From top left: Daniel, Jean, Ara's brother, Federik, Ara, Franceli, Alanna, O.B. (the dog), Amanda (holding the dog) and me.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Dominicans celebrate Christmas on the 24th.
Traditionally, a family gathers in one house for puerco asado (Pork cooked on a spit) and all the trimmings of rice and salads. Red wine and sparkling cider flow from bottles in celebration of the year behind and what’s to come.
I spent Christmas Eve with three other volunteers and one of their host families in Imbert, Puerto Plata. The food was RIDICULOUS. The spread covered the entire table: pork, chicken, guacamole (our American contribution), Dominican tamales, pasta salad, potato salad, cabbage salad, empanadas (fried cakes), fried eggplant cheese wraps, stuffing (Stove Top – from us as well), mashed plantains and lasagna.
We ate until we couldn’t move.
And then the Dona of the house packed up servings for all the neighbors. It was basically a steady stream of people sharing the meal for hours. It was an interchange, really, people sent food too. Little boxes flooded into the house in the hands of the neighborhood children.
We went out into the street and sang carols with the kids as they lit brillo pads on fire and whirled them around as 5 peso fireworks… yeah… it was a night living on the edge.
Every house brimmed with people. Nothing here is every shut out from a house. Noises flow freely through the block walls and unsealed windows: loud music from the neighbors, loud music from the gas station down the street, someone talking outside, someone peeing in their bathroom next door… It never ends, and typically it can be pretty annoying.
Yet, I liked that Christmas also made that list – that it wasn’t shut out.
