Strolling Through Los Ciruelos
Scott and I took an evening walk in Los Ciruelos, our neighborhood in the Dominican Republic. Deciding to pay attention to the things around us, we stepped through our gate and onto the street with our phones in hand ready to capture this community of ours.
We walked primarily on the street because the sidewalks are not consistent and oftentimes are not a solid, safe surface. The streets are busy - motos whipping past us, people walking, cleaning, and visiting with one another. When cars go past us, we usually have to step to the side to wait for them to pass because the streets are narrow in many spots. The photo on the left is what our neighborhood looks like as you enter into it. I am obsessed with the different colors on the homes - vibrant, beautiful colors that tell a story of the person living in the home. During our walk I am reminded that Scott has done a much better job than I have at getting to know our neighbors. He ran into more than one person that he knew by name!
When I am in a new place, I am drawn to the plants and flowers. Life and beauty can be found regardless of where you are if you just stop to see it. As we were walking, we looked up and above our heads were these great big avocados. I am a fan of guacamole and a great big slice of avocado on my salad or sandwich. They are gorgeous, huge and plentiful. Look at the vibrant colors of the flowers shouting at you to take notice! On the opposite side of the road, I saw the succulents growing tall creating a border wall for a yard. As I stopped to take a picture, I saw the trash. Trash in the midst of the beauty or is it beauty in the midst of the trash? I hesitated before I took the picture because of the trash, but the reality is, the trash is everywhere and it has been something that we have had to reconcile in our American minds. We have trash service, but it is hit or miss and doesn’t follow a regular pick up schedule in our neighborhood. You have to know the truck in down the street and drag your trash can to it. There is SO much trash burning in our neighborhood as well. But the truth is, there is just trash on the side of the road. It is what it is, with no real explanation.
In our neighborhood, we passed a handful of businesses. Of course there is our favorite colmado that Mary owns. Scott and the girls stop here several times a week to pick up snacks. Many of our friends buy their food from a colmado - eggs, rice, meat, cheese, fruit, and the list goes on. You buy what you need for that meal and go home and cook. She also sells the botellones that provide clean drinking water. Our family uses 4 to 5 botellones a week and they only cost 40 pesos per bottle (about 80 cents each). The Loteka and Banca buildings are places to buy lottery tickets. We are always amazed at how many people stop and purchase a lottery ticket hoping for easy money. Walking down one of the streets, we look up and see the cutest little hair salon. It has pink curtains and is definitely feminine. A place to get your hair washed, cut, styled, or braided. A little further down the street, we pass another salon.
The public school for our neighborhood is just a few doors down from our house. In fact when Scott gives directions to our home (because we don’t have an address), he tells them to turn by the “escuela”. The green gate is closed because school is closed, but Scott was tall enough to get a picture of the inside. The libreria is a small store that sells school supplies for the students. Near the school is a basketball court. A group of older teens and young men play basketball here every morning and in the evenings. The noises from the games can be heard from our home.
In our neighborhoods in Texas, we would see dogs, cats, squirrels, and the random opossum. On a daily basis we encounter cows, horses, chickens, dogs, and cats. They walk the streets leaving a mess behind! I keep asking Scott if I can have a baby cow or some chickens, but he has remained steadfast in his “no”, so I will make do with the farm that wanders our streets. Outside one of the colmados we caught a peek of two pigs destined for the dinner table. Seriously not something we saw on our evening walks a year ago!
Uniformity of wooden fences in the planned developments we have lived in has given me a whole new appreciation for the beauty that is found in different. Many of the homes have fences - you want to create a boundary to protect what is yours but what you really want is to keep the animals out! Some fences are made from scrap wood or metal. Other fences are concrete and contain decorative details along with their practicality. By far the most common fence is the stick and barbed wire fence. Use what you have access to and get the job done!
Who needs satellite when you have cows being herded multiple times a day up and down the street. They go from where they “live” to a pasture for feeding. Big, momma cows are usually herded together and the baby calves go out separately. We LOVE the calves. Sometimes one cow will go rogue and head for the yard, but mostly they listen to their owner who calls them all by name. Our dog, Sandy, is not a fan of cows and as soon as she can hear the whistle and calling she begins to bark. Every single time! If you are driving, you just stop and wait. If you are riding a moto, you slow down and ease past the herd because you don’t want to frighten them. I think it is just a matter of time until I buy a calf - I need one!
We passed multiple shells of homes or apartment buildings. Some are just being built and some are deteriorating. Most people build as they have money so seeing partial builds is common. There are many who began building but will not be able to finish because there is no money - life has changed. Today on the walk, I wondered about the people building the homes. Where are they? Will they be able to finish? Are all of their hopes and dreams sitting there as an empty shell? Do they come visit and walk around and dream? Or is the shell a reminder of the inability to build - the jobless, the death, the unexpected? Each unfinished home has a story and I want to know the story. The picture on the far right is one of the homes that clearly has been there for a long time. We pass this one all the time because it is just a few doors down. The only real question I have is why in the world is there a car inside of it and how did it get there?
We chose Los Ciruelos for a few reasons. The first reason is that it is near the Makarios House where our teams stay (about 5-6 houses away). Short term mission teams mean a lot to us because they are why we are here. It is why we have a passion and desire to serve in other countries. The MAK House is normally a place of activity, laughter, and life change. As we peeked through the gate, it was just a sad reminder that COVID pressed pause on our teams and the house just seems a little sad. What we didn’t know at the time we began renting our house is that our friend Jacque would end up renting an apartment between us and the MAK House. In the picture on the top right is our friend Jacque’s apartment (she lives in the back building). Jacque is my person - the one who is in charge of the girls if something happens to us. The one I call when I need help. The one I laugh with and the one who fully understands what it means to leave children behind. The bottom two pictures are our house. Scott visited the DR at least a dozen times prior to our move and as the guaguas (vans) drove past this house on the way to the MAK House, he would tell everyone that if we ever moved to the DR, this is the house we wanted to live in. It screamed his name. Beckoning him with the bright yellow color and amazing yard. It has been our safe place where the girls can run around with our dog Sandy. We have the most amazing landlady and the neighbors take care of us. Our transition has been so good and a big reason for that is this house feels like home - not just for us, but for those who sit on our couch or gather around our table and visit with us. This home gave us a community, the community of Los Ciruelos.
As I type these words, the same phrase keeps running through my head. This home has given us a community, but what have we given back to this community. I cannot say with certainty that we have given back very much yet, but I do know that they deserve the very best that we can give. So as the first year in the DR comes to a close, we will make the commitment for year two to find ways to give back to the place that has given us so much.