6 episodes
El Cuerpo de Cuentos El Cuerpo de Cuentos
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 5 Ratings
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Podcast by El Cuerpo de Cuentos
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Ep22 Close of Service (Home)
This is the final episode of El Cuerpo de Cuentos. Kevin and I discuss our Close of Service experiences, reflect on our time with the United States Peace Corps, and talk a bit about what's in store for our immediate future.
I want to thank all my listeners and supporters, especially my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and my friends and family. I couldn't have done any of this without you, and I wouldn't have wanted to.
Pic: A Peace Corps lapel pin, featuring the US and Dominican flags, a little memento of service. -
Ep21 Our new selves beginning to take form
For this episode, I’m handing the mic over to Jordan, who's currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Monte Plata region of the Dominican Republic.
This is a recording of Jordan reading her poem that perfectly captures the Peace Corps experience in the Dominican Republic. I imagine that much of it also rings true for anyone that's lived outside of their home country and culture for a few years.
You can read more of Jordan’s writing on her blog Development of Self: A Peace Corps Story: https://jordanmathewspeacecorps.wordpress.com/ -
Ep20 Missing home for the holidays
It’s been difficult being away from our friends, family, and our home culture for nearly 2 years, and the holidays can be especially challenging. Kevin and I spent Christmas 2016 and Christmas 2017 in our community, and I’m not going to lie: They were both disappointing.
This episode is my conversation with Kevin about what it was like being in site for Christmas and New Year's this past year
The pic: Neutral Santa, made by an amiguita of PCV Sarah Cook. -
Ep19 (How) I get around
Buses, horses, motorcycles, and more! This episode is about all the ways to get from point A to point B in the Dominican Republic. A few fellow Peace Corps Volunteers also share their stories of (mis)adventures on public transportation in-country.
The pic: A well-maintained guagua in my local big city. -
Ep18 School daze
Like me, Dave's official title as a Peace Corps Volunteer is Primary Literacy Promoter. But unlike me, Dave's actually a professional teacher.
In this episode, Dave and I talk about the public education system in the Dominican Republic and what it's like being an Education Volunteer here.
The pic: A student follows the ABCaterpillar PCV Sarah Cook painted in her school's courtyard. -
Ep17 Environmental issues
Within about an hour on the island of Hispaniola, you can drive from a high elevation pine forest, through a semi-desert arid plain, and into an ocean mangrove forest. This range of geodiversity allows for a high rate of biodiversity.
To learn about the ecology and environmental situation, I talked to Tim. Tim’s been on the island and affiliated with the Peace Corps for over 30 years. He first came to the Dominican Republic as an Environment Volunteer and is now the Peace Corps In-country Training Director. In this conversation, we talk about the increasingly delicate ecosystems of Hispaniola and speculate about future environmental threats here. Tim also shares a story about how a grassroots campaign that started with a Peace Corps project helped stop a mining operation that had potential for large scale contamination here in the Dominican Republic.
Customer Reviews
Something to think about
Excellent work on the podcast. I think what I enjoy about it the most is how you incorporate the elments of daily life in your podcast instead of trying to sanitize it. This really helps a listener imagine themselves there. Also, the topics you cover are interesting to consider like how you obtain water and the food was something I didn't think about before. Keep up the good work!
Interesting!
The Money episodes are very interesting. Love the background chickens.
Great Podcast
Hi,
My name is Tomas. I'm a Dominican living in the U.S. and I really enjoy hearing about you discovering my culture through the perspective of Americans. I guess it must be because it's kind of sort of like a Yin-Yang of when I moved to the States and had to understand and adapt to American Culture. It's also pretty cool to hear about so many things that grab your attention that I suppose I had taken for granted about us Dominicans, and realizing how shocking or different they must look to foreigners.
I just have a few things to note:
1) The word you were looking for when referring to everyone pitching in money for a common goal was "Serrucho". Which literally translates to "Saw" as in the tool. Why do we call it that? I have no idea.
2) There is what Dominicans would call a "Typical Dominican Outfit" or "Traje Típico". But it's not so "Typical". You won't see people walking down the street wearing it. But it's worn by performers during cultural festivals. Just google "Traje Tipico Dominicano" if you want to get a sense of what it looks like.
3) As far as restaurants, it took me a second to realize that you're actually right. There isn't that many (if any) in remote "Campo" locations. Particularly, in "la zona fronteriza". This becomes less true as you go towards the North and East areas of the country, with towns and cities like Puerto Plata, Santiago, Moca, La Vega, San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, Higüey and obviously Santo Domingo having a lot of restaurant options. Not aimed for tourists, but for regular dominicans.
4) Just as a side note. Rep. Dom. has huge variation when it comes to economic and social status. The boundaries between classes vary by a lot from place to place. I grew up in a Middle Class family in San Pedro de Macoris. There, motoconchos were usually considered to be very poor, and teachers would constantly complain and protest about how underpaid they were. That is, because, just like in the States, cost of living would be much higher in more developed towns. I'm not saying that your observations are not true, they are completely accurate in remote campo communities, but just keep in mind that the "averages" do vary a lot from one place to the other and that the same "rules" are not applicable throughout the whole country.
Anyway, like I said: Love the Podcast. Great work, and keep them coming!