Shoshana in Asia

I couldn't sleep last night. The power was out, there was no breeze, and in addition to smoke from burning the fields, it seemed that trash was being burned as well. I got up at dawn with allergic black eyes; by an hour or so later I was just swollen. We drove to Juan Dolio, with a stop at a Parador for fried chicken. The hostel, Fior di Loto, is decorated in an Indian motif and the proprietor supports education for girls in India. My room was notable for its continuous electricity and a flush toilet--heaven! I'll write my last entry soon, but want to reflect on the trip more (and look up some birds) before writing.... read more

My typical day: Midnight: Power may or may not come on, or go off, so there may or may not be lights or fans. 12:00-4:00 AM: intermittent awakenings from heat, noise, smoke, animal sounds. 4:00-6:00 AM: Increased multiple rooster crowing, goat bleating, dog fighting, cat yowling, and soft pig grunting. Various shouts, clanks, engines. 6:00-6:30 AM: Greater rooster/goat/pig sounds; more human noise. 6:30 AM: Get up, pour bucket of water over head. Return to bed and sit reflectively, or go for a walk. 6:30-7:00 AM: Wake-up call and brush teeth, spitting outside. Dress, collapse mosquito netting. 7:00-7:30 AM: Breakfast: Plantains +? Apply copious sunblock. 7:30 AM-12:30 PM: Work on site. 12:30-1:30 PM: Lunch. 1:30-5:30 PM: Work on site. 5:30-5:45 PM: Bucket shower and change clothes. 5:45 PM-6:30 PM: Dinner. 6:30-~8:30 PM: Free. ~8:30-10:00 PM: De... read more

A cement mixer has been rented. We've laid down a chunk of the court with hand-mixed concrete; this will be faster but more rote. Today I've mostly been dipping water buckets from a big plastic cistern, carrying buckets of concrete, and shoveling sand and gravel. Breakfast was sweet potato, a yucca/plantain mash, and spicy pasta. I added a can of tuna salad later. While I sat on the porch eating, an old man came over and began to talk to me in French. We conversed briefly, then he gestured, took my tuna, and ate it. I gave him the crackers from the packet. He handed back the can and two girls took it and fought for it. Local lunch: Rice cooked with bits of salty fish, maybe sardines, salad, and frijoles negros. I ate a little ... read more

I can't mark quite where Batey Isabela is on this map, because it's hard to locate on the somewhat contradictory online maps. It's about where I've placed the route marker. Bateys are sugar cane plantations, and as a quick look at the DR/Haiti border reveals, many of the people in this region were brought over/came over to harvest. New legislation in the DR has disenfranchised multiple generations of people of Haitian descent, effectively rendering them stateless: Now, intensifying a long and furious debate over their place in this society, the nation’s top court has declared that the children of undocumented Haitian migrants — even those born on Dominican soil decades ago — are no longer entitled to citizenship, throwing into doubt the status of tens of thousands of people here who have never known any other ... read more

"The function of ritual is not to control this baffling universe but to render homage to it, to bow to the mystery" (Alvarez). The students and their graduate student instructor have just wrapped up several intense and successful weeks of fundraising. It’s a relief for me, and I’m sure even more of a relief for them, that they’ve hit their fundraising goal. Through many fundraisers and the generosity of a matching donor, they've raised the not-inconsiderable amount needed to pay for the court and their participation fees. We’re at the point where you just keep turning in assignments (or if you're me, grading assignments), knowing that soon you'll be able to sleep on a nice, long plane ride. I've also been busy trying new gear and packing rather differently from my usual, since I expect to ... read more