This past week has been a bit of a busy one: jazz nights, prayer groups, Brazilian music and yaroa.
There is a cultural/history/art center here called Centro Leon. They’ve got stuff going on all the time, and the past two Fridays they’ve held live music events. For the first, jazz night, it was raining and so everyone was crowded under an overhang trying to stay dry. After about an hour though, it stopped raining and we got to see the remaining bands on the big stage that had been hidden under a tarp. Now I don’t know much about jazz but am always a fan of live music so this was pretty cool. There were several groups that preformed and each had a different flavor.
This last Friday was Brazilian music night with not a cloud in the sky. Another cool thing about going to these events is the dress up factor. I just didn’t bring enough nice clothes to do it everyday for school like the majority of Dominicans (nor, lets be honest, am I will to put in that kind of effort) but every once in a while it’s nice to put on a dress and sandals and go out.
In an effort to meet more Dominicans I went to a prayer group this past Wednesday. There aren’t clubs here in the same way we have them in the US, so it’s been difficult to rustle up things to casually do with local students. So to the prayer group I went. Perhaps it wasn’t the best night to get a sense of the average prayer experience- it was the 21st anniversary of the group and there was a stage and a slide show and cake (score!). There was singing and several people got up and spoke about how important the group has been for them over the years. Honestly I wasn’t even sure if I was in the Catholic group or not until the very end when we said the Our Father, a Hail Mary and three Glory Be’s. It just didn’t have that vibe. Lets just say this group probably doesn’t base their prayers in liberation theology. Will I go back? Yeah, probably. I really do need to get out and meet people more, and this really isn’t such a bad way to do it.
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| A picture of yaroa via google images. |
And finally- supper out! This past Thursday, which is of course the start to our weekend, I went out for a Dominican dinner with a couple of American friends. Our taxi driver recommended this outdoor stand that sells yaroa, a very traditional Dominican specialty. Yaroa consists of French fries (or plantain fries) topped with every kind of meat you can imagine (chicken, bacon, beef, pork and who knows what else) all mixed together with ketchup and melted cheese on the top. It was actually really good.
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| Also via google. |
Two notable things occurred during our dinner out. This first is that as we were sitting at out outdoor table, mice kept scurrying about our backpacks and feet. This just added another element of suspense to our meal- cross your fingers we don’t get sick! (Not only didn’t we, but other people from our group have eaten there before and been fine- but it’s the principle of the matter). I am also not particularly freaked out by mice. So long as they don’t have rabies and try and crawl on me or bite me, I maintain a live and let live kind of attitude. Spiders? Whole other story.
The other notable occurrence was the near constant sexual harassment by boy as young as 5 years old. As we sat there, this boy was sitting about five feet away and for fifteen minutes straight hissed and catcalled us. UNBELIEVABLE. We sat there and tried to ignore him (I’m of the mind that if people are going to act live uneducated children you need to treat them that way- just as I would ignore a tantrum by a child his age, so to I ignore this behavior. Plus, if you acknowledge it in any way it just encourages them.) It just goes to show how young boy here learn to sexually harass women. And once that kid finally gave up and wandered off, about ten minutes later another one the same age started doing the same thing.
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