WET Hot Dominican Summer

September 7, 2008
Santo Domingo

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink - unless you want to purify it or get diarrhea, of course. I’ll save the “water-borne diseases” discussion for that special time I hit the Peace Corps tummy trouble rite of passage; for now, I’d like to revel in my good health and roll with the flow of some other wet and wild phenomena.

Riding the DR tide means…

Sweat. As we learned in a lesson about the DR’s physical geography recently, the island’s climate is determined by the interaction of 3 factors: position on the planet, landforms, and movement of moist air (weather/rainfall). Under this framework, the DR is classified as “subtropical.” What does this signify for 51 Americans adjusting to their new environment? Incessant perspiration.

Yes, by this I am talking about sweatiness morning, noon and night. At breakfast, my host mother laughs at my already glistening forehead. Between training sessions, my compañeros and I drink like fish – and by that I don’t mean clinking Presidentes, but rather constantly refilling Nalgene bottles. On the walk home, forget about impressing a cat caller, much less a trainee crush – you’re covered in enough salt to fill Lago Enriquillo (the DR’s only salt lake). Thank god for a good bucket bath and my fan at the end of the day. I may still be sticky when I retire to bed, but I know that these two luxuries might not be as readily accessible when I am sent off into the countryside.

Hurricanes. Another fun fact I’ve acquired through language and cultural study is the fact that the word huracán came from the language spoken by the Taino peoples, the indigenous population who originally inhabited Hispaniola. After being drenched by Gustav and Ike before I’ve even set foot on the beach (need I remind you, I now live on an island), I can definitely believe it. Although the rains have brought power outages, flooding, and more mosquitoes to Santo Domingo, we have been fortunate enough to escape the worst Mother Nature has had to offer. Poor Haiti.

Car Washes. It’s worth closing with the disclaimer that not everything water-related is entirely bad here; in fact, some of it is fun. Just take one of my current wonders about the Dominican world: the Car Wash.

If you think I’m talking about a quick rinse for a dirty jeepeta or carro público, think again; something as common as a place to clean your vehicle would not excite my entrepreneurial spirit nor move my two left feet. What I am referring to here is a location on the forefront of multipurpose facilities – a carwash by day and a discoteca by night. From my gringa perspective, it’s both utterly brilliant and completely ridiculous. To the local, it’s just another feature of a city neighborhood.

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My first meringues in an auto joint, jogs in a tropical storm, and interactions as “that stinky foreigner” have wet my appetite for the adventures to come. Now if I can only find the time and sun to make it to the seashore…