We are one day away from Change!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: I loved it. Junot Diaz's Pulitzer Price winning novel, set in Nueva Yol, it's the story of a Dominican family's origins in Baní, Républica Dominicana, their move to Nueva Yol, and the subsequent years of the heart of the family being in both countries. The text is inlaid with gems of the Caribeño Spanish language and references to sci fi, comic, and gaming culture. What I love about this book is seeing myself, seeing us Latinos, portrayed in such a sincere, unapologetic fashion.

Latinos and the descendants of our diaspora make up a goodly percentage of the people in the world. Diaz and the Pulitzer people made me proud when our culture got to be up in front, and, for once, everyone else had to look it up if their mono-cultural lifestyle led them not to know about Latinos and such because we don't need no stinking badges. When I read a book with foreign-language words in the mix or about places on the map I can't identify, I look it up. It ticks me off that some people would look at Oscar Wao and be so closed-minded as to be pithy about looking up some Spanish or getting hip to a new culture. Does anyone say that when they read Faulkner? No. Act like you got some class, people.

It's just like when I watch 'Ugly Betty' or 'Manny El Tigre:' I'm bursting with joy to see myself positively portrayed in the media and, to paraphrase Michelle Serros, let's see some respect for the 1%.

This is also me, who has read most of the Pulitzer prize winners and the short-listers over the past years.

¡Obámanos! Dominican nationals are watching our elections closely, and several have asked me and Ben if we've voted. They want Obama, but some also say Americans are too rascist to elect a person of color to office! Let's show 'em America. ¡Imagínate! I'm just telling you what these islanders say about us based on that they see in our media and read in our news.

Ben and I voted by fax from the Peace Corps office last Wednesday. Its fun to vote from abroad. I hope that high-speed rail ballot initiative in my state passes. Tomorrow, Benjamín and I are going to get together with all the volunteers on the north coast at the Hub (our north coast hang out in Santiago), and watch the states turn blue and red. Should be a thing to remember, watching from abroad.

Side note: it occurred to me that today that when Dominican taxi drivers and other such talk to me about the presidential election, they really talk about the election like it's Really going to effect them as much as it effects us. Now, that reminds me of what Dominicans say about Puerto Rico.

Every person I've ever asked has said that PR and the DR are the same, except PR gets the infrastructure of the US. I've seen first hand how the US economy and US policy effect the DR. I wonder how many Dominican descendants are serving abroad.