what Haitians do, they are dirty people." I am in no way trying to justify the murder of another person, but it is frustrating because the fact that these two people were Haitian is used as an excuse. Nobody even went to investigate why this murder happened, why a person who was once alive is now dead... the clear answer was that "they are Haitian and Haitians do these things."

I have seen racism taken to a whole new level living in this country. In many ways I feel like I am apart of the racism in a reverse fashion- always being praised for my light skin and good hair. It's sad and makes me feel helpless, especially when someone dies and nobody does anything to try to justify their death. It's just the way it is, and everyone here seems to accept that without questions.

That's one thing I try to promote here, especially with all the young kids I talk to. I want them to start asking why. Why do people just automatically do things one way here? Why do people think only one way about Haitians, about a woman's role in society, about education? Why does everyone in this country eat the same ten freaking meals?! Why? Why? Why? Question why things are and if you think you can change things for the better- do it!

Okay, that's my idealistic rant for the day. And please don't be too worried about the murder. I am not trying to lighten the situation, only enforce that I am careful and am no way trying to put myself in a situation where I feel unsafe.

But on a much happier and totally different note, last weekend I went to Santiago for a meeting with my fellow IT Peace Corps Volunteers. We are planning a youth computer conference for the 10-12 of November. Each of us gets to bring two youth from our sites to this three-day conference. The conference is focused on teaching the youth different computer skills, such as workshops on Photoshop, MovieMaker, computer maintenance etc. There will also be different workshops on how to fundraise for your town’s lab, how to organize your lab’s finances and I am teaching a lesson on “What is a leader, and why are leaders important in computer labs?” I am also co-chairing the “Casino” night, which will be the second night of the conference. I suppose because I am from Nevada, I am the local expert on gambling. Not really, and it’s not so much of a casino night, but a social night where the kids can hang out and have a good time.

I am excited about the conference, because it’s something different for the kids. It is going to be held outside of Santiago and every day we will drive the kids to a large computer lab where they can work one-on-one with the computers. Hopefully it will inspire them to come back to their towns and get computer clubs going, or become more involved with their town’s labs or what have you. In my case, I just hope to show two kids from my town how many options are out there with computers, and the more they know, the more power they have. I sound like one of the NBC commercials: “Knowledge is Power,” but it’s true.

On another totally different note… the political race is heating up in La Caya. There are more than 10 political parties in the DR, and in my town three of those have the most support an influence: the Partido Revolucionario Dominicana (the White Party), the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (the Red Party) and the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (the Purple Party). On a grand scale, Leonel Fernandez, the President of the DR, is apart of the Purple Party.

However, in La Caya, the current Sindico (mayor) belongs to the Red Party and is running for reelection in 2010. He will be opposed by Eddie, who belongs to the White Party and by Dogaberto, who represents the Purple Party. Dogaberto is the current director of the school here in La Caya, and his assistant director of the school is the President of the White Party. Problem? Depends on how you look at it. Yes, there is conflict, because as the President of the White Party, the assistant director of the school will obviously vote for Eddie. However, if his boss (Dogaberto) wins and becomes mayor, then the assistant director will most likely be promoted to Director of the school. So I guess, either way he wins.

The competition is getting fierce, with more signs of each candidate popping up daily. The different colors of the parties are very important and instantly differentiate people’s support and voting intentions. Two days ago, I woke up to go on my daily run and someone from the Red Party (the current Mayor’s party) had painted all the lower half of the light poles in La Caya red in the middle of the night. They even went as far as to paint the light poles leading up to the town and to paint red around some of Eddie and Dogaberto’s signs as well.

It’s only October and elections aren’t until May 2010. Just like in the states, the competition starts early and only gets worse as time goes by.

And on another totally different note once again… tonight I am going over to one of the worker’s house from my center for a Dominican spaghetti party. I guess we are trying to get together every couple of weeks at different houses for spaghetti. I love the idea of hanging out with my co-workers outside of work. Build a little camaraderie. I just am not so crazy about having to eat Dominican spaghetti to make it happen. But that’s why I’m here right, to make sacrifices. Well, that’s what I’ll tell myself as a scarf down those overcooked noodles as quickly as possible.

All in all, things are good. A little political drama topped with a spaghetti dinner, and life is all that it should be.