Walking the Walk

Language and culture are intricately intertwined. I'm "Advanced Low" when it comes to Spanish ability according to the placement test I took, but becoming dominicana is about walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

Sometimes, becoming a student of Dominican culture means discussing questions from a booklet called "To Investigate." Compiled by a former missionary, it introduces 38 wide-ranging topics (Social Interaction, Slang and Informality, Body Language, and The Fine Arts, to name a few). Other times, like last Thursday, we hit the town!

Our plan to start off at the cathedral was interrupted by a funeral; a leading member of the chief political party had died suddenly of a heart attack. The president was on hand for the occasion. 

Plan B was the nearby Palacio Consistorial, a two story building with a display of Carnaval mannequins and masks on the first floor and an art exhibition on the second. Pictured is a traditional character known as "roba la gallina" (steal the hen): a man dressed as a woman who, according to folklore, tried to hide his loot under the skirt's plentiful folds.  

My orientation cohort + our Spanish teachers + Jamielynn. 

The prizewinning mask in a design contest for strictly artistic ones (aka not actually worn). 

View of the cathedral from the 2nd floor balcony of the Palacio Consistorial. 

We were able to visit the cathedral once the funeral had ended and all of the dignitaries had cleared the area, even though a crew was still loading up the last of the flower arrangements. The altarpiece features Mary holding an infant Jesus at the top; the more prominent figure in the center is, of course, St. James (Santiago). 

It's very common here to envision Jesus as the pobrecito: a helpless babe or wounded and beaten on His way to the cross. Fifteen paintings that circle the nave trace our Savior's route to Golgotha, never picturing the glorious resurrection that follows. The two largest images are Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (above) and, opposite that, the Transfiguration. 

Me with Jacqui and Sandra, our two Spanish teachers, at lunch. 

We made two other drive-by stops after lunch, one that I am unbelievably excited to go back and explore at leisure and will tell you about once I have, and one at the monument. I'm looking forward to continuing my cultural education via ongoing outings with Jacqui in lieu of classroom Spanish instruction once the formal orientation period has ended. Gotta be prepared for all of the questions you're going to ask me when you come visit or bring a short-term team!

Until next time, blessings!