Last night, we all had an interview with one of the local radio DJs. He asked us about the Peace Corps, our views of the culture, and what we missed from home. It was sooooo nerve racking. I haven´t been that scared of speaking in a long time. First we had to figure out what exactly he was asking us, and then try to spit out a bit of Spanish that made some sense. I botched one question. I thought that asked what was strange in this country `Que es extraño`, when they were actually asking what I missed about my home ¨Que te exrañas¨. See how I was easily confused! Ay Dios Mio. Anyways I talked about how strange the public transportation system is here, all the guaguas and motoconchos, and how I had my own car in the states. So it came out as I missed my car and didn´t like to walk. Typical American! It was fun and something new though. The picture attached is of Chris, Janet and Cristian, the DJ. (Cristian is also my newest dancing buddy.)
A little about the social life here in El Seibo and the DR in general. Coming from a free life style in the states, some of the cultural norms between men and women here have been very challenging to accept. The machismo here is quite fuerte and this creates some unwritten rules women need to follow to keep themselves out of trouble.
If a woman wants to go out with her girlfriends, it is recommended that a man always accompanies them. If there isn´t a man around, other men will generally view these ladies as a free for all and it will be hard to keep the guys away.
It´s also not wise to accept any drinks from strangers. The 1st drink means they can sit with you, the 2nd means they can dance “pegado” stuck together, and the 3rd means your going home with the guy.
If you go out with guys to a bar, that basically means you´re only dancing with those guys all night long. If by chance another muchacho approaches the table to ask one of the ladies to dance, out of respect, he must first ask one of the guys at the table if he could have that dance with whichever girl. Then, if the guy at the table thinks it okay, he will ask the girl if she would like to dance with this muchacho.
It is not ok for a girl to ask a guy to dance, this of coarse would mean that you want something more than just a dance. Yes, this is frustrating for me. If we have only a few guys in my group, I end up spending much of my night dancing and wiggling in my chair.
On this same note, a lady cannot invite a man into her house if she is alone, even if it is for only 10 minutes, without rumors flying around the entire town that they are doing the hanky panky. Even worse, the man might expect this from the simple invite into the house.
So, us ladies just have to play it safe and smart siempre.
