the in between

Tomorrow I am leaving for Santo Domingo. Tuesday, I will be on a plane and on my way to America. Although it’s only been about six months since I’ve been home, I am ready to go back. 2010 has already proved itself challenging in more ways than one, and what I need more than anything is some time with people I love. I’ll be home for longer than I anticipated (about a month), and hope to spend most of my time there hanging out with my family, especially my mom.

The last couple weeks I’ve been in my campo, my site trying to wrap things up and get things organized for when I come back in July. I gave my English classes their final exam, found the three girls I will take to a girls’ camp at the end of July and yesterday it all ended with a three hour meeting. Well actually, it was only about an hour and a half, but it started an hour and a half late so I still think it counts as there hours. Dominicans are not on “hora Americana,” or American time- as I insist with all my students that my classes start at 6 p.m. Hora Americana! Which means, don’t show up at 6:30 and expect me to be sitting there patiently waiting for your arrival.

The meeting went surprisingly well. We discussed changes that need to be done to the center, a few new people who will be added to our “management team,” and once again, discussed plans for the library. I tried to encourage my team to start without me during this month while I’m gone, but they didn’t want to do that at all. It’s a little disappointing that they don’t want to start on their own, but the library also gives me something to focus on and look forward to doing when I get back.

And just as the meeting was coming to a close, they had mandar-ed (a Cultural phenomenon of being able to send people to run errands for you) someone to bring us snacks- soda, crackers, cheese and salami. The snacks were in honor of me leaving… which seems a little ironic- but I also left my center last night feeling accomplished and content. A feeling I admittedly sometimes wish I felt more of here. Whatever the snacks where for, I think it really is a good idea to throw people a mini-party or something when they are leaving- it makes them want to come back.

On my way home I ran into Silvia. I eat lunch with Silvia and her family almost every day. Silvia takes care of her parents, my grandparents as I refer to them here. Her mom, Mercedes is in her 80s, and her dad Masop celebrated his 91 birthday at the beginning of June. Silvia and her husband Juan Ramon have three kids and their own house, but every morning the whole family goes over to the grandparent’s house to feed Mercedes and Masop, clean the house and take care of whatever needs to be taken care of. Despite Masop’s age, he gets up every morning, climbs the hill behind his house and takes care of his cows. The man gets up faster from chairs than I do. He is in incredible shape. They are all so loving and wonderful to me. One day, almost a year ago, I told Masop that I really like bananas. I am not joking you- almost every time I eat there (which is pretty much every day that I am here in site) Masop saves a banana just for me.

Anyway, so I ran into Silvia on the street after the meeting and we started to walk back to the grandparent’s house. She invited me to come over and have dinner with them, and I told her that she had already fed me lunch that day, that she didn’t need to feed me dinner too, and that I have food in my house to eat. She just looked at me and said, “Yes, but you don’t have soup.”

I thought about it for a second and just nodded. She was right. I had food at my house, but I didn’t have soup. I followed her to the house and had soup with the family. It was a sort of fusion between chicken broth and Top Ramon. It was simple and delicious.

Sometimes I think about my life here and I don’t know what to feel. There are moments when I honestly can’t wait to get off this island and back to my previous plentiful American life. And then there are moments when I think about how good life is here, despite how hot it can get. I am living as complex as I allow myself to live. I can let all my worries get me down, I can think and stress about the future and daydream about overpriced delicious coffee drinks that are found on every corner back home. Or I can let it go and just say yes to a delicious yet basic soup dinner. I understand that I probably won't ever live this way again or have these kind of choices, and so for now I am grateful. I am grateful to be in the in between. Excited when a meeting goes well and lucky enough to get on a plane and see my family back home.