Infinite

Wow. So it has been roughly three months since an update. On one hand, I feel like there’s not much to report. On the other, it has been three months, so of course there are things to report. I’ll start with something I wrote while still in the DR which has been sitting here in purgatory the last several months, and then we’ll go from there:

Uno

Infinite significance. If you have read Man’s Search for Meaning (or taken Dr. Mcdonald’s USEM class), you may be familiar with this idea. In the book, author and Holocaust-survivor Viktor Frankl discusses the priceless value of life, an intrinsic characteristic of all persons. Any situation, no matter how hopeless, unjust, or cruel, cannot take away from that meaning.

This is my last in-country blog post (I had great plans to get this done before I left the DR, sorry…). It’s very weird saying that. I realize six or seven months is not a very long period of time in the grand scheme of things. I know I will look back on what once seemed ultra-intimidating as a growing time in my life. Those of you from older generations had yours too.

One of the biggest things that continues to come up for me is this idea of infinite significance. If I have chatted with you about economic development, it’s likely that I have thrown this phrase out there. It truly encompasses everything that I believe about our world. Just think: how beautiful would this world be if everyone was treated as though they were more important, more vital, more significant than anything we can even dream of? This means the drug addict slowly killing themselves on your city streets. This means the politician who has abused their place of power. This means the AIDS orphan who might get one meal a day, if they are lucky. This means the Haitian immigrant living in a Dominican batey.

When you work or volunteer for, donate to, or support an organization working in economic development, social justice, disaster relief, or other similar fields, I encourage you to challenge them to consider the infinite significance of those they serve.

The Esperanza crew at my last trip to the merengue concert

Due

Just to stay true to keeping what had already been written the same, that ends what I wrote back in the last few days of March. I’m still trying to process the entire experience, and it definitely took me a while to get used to life back in the States. As I move forward, I’m still trying to figure out how to apply those experiences to whatever I do next. I can’t even put into words what exactly it is that I learned or how I grew as a person. An experience like that just changes you. I will continue trying to treat everyone as though they are infinitely significant, and try to give back to those whose value has been stripped away. Hopefully I can continue doing that in the context of microfinance. Based on my experience, it is a fantastic tool that continues to have great potential as a huge piece of the development puzzle.

But it is great being back in Seattle among longtime friends. I missed them dearly. And I suppose I did miss the cool weather and rain a bit. Although Juan Dolio beach on the south coast of the DR sounds better than ever at this point…

Sushi night with Cory and the lovely Ms. Catherine

Getting the pups ready at Tom & Kelsey's

At Snoqualmie Falls with Lindsey and Kelsey

Trei

Ages ago, back in April, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my sister Maren and brother-in-law Jeremy over in Oxford, England. Jeremy is studying there, and after getting married in December of last year, Maren moved over the icy-cold North Atlantic to Brit-i-fy herself. I spent four days in Oxford and one in London, had a few English pints (i.e. warm and flat), some meat pies and drank cream tea in a palace garden. It was a great history lesson, tour of the English countryside, and opportunity to spend some quality time with my sister and new bro. London was jam-packed and we didn’t get to spend much time anywhere, but I’ll be back there someday so I’m not too worried about it. I didn’t know if I’d ever be back in Oxford, though, so I was sure to take some time touring the town and many of the colleges that make up Oxford University.

Cream tea with the Vallerands

Waiting for a train in the tube

Buckingham palace

Christ Church College's dining hall

Magdalen College

The C.S. Lewis lamppost

Quattro

Life right now consists of two things, more or less: Pike Place Market and the dreaded job hunt.

I’ve been working at Pike Place in downtown Seattle for almost two months now. One of my dearest friends and former roommate, Josh, has been there for a couple years and I was able to work out a job through him while still in the DR. I’m selling the best jam in the world, and working in the market is quite the experience. I get to meet people from all over the world, flirt with old ladies, and every once in a while I get to speak in Spanish. It has been a blessing to have a job right off the bat, even if it isn’t full time and doesn’t (fully) pay the bills.

On my free days I spend at least a few hours on the job search, submitting resumes and the like. It has been a frustrating experience so far as I have not received a whole lot of feedback. I’ve looked at microfinance, economic development, specialty schools, youth homes, shelters, and food banks, among others. I just plan to keep plugging away, and hopefully something great will come along soon!

Me doin' work

Cinque

I’m sure I’m forgetting plenty that has happened in the last few months, but I don’t want to turn this entry into a complete auto-biography. So I leave you with some exciting news:

I now have two wonderful nephews to go along with my wonderful niece. Big D is officially on the move to adoption and has a brand-new nombre to go along with it. Love you Cannon family!

Wyatt Clarence Justice – due the second week of August

Isaac Aveli – recently adopted after over a year of foster care

Madeleine Elizabeth – at a whopping four years of age, the old one of the bunch

Sei

Since I am no longer in the DR, if you would like to continue reading whatever it is I feel like writing about, check out my new blog.

Dos Semanas, parte 2

The title is in reference to this post. So crazy thinking about what has happened since then. Still the same two weeks until I leave, but how so very different it is this time around.

As my time is wrapping up here, life is becoming a bit surreal, full of thoughts and reflections. I found something recently that I’d like to share with you all. I was bored one night, and I started going through some of my old papers. I mean really old. For some reason I could never delete them to free up some space or reduce the maze of folders on my computer. I’m glad I kept them. When I was 12 years old, I was asked to write a poem about who I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging about the composition of this thing (the last sentence of each paragraph was recurring throughout the poem, just go with it). It just struck me that at such an early age I was already thinking in some of the ways that I think now:

“…I feel the pain of children without homes.

I touch the world with my gifts.

I worry about another war breaking out.

I cry for the starving people in the world.

I am a clever guy who likes basketball.

{space}

I understand that you can’t give up, even when it seems like that is the only option.

I say that we should not hate anyone.

I dream of someday achieving all of my life goals.

I try to do my best in everything I do.

I hope that poverty will never again be a factor in the world.

I am a clever guy who likes basketball.”

Of course I had to throw in some love for basketball, but I was shocked that at least half of my life has gone by with this pull to help others. The words are simple – I was 12 years old folks – but many of these things are still felt today. I thought my desire to work in international economic development had come around in the last several years, but maybe God was already stirring this up in me throughout my childhood. That guy…

I’ve also wondered how much my Spanish has advanced since being here. I looked up one of the old practice documents I had made before coming, and to be honest I’m a bit embarrassed by some of the words/conjugations I did not know! It was definitely satisfying to look through my pre-DR “must-learn” list and say to myself, “Duh, Jarrett…” Haha, when I think I’m frustrated now, I can just think back on when I first got here and be glad how far ahead I am. This was an especially sweet blessing to see because language was and is one of my biggest frustrations/fears before and during this experience.

In other exciting news, my wonderful sister Sarah came to visit me last week!

She’s ok I guess:)

Sarah and I more or less followed the gameplan I had laid out with my parents, with the added benefit of having an extra day to chill on a wonderful Dominican beach. Some of my highlights (Sarah feel free to comment): eating an array of some great Dominican (and Spanish) food, hanging out at a colmado drinking Presidente with bachata blaring in the background, climbing around the  Fortaleza Ozama, heading out to a batey to describe microfinance, doing absolutely nothing (other than drinking piña coladas) while chilling on the beach, meeting my friends and host family, and riding around on motos. It was such a special time, but unfortunately it had to end because Sarah wanted to go back to 33° Minnesota. Actually, she has two amazing jobs teaching in Minneapolis, and for potential employers thinking about hiring her for the fall – if you don’t, you seriously have major, major problems and should get those checked out.

Beautiful sunset after our first full day

Photo by Ms. Sarah K. Mylander

Amazing sky just before sunset on beach day…

…eventually turned into this.

We definitely got some sun. And unfortunately we had to be self-photographers, but we got pretty good at it

This was at Fortaleza Ozama, the oldest European fort in the Americas. Of course, Sarah couldn’t be serious for one moment, the historical significance having no effect. Goodness gracious. (juuust kidding, love you S!)

This pretty much sums up a majority of the trip

And finally, just when you thought there was no more exciting news, you will find that you were in fact wrong and there is exciting news you have yet to hear – I’m going to England! I had a free plane ticket but was wondering what to do with it. My wonderful sister Maren and brother-in-law Jeremy have been there together since January, and what better way to use a free ticket! I’ll be there for four days, and it will be fun to be outside of my own culture (more or less) in such a very different way. I am also hoping for a chance to get up to Alaska in August to see the Cannon clan as nephew #2 is on the way, so that’s in the back of the brain. Maybe I’ll get all three sisters, each in a country of their own! Can’t wait!

Carnaval y mas

The last two weekends have been full of fun as I’ve experienced some of the most-recommended things to do here in the DR. The biggest is Carnaval, a tradition that has been in the making for 500 years, the first recorded celebration of Carnaval in the Americas coming in the early 1500s in La Vega, Dominican Republic. Carnaval is a blend of African, Taino, and European customs and traditions that have more or less turned into an all-out party every weekend of February (As a local company advertises, “En Febrero, el país está de fiesta”, or “In February, the country parties”). African and Taino celebrations marking springtime were overlaid with Christian meaning and tied into the Lenten season (and not only here obviously as we hear about celebrations in Brazil, and of course New Orleans). Today, towns and cities around the DR have parades full of music, color, costumes, and the you-have-to-look-out-for-those “golpes” (hits) by those in costume carrying vejigas (vay-HEE-gas), something in between a club and a whip. The scary-looking masks are used as part of the tradition to “scare off” bad omens, angry ancestors, and bad luck. Carnaval is about having a good time and making fun of the craziness of life. Since Dominican Independence Day is February 27 (Happy Independence Day!), the craziness is just multiplied. I’ve gone to La Vega, the largest parade in the country, the last two weekends, and the blowout finale of Carnaval will be here in Santo Domingo this coming Sunday. Some pictures (Madeleine don’t worry, I’m fine!!):

Me with a diablo cojuelo ("lame devil")

Creepy. I hope these children aren't scarred for life.

Viking Diablo?

Nice teeth!

The cool one

This was one of my favorites

He WAS my favorite

Nobody is too young to join in

Or too old!

Another fun thing I had the opportunity to do were the 27 Charcos (Pools), a grouping of waterfalls in the hills of the central DR. You climb up a series of falls, pools, slides, and streams, then proceed to jump/slide/swim right back down them. In the past, you could jump from the first waterfall which was 40 feet high, but it was deemed too dangerous since the space was so tight. We had to settle instead for 25-30 foot jumps, still high enough to make you think twice. I tried to get some pictures, but unfortunately I didn’t seal the waterproof bag around my camera very well and only took a few before the camera stopped working. You get the idea though. It was pretty great, something I would highly recommend if you were to ever come to the DR.

My friend Lindsay making her way up one of the slides

Ladder to the top of one of the falls

It was hard to get any pictures through the waterproof bag, but you get the idea!

This is the only picture of me from the trip - my camera was doomed soon after this moment...

This past weekend I went back up to Cabarete (where I went surfing in the fall) for the Master of the Ocean event, a series of three competitions: surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing. You can compete in any combination of the events, but to be considered “Master of the Ocean” you have to do all three. Cabarete is one of the best places in the world for kitesurfing, and we saw some pretty great displays of why. Although I enjoyed the competition, I definitely felt a little out of place as I’m not an official member of the surf crowd haha! Kitesurfing looks like potentially the most enjoyable thing on the face of the planet, so maybe someday I’ll save up the money to learn how to do it.

Kitesurfing

Lots of competitors

Carving

Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome

So I’ve been having fun. I realized that my last several posts have only been about these fun things I’ve been doing & seeing around the country most weekends. No, I am not on vacation. I just happen to be living on a Caribbean island, so sue me:) The task that has been taking up the majority of my time is a research project about micro-insurance and its potential role for Esperanza. In short, as microfinance institutions (MFIs) seek to provide a broad range of financial products to their clients, insurance inevitably comes into the picture. Insurance brings a huge amount of risk to an MFI, and MFIs typically do not have the right knowledge to develop insurance products that will be useful to their clients and economically viable for the organization. Should we develop that knowledge ourselves, or should we partner with an organization that already has it?  Those are the kinds of questions I have been looking at. I’ve also been working on enhancing a training booklet used by our loan officers to teach business basics to our associates, and I’ve been doing translating work for our database as well as publications and press releases (like those about our work with the recovery after the Haiti earthquake – note: not all of the editing was done by me haha…). So that is how my week looks. Although at this point I doubt these things will last the entire remainder of March, I’ll get them done now and hope something else comes up that I can work on for the rest of my time here. I only have a month left, which is split in two by my sister Sarah’s visit. In short, time is ticking. Please pray for me as I close up this experience. Pray that my work, my relationships, and my choices as to how I use my time will all be meaningful. And pray that I will begin to prepare myself for going back to Seattle while not forgetting where I am right now. No puedo esperar para ver a ustedes, para estar con ustedes, y para hablar con ustedes, pero mientras estoy aquí, necesito estar aquí. ¿Entienden?

Parents!

In my humble opinion, my parents had an amazing time here with me. They only had a few short days, but I made sure to fill them up as well as I could. The first thing we did, of course, was head out to the beach. Yes, I may have forgotten to bring money. Yes, I may have left them stranded in a park while I went to go get said money. And yes, they may have had a 30 minute conversation with a semi-crazy man in said park. But, they got to practice their Spanish! Eventually we made it to the beach for a lovely few hours; we are in the Caribbean after all! After returning to Santo Domingo, we went out for a nice tapas dinner at Plaza España. They had never had Spanish food before, so I was more than happy to introduce them. After dinner, we headed over to the merengue concert, one of my favorite activities here in the capital and in the country overall.

Tapas dinner in Plaza España

Merengue! Salsa!

A jumbo of Presidente is a requirement for going to the merengue concert. Nice work Dad.

Monday morning we went into the office for our group devotional and a quick update on what I’ve been up to since September. It was fun to answer microfinance questions and show how the process works in person, from Esperanza to Kiva. It was a good reminder for me as well, as I thought about the work that I have done and the overall work of Esperanza. Monday afternoon we grabbed la bandera (literally “the flag”, a meal that has rice, beans, meat, and salad which represent the four sections of the Dominican flag) and cruised around the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo. Many times I had walked past these old buildings and sights without really visiting, so it was fun to finally get a better sense of the city’s history and share that time with my parents.

The Puerta del Conde (Door to the "Conde"). This gate has played many roles in the history of the Dominican Republic. Built in the early 17th century, it has played roles in British invasions (1655) and Dominican independence (1844).

Me and my Momma in Parque Independencia with the Puerta del Conde in the background

Catedral Primada de America (First Cathedral of America), started in 1514, the oldest church in the New World

Cool street signs; Padre Billini runs right near my house into the Colonial Zone

One of my favorite buildings in Santo Domingo - just an old, beat-up house, but I think it's great

Just a baby little gargoyle I saw on the walk with my parents

Tuesday we had an early morning as we caught a bus out to San Pedro, my old stomping grounds. Being the Dominican Republic, of course this didn’t go smoothly, but everything ended up OK. At some point during Monday evening, most cell phone networks went out. Also, the truck the San Pedro loan officers usually use broke down. So I was unable to communicate with the office and didn’t know if we would have a ride, but we went out anyway hoping for the best. We ended up taking a guaguita (little bus), the littlest “bus” ever built. I hopped on the floor in the back, and my parents, the loan officer, and another volunteer grabbed the seats. It was a long, bumpy, and uncomfortable ride, but I was so happy that my parents had the chance to see microfinance in person at a couple loan meetings. I can only describe the practice so well; to see it in person is a whole different experience. While in San Pedro they also were able to see my old house and meet my host family. I was so happy they more or less had a glimpse of the “life” I had for 3 months. Tuesday evening we did some quick (& touristy:)) shopping back in the capital before going to a fun sandwich place for dinner. They of course needed a chance to get one last cup of great Dominican juice (one of the greatest culinary blessings known to humans). Wednesday was a trip to the airport, and before I knew it, my parents were on a plane back to the U.S. But Sarah is coming in just three weeks! Can’t wait!

Cute little girl from Batey Las Pajas, one of the two communities my parents visited

In other news, last night a neighbor’s house caught on fire. We are fairly certain it was caused by the electrical wires hanging outside their house. Wiring here is, uh.. substandard? Wires often hang in trees, loose ends hang down to body levels on the sidewalks, and illegal tie-ins are rampant:

Just to give an idea. This is actually slightly tamer than much of the wiring you see in this city.

Again, just to give an idea of what I'm talking about

This happened at about 4AM, and at first I didn’t know what was going on. I awoke to weird noises and people yelling, not atypical in my neighborhood, so I did a little frustrated moan, thought “SHUT UP!” and rolled back over to try to fall back asleep. Then I realized what they were yelling “FUEGO! FUEGO!” (Fire!), and immediately hopped out of bed to see what was happening. There was a huge flame at the front of the house, and a crowd had gathered to keep an eye on the direction of the flames and smoke. Thank God that all the people in the home had plenty of time to get out, but it took quite some time for the firetrucks to arrive, longer than it should have. Anyway, as I’ve thought about this today, a few things have come to mind:

- How fortunate we are as Americans! We don’t have crazy fire-causing wires hanging outside our homes. Our firetrucks respond quickly. When we call 9-1-1 we can almost always expect results.

- I can’t imagine that the state or the electric company will take responsibility. AKA this family is probably screwed. Pray for government/company support, but if that doesn’t happen, that family/friends/neighbors will be able to support this household in the ways they will need.

- I felt helpless, as I’m sure most of those in the street did as well. Everyone is out of the house? Whew, great. Now we sit and wait until the firefighters show up. And we wait… There’s just nothing you can do.

C4C Update

Well, C4C unfortunately did not win the GoreTex competition. A bit disappointing, but I’m still confident the team can put together an amazing 2010 climb and that I can contribute in whatever capacity is needed! Check back at the website to look at “Sight Unseen”, the group that won.

It was so great to have my parents here (Sunday through Wednesday); more to come on that in an upcoming post. Here’s a picture of us in front of the Presidential Palace here in Santo Domingo.

Mom & Dad

This weekend the plan is to head to the 27 Waterfalls and the La Vega Carnaval celebration, I’m sure plenty of great pictures are on their way!

Climb for Captives 2010

VOTES NEED TO BE IN BY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15th!!! Please take a few minutes to follow these steps: you can greatly contribute by doing something incredibly simple!

As some of you may remember, in August 2009 I climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington with Climb for Captives to help raise money for the International Justice Mission. This money went towards freeing victims of the sex trade in India and persecuting those who commit the crimes.

Climb for Captives has been given an incredible opportunity to take our next climb to a whole new level but we need your help to make it possible!  We recently submitted the Climb for Captives story in a competition put on by the Gore-Tex company to win $10,000 to put towards an outdoor experience of our choice.  On Feb 1st we were selected as one of the 6 finalists and with your help we can win the $10,000 prize.  We want to use the money to climb a mountain outside the US, and truly take Climb for Captives GLOBAL.  All we need to win is to get more votes than the other 5 finalists and that is where YOU come in.  If you are willing to vote for us, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1. Join the Gore-Tex Community

The competition is part of an online outdoor community and to be able to vote you have to be a member of the community, which means you have to sign up first. Don’t worry it is free and there are no strings attached.

Step 2. Log in to the Experience More Challenge

Once you have created an account and are LOGGED IN, look for the “Experience More Challenge” and click “VOTE NOW”

Step 3. Vote for “Climb for Captives 2009“

That’s all!!!  If you are ready to help us raise $10,000 and take Climb for Captives to a whole new level click HERE to sign up.

Sincere thanks,

The Climb for Captives Team

www.ClimbForCaptives.com

Emmons Glacier at Dawn (Thanks to Paul for the picture! Visit paulhassell.com for some amazing nature photography)

Fotografias, por fin

Hmm… Updates… Last weekend was pretty amazing. Like I mentioned we (Jordan, Lindsay, Claire, Becca and Ximena who are long-term volunteers/employees as well as Chelsea and Courtney, two short-term volunteers) went to Samana and Parque Los Haitises, and both were absolutely amazing. The park is a mixture of mangrove-filled brackish water and huge limestone rock faces. The guide said the ecosystem is similar to those found in SE Asia (Josh?). Also in the park are Taino cave drawings. The Tainos were the inhabitants of the island when Columbus arrived, most of who were wiped out within the first 200 years after Europeans arrived. After the park we took a very unstable ferry ride across the bay to Samana peninsula. On the peninsula we went to some of the best beaches in the country. One beach in particular, Playa Rincón, is considered one of the best (if not the best) beaches in the world. It is a looong beach with palm tree shade, turquoise water, and perfect sand. There is a river that flows into one end of the beach, so the water isn’t as salty as ocean water would typically be. On both sides of the water rise small mountain ranges, making the view from the beach pretty amazing. I also went on a hike and saw the Boca del Diablo (Mouth of the Devil), a “blow hole” that shoots water out when waves crash into it. The waves weren’t big enough that day, unfortunately, but it was still pretty and we got the idea. Highlight: while at the Boca del Diablo we saw humpback whales!!!! They were completely breaching, and although it was difficult to know where they would jump, I was able to get some awesome pictures. I had been bummed because a whale-watching trip didn’t happen, but we got lucky and saw some anyway! It’s pretty amazing watching these huge animals fly out of the water. The Samana bay is one of the best places in the world to go whale watching.

Last week we had our company-wide retreat. All the offices got together at a retreat center in the hills to spend time and refocus our organizational vision. It was fun to learn, play games and spend time outside the office with these people that have been part of my life in the last four months. I was able to see almost everyone from the San Pedro office which was also fun. On Saturday I went out to San Pedro to visit with my old host family, who I haven’t really seen since coming back. It was good to see them all, and I received a very warm welcome in my old house. I’ll be going back this Saturday because my Vicente, my old host brother, challenged me to a basketball game and I need to show him who’s boss.

In other news, my parents are coming next weekend! I’m very excited to show family what I have been doing, and it will be very special to have them here with me. They only have two days, so Mom and Dad, I hope you come rested because we are going to be all over the place! Also, my sister Sarah will be visiting in mid-March during her break from teaching. She’ll have a little more time here, so hopefully we’ll have at least a day or two to just kick back and relax on a nice, warm beach. It is her vacation after all, so I suppose I can take a trip or two to the beach.

And to close, continue to remember and pray for Haiti. The last I heard the death toll is over 200,000 and climbing. Donate money & give blood. Before giving food/clothing/supplies, please check first that it can be distributed responsibly. It may seem weird, but usually your dollar is put to better use as a dollar than as a can of beans.

OK. Picture time has come. I have a lot, because in two months pictures tend to accumulate. Sorry I haven’t been very good about uploading them recently!

Friends at amazing merengue concert before I left

So amazing

Seattle! I missed you!

My beautiful niece

My lovely mother

What do you call a blend of a raspberry and a blackberry? Ask this man.

My beautiful nephew

The Cannons!

Sorry Mom, I had to. I love you!

Snowshoeing at night at the cabin!

Snowshoeing take 2. It was, um... Cold.

Cold but beautiful.

Aaaannd, we're back. In your face snow.

Clothing optional

Playa Bonita (Pretty Little Beach)

Yaqueline, a girl we met at Playa Rincon

Playa Rincon

Me at Rincon

Fish caught at Playa Rincon

Water moving professionals

Cruz Roja Dominicana

Water

On the way to Haiti

Parque Los Haitises, mangroves

Parque Los Haitises

Boca del Diablo

Whales!

Playa Bonita, the second best beach we went to.

I have a weird cooking situation... I can still eat guacamole and drink beer!

Getting Settled In (Again…)

I’ve actually been cold. Outside. In the DR. I can’t believe it, but at night it sometimes gets a bit chilly here now, and I’ve been forced to put on a light sweatshirt. I did not think this was possible; when I first got here in September I couldn’t go a night without sweating through my sheets in San Pedro (sad but true…). Daytime is great as well, pretty much a perfect temperature.

After talks with my co-workers and thinking about what I want to accomplish in the next couple months, I have decided to stay in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Pros are that I won’t be solely focused on Kiva profiles any longer, but will work on more business-oriented projects and reports. The biggest con is that nearly everyone in the main office here speaks at least some English and I’ll be constantly around Americans, so I’ll have to find some other way of improving my Spanish. I’m definitely a city boy though, and with somewhere between 2-3 million people, Santo Domingo is definitely a city.

On Monday I moved into a new house about a mile southeast of the main office here. I have my own large room but I’ll be sharing the kitchen and bathroom with other renters. The house is owned by a Dominican woman, and other renters are from Haiti, Ecuador, and France. And, unfortunately, the shower has no hot water. This was a major disappointment. I’m also right across the street from a colmado, a corner store slash bar, which prides itself in blasting bachata, salsa, and merengue music. At times this is pleasant, but 11pm on a Tuesday night is not one of those times…

Haiti has dominated the news here and around the world, and rightly so. This morning they had an aftershock of 6.1, quite the earthquake in itself. Infrastructure and order are still severely lacking, and medical supplies can’t get there fast enough. Please continue looking for ways to support them! Set up a schedule to give blood to the Red Cross over the next year. Raise money at your school or church. Be creative. Unlike its news coverage, the problems in Haiti are not going to go away in a few weeks. Our attention spans may last that long, but the problems will continue for weeks, months, and years after. I’ve heard that it will take Haiti TEN YEARS just to get back to where they were, which was nowhere. This is truly a tragedy on a huge scale that is hard to fathom.

Although I did not have the benefit of a three day weekend this past week, I’ll do you all one better: a five day weekend this week! Yep, you read that correctly. This Thursday and the following Monday are both national holidays, so I will be travelling to the Samana Peninsula to swim, kayak, and explore Parque Nacional Los Haitises (Highlands National Park), go whale-watching in the Bahia de Samana (Samana Bay), and relax at Playa Rincon, considered one of the top five beaches in all of the Caribbean. These types of things are what got me through the frigid-ness of Minneapolis, northern Michigan, and Chicago while in the States. There are definitely benefits from working in the Caribbean.

I’ll post some pictures soon too, sorry the last few posts have been lacking in that department.

Earthquake

Please pray for Haiti.

Then, if you can, please donate in some way to Haiti.

I feel bad. The situation there already was nothing to joke about, yet in a way I just was… With an office and work in Haiti, topics regarding this country often come up in our office here in the DR. Just last week, the head of microfinance at Esperanza asked me to give him a report of the economic outlook in Haiti for 2010. (For Haiti) The outlook looked pretty positive: huge amounts of international debt relief, expected high rates of GDP growth, healthy levels of inflation. Then when talking to one of my American co-workers, he said I should just write an economic outlook like this:

Haiti got screwed. Haiti got screwed again. And again. And then again.

We laughed.

How truer can this statement possibly have been? New year, new prospects for a country that has gotten absolutely screwed by their leaders, by the international community, and by natural disasters. Haitians had less than two weeks of 2010 to think about new possibilities. Then they got screwed. Again.

Infrastructure in Haiti was already horrific, so the addition of the worst earthquake in the Caribbean’s recorded history (read: Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492…) doesn’t help the already small stream of information coming out of the country so far.

-7.0 magnitude earthquake hits most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere (with 28 aftershocks of at least a 4.0 magnitude following the original quake)

-Earthquake’s epicenter in outskirts of Port-au-Prince, with population of 3 million

-Port-au-Prince = Possibly one of the worst places to live in the entire world

-EIGHTY PERCENT of Haitians live on less than two dollars a day, over half on less than $1.25

-No death toll is known, but expect it to be high.

CNN reports that looting has started. Would you do any differently? “My house collapsed. Family members died. My business in which I only earned $2 a day is ruined. If I don’t steal, my family and I are going to die.” The presidential palace is almost completely destroyed, and we have yet to hear from the president. This could be catastrophic. Political unrest is already at high levels in Haiti, and if the president has been killed or even seriously injured, it could throw the country into riots and coups.

Honestly no numbers, no statements, nothing can truly describe how much it sucks to live in Haiti, now more than ever. In a world with SO MUCH, how can an entire population have so little? A Dominican here in Santo Domingo put it well:

“A los pobres, todo llega”. Literally, “to the poor, everything arrives”. We might say “it just goes from bad to worse”.

Please do what you can to make it go from worse to better.

Buildings shook and knees buckled even here in Santo Domingo, but I was in a truck on a country road at the time so I didn’t feel anything. At this point I don’t feel like giving an update on myself, it can wait. I’m fine, I’ll let you know my status in another post.

Good places to donate:

One Day’s Wages

Red Cross

Any Haitian-based organizations will be needing support

Peace

Merry Christmas! I am so very fortunate to be in the States during this season. I’ve seen friends & family, eaten good food, participated in my sister’s wedding, and traveled halfway across the country already (Seattle, Denver briefly, and now Minneapolis). I’ve still got a couple weeks left before I head back down to the DR in January. I apologize that it’s been so long since my last post. I started this post in the Miami airport on my way to Seattle a week and a half ago (some of the things I said are dated, like having jet lag still), and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I should write about. So, here it goes:

Here I am, back in the land of opportunity. Jetlag (or just plain lack of sleep) and culture shock are in full effect. Just a short 800km trip from Santo Domingo to Miami, and I am officially in a different world. Three months down, three to go. I don’t have any mind-blowing things to say. I won’t change how development is practiced with this blog, and I don’t have the answers to poverty. Just thoughts.

How TRULY fortunate I am to be an American citizen. I did not choose this life. I did not earn this privilege. Over the last several weeks, I slowly came to realize a cold, hard fact: no matter how uncomfortable I get, no matter how long I spend in a developing country, no matter what kind of living conditions I put myself in, how little I am paid, how many illnesses I contract, or how “sacrificial” I am, I remain a citizen of the United States of America. Do you realize how much weight this holds? Really, do you?

As I was sitting in a batey at a repayment meeting, I suddenly thought how odd it was that I was relatively comfortable there. The heat was sweltering. The conditions were dirty and smelly. It looked ugly, the bathroom was unusable by many people’s standards, and the Creole was intimidating. Then I thought, “I’m comfortable because I’m going back to the U.S.”. And there it is. It doesn’t matter how bad of a situation I am in, I can always hold on to some form of comfort simply because I happened to be born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, of all places. It is IMPOSSIBLE to truly become equal to those I serve. I am American. Esperanza’s client is Dominican or Haitian. That will not change. I can try my hardest, but I will never be her equal. I can never put myself in her shoes.*

This realization was honestly pretty discouraging for me. Does this mean everything I’m doing is irrelevant? Worthless or even hopeless? No. It just forces me to try to walk humbly, constantly aware of how privileged I am. It would be far worse for me to just keep to my American self, not trying to improve this life for others just because I was born in the northern half of the Western Hemisphere. I ask that you consider (if you are American, Canadian, European, East Asian, or of any privileged background) how truly fortunate you are. Not just, “wow, I am really lucky to have been born in the U.S., you’re right”, but rather “what can I do in my life to help make up for another’s unlucky roll of the dice?”. Again, I will pose the question: Do you realize how much weight your nationality holds? Do you realize how fortunate you are?

In three months I don’t have the answers. I can’t show with empirical evidence that microfinance is a great step towards eliminating poverty. I can just tell you what I’ve seen. I’ve seen a woman go from selling candy on the street to having a small grocery story in her home. I’ve seen a person teach themselves how to build inverters on his own because his current income wasn’t enough to support his family. I’ve seen a woman seek out a rare target market, take hold of it, flourish, and work her way up from borrower, to loan officer, to branch manager. I don’t have statistics. With stories like these, I don’t think I need them. That being said, microfinance isn’t perfect. People can be stupid. We are selfish, we are self-centered, we are human. When implemented properly, however, I believe it is an incredibly powerful tool. I am so very excited to continue learning and sharing with you about the work I am doing.

So please, enjoy your holiday. I know I am. I soaked in Seattle as much as I could (lattes, chowder, the Market, walks in the drizzle, as many friends as possible, a WEDDING) and am now cruising the country visiting family in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. I had my wonderful Christmas Eve Swedish dinner, and I’m currently stuffed to the brim with turkey and mashed potatoes. Chicago: I expect good pizza out of you. And of course I’m letting my parents spoil me as much as they would like.

In this season of recognizing the greatest gift of all, how can I use the gifts and privileges God has given me? How can you use yours? As you soak in your many blessings, challenge yourself to bless.

–Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world (1Jn.4:7-14)

Peace be with you.

* Apparently the topic of “being from a fortunate background” comes up in a book called Compassion by a collection of authors including Henri Nouwen. I have not read it (I plan to), but after having this conversation with my good friend Claire, she read me some excerpts and highly recommended it. I trust her opinion, so this is my official pre-having-read-it plug for this book.