February 2013

Our New Haitian Friends with Manuel the expert técnico 

Our listing information for the Hidalgo de Parral project has been sent by our field supervisor from Salt Lake to those in FamilySearch who determine whether or not to accept the project.  Our supervisor, Tim Law and technical operator, Manuel have been here with us all this week to train us and two young men from Haiti on “dCamX.net” a new, upgraded software for digital imaging.  He told us that FamilySearch needs more descriptive information on the exact types of documents that are in Parral and if they would be of interest to those seeking ancestral information.  Carlos is busy right now writing about what is exactly there.  If the project is accepted, we then have to request a visa for Mexico.  So now the timeline looks like we would go there around April.  We shall see.

Our Field Supervisor, Tim Law

Our training has been fun.  The two young men from Haiti, Dalmisa and Bernardo are employees of the government archive there and they, of course, speak French.  Dalmisa speaks some English. Manual, from Canada speaks fluent French, Spanish and English.  He is originally from Chile.  His family moved to Montreal, Canada when he was 15 where he has lived for the past 30 years.  That’s where he learned French and English.  It was fun watching interaction in three languages going on.  We have been going out to lunch every day this week, all of us.  So it has been quite different from our usual schedule.  On a regular week we work from 9:00 to 3:30 or 4:00 and bring our lunch.

I continue to be dismayed at the extreme poverty here.  The average income is about 200 dollars a month.  Families double and triple up in homes to make ends meet however the homes aren’t anywhere near the quality of homes that poor people double and triple up in in the US.  There was an article in the paper about the men who clean the sewers.  They call them macos.

 In the article you learn that these men make 5000 pesos a month.  That’s about 125 dollars.  They crawl down in the sewers with just their regular clothes.  They are not provided sanitary gear to protect themselves, no gloves or masks.  They clean out the trash the unthinking citizens throw on the ground and end up in the drains, animal parts, feces, and are exposed to dangerous chemicals, germs and bacteria.  I can’t imagine such a life. 

 SANTO DOMINGO. Si existe un modelo de vida infrahumano, la profesión debe ser la de "Maco" del Ayuntamiento del Distrito Nacional (ADN). Por cinco mil pesos al mes Luciano Lara, Martín Pimentel Doñé, Juan Antonio Suárez, Luis Catalino Arias, Gerónimo Mateo Mateo, Martín
Rosario Batista e Hipólito Reyes Vargas se sumergen dentro de los pozos filtrantes del sistema de drenaje pluvial capitalino a extraer los desperdicios de los inconscientes ciudadanos que son arrastrados durante las lluvias.    Lo hacen armados de picos, palas y cubetas. Vestidos de camisas, pantalones cortos, botas de goma y una gorra, sin guantes ni mascarillas, ni traje especial. Allí se enfrentan a plásticos, cartones y papeles. Pero también heces fecales y pedazos de animales, agua del drenaje sanitario, químicos que expiden negocios y compañías, y todas las bacterias y parásitos que pudieran existir en la superficie, pero concentrado en un ambiente húmedo en el que proliferan.

We are so blessed to be able to live in the United States.  When we get back, however, Carlos is going to have to learn to drive all over again.  LOL  He has turned into a genuine Dominican driver. He can now execute with ease left turns from the right lane cutting in front of everyone and is an expert at nosing the car in just enough to get everyone to stop so he can drive into the lane of traffic.  I do very well at sticking my arm out the window begging permission from someone on our right to let us in the lane of traffic.  His reaction time is that of a 20-year-old ready to stop in a split second when someone cuts in front of him or stops suddenly.  What I like about driving here is that no one gets upset at anyone.  There’s no road rage. Love it!! 

  

Update on Josefa’s house. The picture on the left is the original house that flooded with 12 inches of water with every heavy rain storm. Below is the new house.  To the right is the inside of the house.  Carlos has been picking up wood from shipping crates.  A carpenter fashioned this wall separating the kitchen from the living room.  Notice the louvered window.  Nice work.  Below left you can see part of the inside wall separating the two bedrooms. 

We continue our work in Ingenio Quisqueya with the members of the church and interested community members.  Self-reliance is the goal but it is a long, slow process.  

I continue to enjoy experimenting with cocina Dominicana cooking finding ways to get good flavor from the food that is available in the grocery stores.  The meat is a challenge but have been having success by adding bouillon cubes that are much more flavorful here than at home.  I think I will try to bring a large box home if it doesn’t make my suitcase weigh too much LOL.  I’ve made some great soups and guisados.  Mexican albondigas come out quite nicely.  There is a Dominican recipe for albondigas that is also very good.  I have been baking bread every week for our lunches and other meals.  We haven’t found any tasty bread here.  When we have found something that seems pretty good it is completely different the next time we buy it.  Their products here aren’t consistent, poor quality control I guess but the cost is high.  The prices are the same as the US and some things are higher like pinto beans, a dollar a pound.  The poor eat a lot of rice, plantains (sliced and fried) and a little chicken if they are lucky.

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Well, we finished our training yesterday (Friday) and look forward to being beta testers for the new software.  Should be interesting.

I miss all our family and friends and look forward to seeing everyone again very soon, about 7 months.  The time has been going very fast and we have been VERY blessed.  We have witnessed many miracles.