why I chose my name

in the dominican republic, the earth is composed of layers: about two inches max of loose soil, and then solid clay until you hit either bedrock or water--or both. on thursday, towards the end of a week of digging, I swung my pick full strength into a hidden rock. that hurt. for a while, I kept on digging, but soon I could no longer persuade myself that this was just a passing ache in my back. I had seriously pulled something out. climbing out of my hole, I went to sit in the only shade near: the canopy over the water cooler. a large, flat stone had been set in the center of the shade, and I sat on it to watch the workers and try not to think of the pain in my back or the mental pain that came from sitting and seeing others work while I was unoccupied. a few minutes later, one of the younger workers came to get a drink of water. leaning on his pick handle, he sipped his water unhurriedly. we chatted a little; he grinned at my faltering attempts at his language. then he called to someone, "¡Jeyurus! ¡Aquí! ¡Un pico para tú!" (translation: Jeyurus! here! a pick axe for you!)

Jeyurus came from where he had been standing idle at the edge of a hole, and they began to converse quietly. Jeyurus said he had been working hard, while this lazy clod had been chatting with girls. Just one girl, the other boy said. Still, Jeyurus scolded, there was work to do, and here he sat as if he were a male celebrity and had a right to all the girls in the world. She's very nice to talk to, the male celebrity wanna-be said quietly, grinning, dropping his pick and sitting down. Jeyurus sat down too, and asked me for a cup of water.

after ten minutes, I was surrounded by about eight guys, ranging from twelve to twenty-one years of age. after eleven minutes, my spanish vocabulary ran out. we sat there, me looking at my fingernails, them looking at me. after twelve minutes, I said in english, "this is awkward." several of them imitated me, "dis is ahkwahd," and laughed. sighing, and muttering an uncomplimentary generalization about boys, I reached for a plastic cup and said, "mira." all their eyes turned from my face to my hands--a welcome relief. I showed them a hand clapping game with the cup, moving quickly to impress them. "aahhh," they said. I did it more slowly, then grabbed another cup and shoved it at the male celebrity wanna-be. "tú," I said. "mira." I did it slowly, and he copied my movements. again, then again, and he got it. I offered the cup to Jeyurus, and he shook his head. I set it down in front of Israel--the twenty-one year old, the one who quickly found out how to annoy me. he shook his head. "tienes miedo," I told him, smirking. (translation: you're scared.) I had also found out how to annoy him. he grabbed the cup immediately, set it on a flat surface, and watched my hands intently.

the other boys were impressed. nobody told Israel that he was a coward. this chica americana had manipulative power. "es una profesora," the male celebrity wanna-be crowed. "sí, la profesora," Israel echoed, a slightly mocking tone to his voice. then, he stopped trying to learn and stared at my face, the smirk now on his face. "estás un estudiante muy malo," I told him. "sí, estoy un estudiante muy malo," he replied. (translation: you are/I am a very bad student) I finally taught him the game, and once he learned it well enough that the other boys stopped laughing at him, he began to think that, just maybe, this stupid game was actually fun.

Maximo, one of the few locals who spoke english, came over. "Ana," he said in english, "we need our young men to work." he was smiling. "I know you have hurt your back, but if you get in the hole, then say you are in pain, they will get in and work very hard, and that would be a very good thing."

"okay," I agreed, standing up and walking away from my dismayed students. taking a pick, I hopped into a hole, swung, and let out a small yelp. "¡mi espalda!" (translation: my back!) Jeyurus was beside me in an instant, taking the pick, and I looked up to see the others clustered around the hole. Israel pulled me out and asked if I was alright. "yes," I told him in spanish. "now go work."

"sí, profesora," he said.

friday night, everyone of them came to say goodbye. "adios, profesora," they said. "regrese por favor."