Interview with an elder
Interview with an Elder
Ashley Hernandez
Undina is 73 years old. She was born in 1937. She is fluent in Spanish and has allowed her words to be translated. She is the mother of 12 children and has been kind enough to share her earlier years while being raised in the Dominican Republic with me for this interview. She used to live in a remote part of the country side. She was of course one of the more wealthy residents and so knows little about the worker’s toil.
Food:
- Farmers could feed their families and didn’t have to process their foods like today.
Water:
- The water was fetched from a well and or the river.
- They’d cool things off with cold river water.
- They did in fact conserve water. For example they would reuse rice water to wash off other vegetables. And they’d do all their laundry using one bucket of water.
- The whole family would reuse the tub water: first the oldest then the youngest.
Energy:
- Gas lamps were widely used.
- Later on gas wasn’t only used for lighting but for other appliances like refrigerating
- The sun was also used as a source of energy. They’d dry meat in order to store it. But everyone would make enough food for everyone. They wouldn’t cook to have leftovers.
