Chicken Delivery!

So a lot of things get sold on the streets of the Dominican Republic.  There are fruit trucks, banana guys, and even chicken trucks!  The guy drives the streets of town, and with a loudspeaker blaring announces that he has chickens for sale.  The kids will flag him down and give him money.  In return, he grabs a live chicken from the cage, turns it upside down, and proceeds to drown it in the bucket of water in the back of his truck (You can see part of the metal bucket in this picture).  He then hands the dead chicken to the children who run off and give it to their mother who will then pluck, butcher, and cook it!

This is the view directly across the street
from their house -- a house that is in ruins.

A view down the other side
of the street.

Today's post is mostly about what the area looks like immediately around where Alexa lives.

The house the teacher's live in -- tall
metal bars with a locked gate surround
the building for safety. 

They have a terrace on the second floor of
their home where they hang their laundry
to dry and can sit outside for some
cooler air -- although I hear that it is very
noisy outside with the neighbors playing
music loudly in the evenings, and children
always knocking on their gates and calling
out to them!

Evening view from their 2nd floor terrace.

The view from the 2nd floor facing the other
side of the street. 

 

This is the swampy field directly behind their house.  The big
grey thing in the middle is a wild pig, which has a whole
bunch of babies.  The teachers are forbidden to go back there
due to unsafe conditions, both environmental and personal.

A storefront and some house a bit farther down
the street.

This is their kitchen -- no oven or traditional stove, the green
burners you see on the right are where the cook does
all of her cooking!

The school Alexa is teaching at currently.

And when one is extremely bored, one builds
a veritable skyscraper with popsicle sticks
and elmer's glue!

Alexa's favorite student, Miguel.  He wrote her
a note that says "Miguel and teacher Cat"
(Cat is what the kids call her because they
can't say Kathryn!)

The group went rafting over the weekend.