When I entered the gates, I felt like I stepped into a game show. TVs, microwaves, coffee makers, and other appliances lined the porch of the small breakroom house adjacent to the three-story workshop. Green and red balloons flooded the lawn, and Christmas music blared. I was so ready for the workshop Christmas party!
Wanda (the workshop manager) led the charge as MC, and she raised the energy exponentially. All 60 of the workshop women were there, ready to celebrate Christmas but also another year of hard work. This was their opportunity to be fully celebrated, and New Hope Girls pulled out all the stops.
We began the party with a message about Christmas, complete with a storybook reading from Joy and Ada. I was tasked with taking videos and iPhone pictures for the event, so I scanned for the best angles. I saw the contented faces of the women. Their unfiltered anticipation for the event brought me a lot of joy to witness.
After playing some fun games, the raffle began, and those women perked up! Fina (the residential caregiver in the home I live in) was gunning for the microwave. She got it! Two TVs were given out, and Vidal (Joy’s husband) announced one of the winners. Everyone rallied around this woman, cheering her on all the way to the porch steps. She fought back the tears at the extravagance of the gift—that’s when I realized this one wasn’t pure luck of the draw. I asked about this after, and Joy explained how everyone knew what she wanted for Christmas—and Vidal was determined to make it happen, even if it came out of his own pocket. He made it happen under the radar, but when they hugged on stage, I think she knew who to thank. Nothing looked more like Christmas to me than that moment.
“That night, she invited her whole neighborhood over to enjoy the TV. The kids were lining up in the small doorway!”
Graciously give and humbly receive.
the workshop Christmas party
The next day, I helped sell bags at an “Americans in the DR” Christmas party at the home of one of Joy’s friends. There are not many ex-pats in this part of the country, so it was great to be invited into another American/Dominican household. The hosts were on the board of a local American school. So, some of the teachers came over…since the other New Hope interns left in August, this was the first time I could talk to someone in my position (and in English, lol).
Over the months, I imagined my experience as very singular. As in, I am one-of-one, alone but standing tall. It’s an empowering stance. It can also be an isolating one, especially because it’s not entirely true. Meeting these teachers helped me see myself with a clearer lens. All this to say, that evening’s small talk made me feel less alone while also shrinking some leftover pride before it could callous into hardness of heart.
It was an important evening as well because it showed me an alternative life. Living in America for the rest of my life simply because I am American is not the only possibility for a happy life worth living. There were young, single women there like myself; there were families with younger children and older single mothers as well. I’m at the age where my definitive lifestyle is not yet permanent. I have options. Global ones, even.
I consider myself quite lucky for many reasons, but one of the more unique reasons is that I have been exposed to culturally different lifestyles in their native space—A luxury that not many women my age experience or consider necessary to explore. However, now that I have experienced it firsthand, I advise any and all to introduce themselves to a period of cultural immersion outside their home.
I am not the only one.
The finale to my summertime Christmas is, of course, Christmas at la casa universidad. On December 18th, 2024, my three roommates, Fina, and I costume changed into matching floral pajamas, listened to English and Spanish Christmas music, and absolutely feasted. Fina prepared mangú con jamon, queso, y cabellos. Un pollo grande. Pan. Dulce de leche y más.
We danced the merangue y salsa. We sang and opened presents. We expressed what we were thankful for. I said “¡La experiencia de estar con ustedes. Todos ustedes son mis amigos hasta el final!”
The experience of being with you. You all are my friends to the end!
¡Feliz Navidad!
us at the Christmas festival with Dominican santa