Day 3: Market Rush

Monday, March 26 

The space is designated for the sale of goods on market days (Mondays and Fridays). The photo was taken on Sunday when the group visited the Hatian border.

In the morning, we knew we were going to the border in time for the opening… but I don’t think we realized how crazy it was going to be! Even before the border opened, the line on the Haiti side was about 20 feet wide and half a mile long. And then when it did open it was like a track meet had begun with people sprinting down to the market place. We were standing at a spot which was (thankfully) out of the way, but also perfectly situated to see the border patrollers perform their jobs. They were poking at bags that looked suspicious and bringing people aside if they needed to. But there couldn’t have been more than 5 patrollers for this entire swarm of people which makes their job very difficult and overwhelming.

We then made our way into the marketplace which was a lot of fun. I’m sure not many Chinese people frequent these markets so everyone was trying to get my attention by yelling “CHINO!” but I digress. They had absolutely everything for sale in this marketplace from pots and pans to bread to fruit to sneakers and clothes. They had pineapples as small as your hand and bananas which were even smaller.

They day prior, I had made a comment at dinner about how all the soldiers had different guns and was encouraged to go up to a soldier and ask. While I think that was more of a joke than anything, I did go up to a soldier in the marketplace and asked why he was only carrying a stick instead of a gun. He said that they weren’t allowed to have guns in the marketplace which surprised me a little bit but it made sense. Their job was to ensure that nothing went terribly wrong in the market and they couldn’t do this job effectively if everybody feared them if they carried guns. Everybody seemed to respect the uniform so this wasn’t an issue.

The gate to the Dominican-Hatian border opened at 8am, bringing in the crowds of men, women, and children looking to sell their goods at the market in Dajabón.

After the market we met up in the park and went to lunch at the same place as yesterday. However, today we saw one of the border patrollers at lunch with us! I asked him if he remembered me and he said “Yeah, you were the guy with the camera.” I guess I stand out. He sat down with us and we asked questions about his job. He told us that he checked bags and containers which looked suspicious and that he was more concerned about drug and firearm trafficking than anything else. When asked about whether or not he thought his job was important he said that he felt a good deal of pride in his job and his role in protecting his country.

Then, somehow, the conversation digressed into Chinese people eating rice and I was challenged to another eating contest which didn’t happen but seemed to be a trip motif for me…

We then took a long bus ride to the Batey Libertad where we passed by very beautiful fields and mountains but it was really hot and I was really tired so I didn’t get many pictures. When we arrived in the community though, we were like instant celebrities. We played soccer, Frisbee, and just ran around in the “Play” which is what they called their soccer field. I was actually slightly shocked on how similar people in the batey were to my community back home; all the little kids were excited and full of energy and the exact same games I play at home I could play here to the same effect.

In the night, the older guys threw us a welcome dance where they played music and we learned to dance a little bit and just in general had a good time. It was here I learned that Julio, from Santiago, had called ahead and the eating competition was already set for the next day. At the time I realized that all of these kids were absolutely enormous and I knew I was in trouble. And now writing this in retrospect, to this I say “Oh goody…” haha but that’s a fun story for a different day.

-Eddie “Arroz con Pollo” Qian ’12

The ladies charged up for the market rush by drinking some Dominican coffee.

All bags, buckets, and baskets of items were carried over the border in wheelbarrows, carts, in arms, or above heads.

A few raindrops fell after we arrived in Batey Libertad, and severl took cover at the Yspaniola House.

Our Dominican friends welcomed us to the batey with a “fiesta,” where we learned to dance merengue, bachata, and a variety of other latin rhythms.