Bon jou fanmi ek zanmi!
That is Creole for good day family and friends. But before I tell you about Creole and the beautiful people that speak it, I want to thank you all for reading my blog, for sending me notes, emails and letters. There is nothing like being loved from afar. You are all in my thoughts and prayers each day and I am so grateful for your every word of encouragement.
Not knowing where to start, I’ll start with Fusnel. I’ve been working with Acción Callejera for two weeks now (see my previous entry), teaching boys ages six to sixteen to read, write and even speak Spanish. Anytime I have been in a teaching position I’ve been blessed with that “ally” student that takes particular interest in my class and adopts the role of the teacher’s aid. Fusnel speaks fluent French, Creole, Spanish as well as the street dialect; more importantly, his social skills are more in tune and he realizes that he must speak Spanish if we are going to communicate. Teaching these boys is just hard. Issues of motivation, attendance and cultural prejudice abound and the older boys loose interest when they are asked to learn along side the younger ones. The center has a come and go, open door policy so as the hours tick by my class number dwindles, the older Dominicans take off, leaving only the Haitians. At that point our class dynamic changes entirely.
Little fakers, I love them. If you’ve ever known an illiterate adult in the United States, you’ve seen the human capacity to “just get buy,” rely on others, imitate and just fake it. These boys are masters and they pass from one grade to another in public school copying from the board, mimicking sounds and following the crowed when directions are given. They read “María has a red dress” beautifully, but then comes the litmus test, “boys how would you say María has a red dress in Creole?” Six pairs of black eyes drop to the floor. “Ok, show me which color is red.” After repeating myself several times, they confer in whispers and hold up a blue crayon. I ask Fusnel how you say red in Creole, “wouj boys, wouj.” This was the day I realized that in our class, every word must be accompanied by a picture, a hand motion or a noise, and that their first language, Creole, would be key to unlocking their second, Spanish.
So, I’m learning Creole as fast as I can, please pray for me. Figuring out how to assert myself in this environment has been an amazing challenge, it is so exiting! I can’t express how it fills my heart when little Ari, Tulé and Papi storm into the classroom, wrap their bony little arms around my waist and with strong French accents, “Kati, we’re only going to speak Spanish today, we promise.” “Kati I went to school every day this week!” My supervisor asked me to plan an educational event every month and I’m working on “cultural identity day.” The boys are really exited about it and we’re planning skits, crafts and activities. I love their enthusiasm, and I love giving those certain boys their first chance to lead and watching them take off. Goodness.
I’m starting to forget that I’m part of a program. Within CIEE, my relationships are growing familiar and dear although my time spent outside of the program is increasing all the time. I feel so blessed by the group of friends I’ve made here. My Dominican friends, in a word, are just FUN! I love them dearly but somehow in this culture its hard to get past a certain point with young people when they know you’re only here for a short time. At PUCMM students already have their close group of friends, which more often than not includes brothers, sisters, cousins and classmates since kindergarten. I have been able to connect with the students from CIEE on a deeper level and I have learned so much from them. Actually my friend Caroline and I started a Bible study at my house every week which has grown quite a bit…the free food, new born kittens and leafy patio certainly doesn’t hurt, but I would like to think that people are drawn to the honesty of this group. We are from different Christian backgrounds, to the point that sometimes it feels almost like an interfaith Bible study and it is very challenging…and very beautiful! Its been wonderful to have that support, especially with regard to prayer and it gives me fresh perspective and new energy. Its also been exciting to grow close to people I have seemingly zero in common with; our group is very diverse, I have never encountered so many U.S. subcultures all lumped together.
The pictures you see below are from our trip to Constanza, the highest city in the Caribbean. This is where they grow Roses and strawberries, the fields were beautiful! The others are from Los 27 Charcos which is a series of 27 waterfalls that you hike up, rock climbing and swimming against currents with a lifejacket and helmet-- a clumsy good time indeed! Then on the way down you get to jump off of the falls and slide down natural stone shoots. I had to swipe these pictures from the internet and unfortunately they're mostly of the smaller falls.
I hope I can post pictures of my students soon! It frustrates me that the places and people I want to show you all so badly, can't always be captured by my shiny silver camera as safety is an issue. But next time! I love you all and I'm doing so well here, thank you for your prayers and support! Un abrazo grande.
