Our first weekend in the campo we visited El Plan, a nearby campo. Our coordinator Rachel worked in El Plan the previous summer for the same program, so we went to visit some of her friends. El Plan was hopping that afternoon! There was a cock fight going on just down the road, so we witnessed a few minutes of that, but it was slightly disturbing and not something I want to do again. They served us lunch and then we just hung out the rest of the afternoon. The boys played kickball and baseball and the girls got their nails done! That was something I definitely was not expecting to do on my trip. Many of the girls in the DR know how to paint nails...and I'm not talking about a single color, I mean they can paint all sorts of designs. I had an 11 year old paint mine, and I'm pretty sure it's the fanciest my nails have ever looked! After a difficult first week in the campo, it was nice to be pampered for a few minutes.
On the 4th of July we had a special party to celebrate even though we were far from the US. For the past year and a half there has a been a Peace Corp volunteer stationed in El Rodeo, so we went over to her house for a party. She and her Dominican friends made us a Dominican desert (which is hard to explain, it was kind of like sweet oatmeal) and a cake! Afterward we had a big baile in the local discoteca decorated with red, white, and blue streamers. We didn't have fireworks, but it was extremely thoughtful of our Dominicans friends to throw a big party for us on a day we normally celebrate with friends and family.
After weeks of having our meals cooked for us, one afternoon we cooked lunch for ourselves and for all those who had served us. I'm not much of a cook so I mostly stuck on the prep side of things and I gained a huge appreciation for how much effort went into making our food. First off, everything has to be prepared a certain way so it is safe for us to eat...that means that everything needs to be washed several times in purified water. In addition, electrical appliances we are used to simply don't exist in the campo. I helped peel potatoes, but there was no peeler, so we did it all by hand using knives. I was terrified I was going to chop my finger off. Everything took longer and was just harder than it would be in the US. In the end we ended up with a terrific meal and it felt nice to give back a little to those who had done so much work for us.
Lastly, another one of my favorite moments in the campo was our last day there. It was one of our dental student's birthdays and to celebrate he wanted to get up early and go watch the sunrise. So we arose early and walked a little ways to watch the sun rise. Most mornings it had been cloudy, but we were lucky it was pretty clear that day. It was beautiful to watch the sun come up over the mountains. It may have been an early morning, but it was well worth it. It was a great way to end our campo experience!
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