Cat-calls and Pregnancy

I've grown accustomed to the random cat-calls I hear while walking along the streets in Santo Domingo. The yells usually come from middle aged men and are either one of a few rather obvious options: "americana" or "gringa" or "linda" or just the general hissing noise that I personally think is the option for the cowardly. The men who hiss are looking for you to be the first to look over at them, and then they say something or flash some weird smile your direction.

After living here for two years, I'm used to it. I hardly even hear their forward remarks anymore, but when I do, I just try to hold my head high and remind myself of how thankful I am that the other 27 years of my life I didn't have to put up with it.

All of that said, yesterday I had to take a longer walk to the grocery store. Mark had left his backpack at the "bag check" the night before and took the car to to visit a church that morning, so I took my pregnant body and wobbled my way on foot to go pick it up. I was actually looking forward to the walk, since it is a tree-shaded part of town with well-painted houses and generally, it's safe during the day.

About half way to the grocery store, I noticed that no one had been hissing at me. I'm talking NO ONE... and I had passed about 25 men en route already. Immediately I thought I must look really, really bad today to not even get one hiss (ha!) but then I remembered (how could I have forgotton?) that I was pregnant.

Generally speaking, culturally, pregnant women are respected and honored here. I go to the front of the line in the bank, motorcycles stop, random strangers smile and ask me if it's a boy or girl, chairs are "given up" even from the elderly, and in general, I'm treated really, really well. It has been a cool experience.

So for the rest of my walk, I administered a little test. Was my theory -- that I wouldn't received one hiss on my way back home -- going to be proved as accurate? Each man I passed, I waited to see if a hiss was going to come my way... and block after block, man after man, I didn't receive one reaction.

Granted, they looked my way, because I was the most pregnant white woman they had probably ever seen and couldn't miss me, but didn't make a noise. :)