A Dominican Baby Shower

A few weeks ago I went to a baby shower for Kenia, a teacher at ANIJA. I arrived at the baby shower at 6:30pm, the time stated on the invitation. I should have known better. Of course the majority of people didn't arrive until 7 or 7:15pm. For the first hour and a half we played a lot of games. Some games included feeding another person baby food while blind folded, putting a balloon under your shirt, bending down, and trying to untie your shoes, and guessing how many squares of toilet paper fits around Kenia's belly. Throughout the party, food was served three times. It's known that in the Dominican culture, once the food is served, people will leave. So at this party there were 2 or 3 designated food servers that came around while the rest of us remained seated. Lastly, presents were opened after guests had started to leave whereas in the US, presents are one of the main focuses of a baby shower. I felt like I was watching a 5 years birthday party as the women were so excited about what they bought Kenia that they started opening the presents themselves and then showing her. I really enjoyed the party and felt like I have the opportunity to connect with the teachers from ANIJA outside of work.


There were lots of decorations and even a 'diaper cake'!


The mother-to-be, Kenia, and myself.

It took a few tries but I finally got a silly face out of my friend/fellow teacher.

Representing the North Americans at the party were (left to right) Marcie, Erica, Sally, and myself.