I am thankful for...

Thanksgiving, Banica-style. ...people. I am thankful that no matter how far away from home people might be, or if you are in a new place, you can still share in common humanity and love with others. We were blessed in that we were able to host some visitors yesterday, Father Mike and Cal from Elias Piña, and Emily, Fidel and Brian from Thomassique, Haiti. We were also fortunate to be able to have an "Americanized" meal, lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and tator tots. For desserts, made-from-scratch apple pie, chocolate cake and cheesecake. Being here in Bánica has really shown me that too many people in this world go hungry, and while it is not wrong to have a feast, especially as a reflection of the heavenly feast everyone will be able to share one day, we, especially need to keep in mind where we are. I am grateful that we were able to partake in this feast, and I pray that it will nourish us and give us the strength we need to continue serving this beautiful community of people. Saint Nicholas, pray for us!

Musings on a rainy afternoon

Another not-so-ordinary day in Bánica. I got to sleep in until 7:00am, eat breakfast (fried batatas…my new favorite food) and then meet up with Sarah and Luisa for morning prayer before getting picked up for another retreat in a different community, Sabana Cruz (still with Las Hermanas de la Restitución). We crossed another river and spent the morning and part of the afternoon under the shade of a huge mango tree. And Sarah and I got to make some people laugh because of our poor Spanish pronunciation during a game. I wanted to comment on our lunch there. These people have so little, yet they are always willing to share what they do have. Even though Sarah and I will be living with them for ten months, they still treat us as honored guests, and we are always one of the first to get a chair or something to eat. The society down here is not an equal one, and as a American, and especially one who works for the Church, I get preferential treatment. It is still something I am getting used to, and praying continually that it does not go to my head. I am used to giving up my chair for my elders or someone else; I am not used to an older lady in her 70s shooing me into her chair, knowing she would be offended if I didn’t take it. This is the part where I say again (and it won’t be the last time) that cultures can learn from each other. Not that anything they do in Bánica is wrong, and not that the United States culture is wrong in any specific respect, but that when cultures mesh they can learn to respect each other and differences within each culture. The other adventure of the day was Sarah and I going down with the locals (WanRey, Pedro, Mayo, Luisa, Iriana and Cysto!) to the river. I had promised Father Murphy Iwould give Cysto a bath, and the river was a perfect place to do it. So off we trooped to the river to hang out for awhile. Well, we got more water than we bargained for, because for about an hour after being there, it started pouring. Literally pouring. I guess it was a good thing we were already soaked. There is something freeing about the rain, something very beautiful about water coming down from the sky and completely drenching you. It made me realize that there are many things I have no control over, and I much prefer that to having to decide everything. It’s nigh impossible to take complete control of your life, and if you do, you end up disappointed. It’s just not possible to control your life completely. Musings aside, the people love the rain down here. It’s like snow in Virginia. Get a threat of snow, and school is canceled. If it starts pouring down here, school gets canceled. Everything shuts down and closes because of the rain. (It could wash out the road, it’s hard for little kids to walk home in the mud, and no one goes out in the rain so stores shut down because no one is out and about). But the rain brings life to them because it makes the crops grow and provides water for drinking, cooking and washing. They are thankful for rain because they have no control over it, and they are thankful that they are given this gift in which to live. It’s very beautiful.

The start of an adventure

What follows is a copy from a microsoft word document that I wrote Friday evening because I wanted to record how I felt, but was unable to access the internet until this afternoon. More to come on my first busy but tranquilo (stress-free) weekend in Banica! I have arrived in Bánica and am sitting in my temporary room. My gracious host, Simona, has her son and his amigo (friend) visiting from the capital and they are currently in the room I will be staying. I am pretty sure she gave me her own room so I could have a bed. What loving people are in Bánica!’ When I first arrived I found her cousin’s son, Francisco, who is entering 7th grade this year at the colegio. He is from a small campo outside Bánica that is too far away for him to walk everyday to school. However, I am getting a bit ahead of myself. I flew out of Dulles International airport at 7:45 am yesterday morning and the time right now is 10:30 pm on Friday … much has happened since my mom and I met Father O’Hare at the American Airlines check-in bright and early at 5:30 in the morning. I remember from the night before calling family and friends to say talk to you soon, miss you all and I’m really glad I got that chance to talk to everyone. I am so appreciative of the support from all of you … this trip would not have been possible without your generosity or encouragement. It gave me the strength to get on a plane headed for a foreign country and begin an adventure that would challenge me and stretch me in unforeseen ways. I am glad though that I had someone to travel with, as it made the trip less lonely and also enabled me to chat a bit more with Father O’Hare, with whom I would be working closely serving the community of Bánica over the coming year. Our flights were uneventful, and we passed through customs pretty easily. Father explained to me that the concept of “lines” were hard for Dominicans to perceive, and that without barriers they would block the exit doors of the gate area. Many were lined up against the barriers though and I felt like we were movie stars as we walked down the ramp, with everyone staring at us. It was quite an interesting feeling. We met up with Oscar, who works for the parish and his primo (cousin) Jose Luis, who was helping him navigate Santo Domingo. We waited a bit for Sarah, the other missionary from Boston whose flight came in shortly after ours and during that time I got to see some typical Dominican culture. As my roommate always shared with me, people watching is fun. I got to see how families and loved ones greeted each other and how people maneuvered a busy airport. I got to see a bunch of young adults come who were with the Peace Corps and also a group of important politicians with a camera guy running around. Our movie star, Sarah, was around the corner. Once we met and said hello, we loaded up the white pick-up truck and headed into typical Santo Domingo traffic. Let me tell you, this makes you fear for your life! People honk, then go…that is their way of saying “hi” or “im going” or “get out of my way” Think of Rome, or Paris and the traffic is just as bad. But these people are able to turn on a dime or squeeze into places I never thought a car could, and for some reason they are good at it. Oscar, our driver was superb at getting us where we needed to go and doing it safely. We checked into a hotel (La Casona y doraldo) then Father, Sarah and I walked over to a church to go to Mass. There were two other priests and two deacons also concelebrating and the church was full. I was excited to see it so full for a weekday Mass. However, we found out after Mass, that a young man was killed in a car accident the week before and this Mass was the memorial Mass, 9 days after the funeral (like a novena). His family was sitting up front and during the sign of Peace many went up to them to give them condolences. A very emotional Mass for all involved. Afterwards, we walked down to the Coast and walked along there for a bit before turning back up towards our hotel to get some dinner. We stopped at this great little restaurant with fantastic food. I had fajitas con pollo (chicken) and freshly squeezed orange juice. Father and Sarah were brave and got the cherry juice, which turned out to be delicious (jugo cereza) Don’t think maraschino…think fresh cherries and natural sugars… Both Sarah and I were able to call our parents after to tell them we arrived safely, then I think all 3 of us conked out in our beds pretty soon thereafter. We had all had a long day. The next morning we met Father at 7am for a half hour of prayer, then breakfast. And I had my first experience with true Dominican coffee. And I couldn’t get over it…it was sooo delicious! No cream, no sugar (it’s already boiled with sugar) and it is heaven in a cup (not really, but I am imagining that this is what God drinks when he needs a pick-me-up). Our scrambled eggs (con vegetales) and toast were also scrumptious. Our first stop (we had lots of errands to run before we left the capital) was at the Catedral de Santo Domingo, which is actually the oldest cathedral in the Americas, which is pretty cool. It was built, I believe in the 1500s. We walked around the bookshop and I was able to get a Spanish bible so I don’t have to worry about translating my English one. We were able to get money exchanged, and Father picked up more altar wine, then we took another crazy ride over to the Department of State where we were introduced to a contact of Father’s there, Mary Sue. She was very gracious and seemed excited that we had come. Next we went across the street to the office of the Nuncio, (ambassador from the Vatican) which is also where the Archbishop, I believe, lives. We were stopping in to see Father Richard from Nebraska, who is a recent arrival from the States. He was out so we left a note and stopped in the chapel. Then, while we were waiting for Oscar to come pick us up, Father Richard came back so we were able to visit with him a bit. Our next stop was Sister Babs, who is a nun who owns a home where patients come and she helps them get the medical care they need, and if they don’t have a place to stay they can stay with her. She has been running this home for over 30 years and is such a kind soul. It was a real blessing to be able to meet her and chat with her. We also got to meet Johnny, who I believe is from Pedro Santana or Bánica, who was staying there. He was in a terrible car accident over a year ago but he showed us today that he will walk again, praise God! We left Santo Domingo after that and stopped in Baní for Pollo Rey. (Think BurgerKing except this is Chicken King). Yes it was fast food and the interesting thing in the Dominican Republic is that fast food is not for poor people. It is not as cheap as fast food is in the United States. We then continued and stopped briefly at the high school seminary where two altar boys of Father O’Hare’s are currently attending before continuing onto San Juan to pick up food and supplies before finally entering Bánica! We dropped Sarah off first at Hecfrede’s house and his 2 year old son was a riot, very full of energy and smiles. Our next stop was Simona’s house, where she graciously fed me dinner. I have to admit, I knew it was going to be difficult to adjust and try to learn an almost entirely new language, but never have I felt so dependent! I have also never felt so incompetent. Simona seemed to be explaining very simple things to me, like how to lock the door and poor water but it took all my concentration to try and understand her. Possibly because of my tiredness, but I felt overwhelmed. Mass in English with Father and Sarah helped me to feel more at home. And Simona understands that I am learning, slowly. So now it is after 11 and I am very tired. I shall hopefully update soon! I want to keep sharing my adventures in Bánica! Blessings!