Saying "Si"

Without going into too much detail, I've been suffering from some stomach trouble for the past 36 hours. We were warned of this by our doctors and our friends; although I've done the best I can to not drink the water and not eat anything too adventurous, it was bound to happen at some point. As a result, I've been pretty cranky.

I woke up this morning unable to fathom going to school; Spanish seemed too hard, and school seemed too far, and I had a pounding heading that was certainly symptomatic of my dehydration. I stayed in bed and tried to sleep while Alexis and Maggie went off to school. However, the noise of the road and my natural restlessness forced me out of bed in the late morning. I decided that even though I couldn't really imagine myself taking in much Spanish, I really couldn't waste an entire day in bed, sick or not. So I dressed. I walked myself to school, warming up my brain in Spanish to try to prepare for class. When I arrived, I was greeted by a private tutor, who took me into a small classroom and began to speak to me. I emphasize speak to me rather than with me, because my brain couldn't process anything. When she first greeted me, I needed everything slowed down and I explained I had been sick and would need extra time to think. Patient and warm, she agreed to go slow, asked me about my ailments and then began the conversation questions.

"What do you think is the difference between the Latino family and the European family?"
"What do you think is the difference between Latino youth and European youth?"
"What do you think about single mothers? Are their lives hard?"
"Should women work equally as men?"

And so today, apparently, was large sweeping generalizations day at our school.  While there's certainly merits in discussing cultural differences, I was uncomfortable (and not just because of my stomach). I'm not sure if the nuanced ways to discuss these matters are impossible with such low-level Spanish, or if there's an agenda of answers that the teachers expect from us, or if it's just that these conversations never feel like they can create a deeper level of cultural understanding (perhaps it is all of them).

But I stuck it out, trying to stick as closely to my beliefs and explain them as well as I could while also trying to keep my stomach in check. The further into the conversation I got, the more exhausted I felt. My teacher would patiently repeat a question, try it in a new way, and eventually I'd stumble through an answer. It felt like I had taken three steps forward and nine steps back. By the end of class, I was just ready to be done.

Before we left, my teacher asked me a question and I couldn't understand. She gestured to my stomach, and I nodded and said, "Si." I didn't know what she was asking but I thought that she was asking me how I was feeling. Before I could respond, she held her hands up towards the sky and began to pray aloud. "In the name of our father....May Jesus Christ bless this young woman, Katharine, and relieve her of her pain..." And so she continued for a minute. I sat there silently, trying to show respect, but feeling a little shock. I had agreed to it, not knowing what I had said "Si" to, but a lesson was learned: it never hurts to clarify a question. The teacher's warmth and generosity did make me feel cared for, though, and so this "si" brought with it surprise but also gratefulness that someone so new to me could care.

After an hour break, I said my second, "Si" for the day. I was feeling exhausted and couldn't imagine going on an excursion, or even leaving our block. But encouraged by the others, I made myself go. It was the best "Si" I said all day. With one of our teachers, we went to Los Tres Ojos, which are a part of a national park located inside Santo Domingo. The three eyes are actually lakes, deep underground in caves. Although the name implies that there are three, there's a fourth that is perhaps the most beautiful of all but can only be reached by "boat." (I put boat here in quotations because it was more of a wooden raft that a man pulled across a lake and into a cave via a set of ropes....even my teacher put the word boat in quotes!) We went to each lake, where we discussed the origin of the lake's name, and avoided aggressive but friendly men who were trying to sell us tours and necklaces. I wish that I had the words to describe the beauty of these underground, inside cave lakes. The stunning blue of the water, the spotting of turtles and tilapia, the echoes of tourists gasping in awe, but I don't....Los Tres Ojos really just has to be seen. Below, a few pictures.