Curious

My work involves teacher training for teachers of deaf children. As I was doing a literacy workshop with some teachers yesterday, I remarked that it was important for the students to write original sentences--onces that they made up themselves, and that were not copied from any source. (Because of their deafness, the children are just learning Spanish, much like a foreigner would learn it.)  The teachers looked at me as if I were from Mars.

Now I have had hints before that maybe not much writing (as opposed to copying) was going on here. Both children and adults (college students) who had borrowed my internet for a school paper inevitably just copied exactly what they found from the net. The children usually rewrote in in their own handwriting. I cannot say if the adults did that or not. But no one seemed to be concerned with plagarism.

After yesterday's reception of my statement, I asked a friend if her children, in fourth and fifth grade, ever had to write a story or true account that was original with them. She responded, "You mean dictation?" I explained that no, I meant something that they did not copy or get from any other source, something that was original with them. She thought a  moment and said that she didn't remember them ever mentioning that kind of assignment to her. She called them in and asked them if they had ever had that kind of homework in their years of school. The fifth grader responded that yes, last year he had one assignment like that. The mom asked to see it. The son brought out last year's notebook and found it in a few minutes. It had a story which seemed to be nonfiction. She remarked, "No, you must have copied that. You don't have an uncle by that name, and that never happened to you." I allowed, though, that maybe he wrote it as a fiction story. Still, having only one creative writing assignment in five or six years of school seemed rather curious to me.
This Dominican Life.

Friendly neighbors

One of the most wonderful things about middle class DR, is that you really live in a community. People know each other. People help each other. People watch out for each other. People visit each other. People share with a neighbor in need.  I am fearful that this will pass, as it did in the South in the US, once AC started keeping everyone inside. But for now, we have this time together.

Yes, sometimes the neighbor's music is outrageously loud. But if he sees someone breaking into my apt., he is going to stop them. Being a good neighbor and having good neigbors for me is a real positive in This Dominican Life.

Un día en el parque

Friday we took 33 kids and several adults down to a large local park. Now you might think it would be necessary to keep a tight rein on those kids, so that nothing would happen, and no one would get lost.

The reality is, that it wasn't necessary! Togetherness is built right into the culture. The kids didn't run off alone, even though they were basically given the run of the park. Instead, they stayed in groups. That's what they like. The younger kids naturally stayed close to the adults. No one had to tell them that, and as a result the adults didn't have to watch kids closely. Older kids naturally kept an eye on younger kids that wanted to see something in a different location of the park.

The first time I went on an outing like this is was downright scary for me. It was hard to relax and enjoy it when I saw that there was basically no accounting or security. But when I saw a group of 300 kids all get on the buses when it was time to leave--not one missing, yet no roll call held--I realized there was nothing to worry about.
Don't think it is negligence; it isn't.  Don't think these kids aren't protected; they are.
It's just another amazing example of how society works in this Dominican Life.

Garbage

The garbage truck has not gone down my street for over three weeks. Explanation? I was told that the truck is broken down.  The solution has been for everyone in the area to pay a man with a wheelbarrow to dump their garbage in front of a local school, where garbage is picked up daily. There are also signs painted on the wall, saying that garbage should not be dumped there. This Dominican Life.

Reminders of God are everywhere

One of my favorite things about the Dominican Republic has to be the freedom of speech Christians enjoy here. In the US, Christians have been pretty much silenced. But here, Christians are quite vocal, and people aren't silly enough to be offended by it.

You go down the street and you see a bus pass you. On the front, it says "Only Jesus Saves."  People will get into a public car with a greeting "God bless you" and even the nonbelievers in the car know their part. The correct response is "Amen." No one gets upset. They know that the person has just wished them well.

Looking at the names of businesses around town, you will see lots of Christian influence. For example, you might see the Glory to God Plaza, or the Resurrection Bakery. 

One of my absolute favorites, however, is a large sign on the major thoroughfares of the city. It was put there by the government. It says, "Love your neighbor as yourself. Avoid accidents." 

You cannot pass the whole day on the street without seeing numerous references to faith in God. It's  a refreshing part of this Dominican Life.