Semana Santa

Semana Santa, Easter week, is like the national spring break here. Everything is closed, everybody goes visiting. All stores have been closed since Wed., if they bothered to open this week at all. Schools are out for at least a week, depending on when the students decide to come back, and everyone spent last weekend cleaning furiously, cooking, and stocking up on the groceries that would be unavailable once the vacation started.
Tradtionally everyone heads to the campo, the country pueblos, to visit family and friends, and to get out of the city. This is a big time for going to the beach and the river to swim, so most places that are normally secluded are now teeming with vacationers. Entire quadruple-generation families will load up in a single vehicle, trundle for hours over pothole-ridden roads to get in their campo and beach time.
I myself have been to the river several times with my IT group and also with the fam. This photo is on the way to the river in the campo called La Cuchilla, the knife. The most challenging part of the trip usually proves to be finding an uncrowded section of a CLEAN river, free of trash and “cow dirt.” We were lucky one day to ask César, the toothless gentleman in camo, for directions and he sent us down his driveway to his river-front property. There we passed a glorious day sunning and splashing in the shallow, swift currents. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you I am here not on vacation, but as a volunteer in the “toughest job you’ll ever love.” Really.
Viernes Santo, Good Friday, is the traditional day—for those staying home and playing host to the visiting hordes—for making habichuelas con dulce. That’s right, sweet beans. Sounds questionable, but the creamy mix of blended pinto beans, coconut milk, cinnamon, cloves, raisins, nutmeg and a boatload of sugar is quite a decadent dessert. I prefer it nicely chilled with plenty of those little, sweet crackers that float on the top. this is my doña and my sort-of-sister Criseida stirring the good stuff.

Interestingly, Viernes Santo is also a day of silence for reflection. this means, these days, that no one is allowed to blast music. In this country, that is a big sacrifice. A few of us went walking downtown in the evening and it was very strange to have a quiet street full of people.

this is a photo of us on our pizza night. wahoo! yes, we made homemade pizza, dominican style.