Dominican Republic Pictures!

I took over 500 pictures while we were in the DR! For those of you who just want a small taste of our experiences, here is a short slideshow.

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Santo Domingo, here we come!

Wow! We have been so busy over the last two days that I don't even know where to begin. Here are some of the highlights...

• On Sunday, we were invited to attend a church service at La Anunciacion. While an Episcopal service here has the same format, in practice it is much more relaxed. The most noteworthy part was greeting each other. As we observed our students greeting every individual in the (admittedly small) congregation, wishing each other "la paz," we reached a whole new understanding of the meaning of service. It was beautiful to watch.
• Ellen Snow and Padre Salvadaor were kind enough to organize a tour of the Centro Leon and the Monumento. The Centro Leon is essentially an art museum, that had a fantastic exhibit of the artwork of Wilfredo Garcia, who specializes in capturing life in the Dominican Republic. The Monumento (whose full name is Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration of the Republic) was built by Trujillo but renamed after his fall from power. It offers panoramic views of the city of Santiago. The kids spent about twenty minutes up there trying (unsuccessfully) to find our hotel in the maze of the city.
• On Sunday night, we hosted a barbecue for the congregation and some of their friends. The grill was a converted Texaco oil barrel. (Does Texaco even exist any more?) We were absolutely blown away by how delicious the food was. I guess it really is unnecessary to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy gas grill---but, regardless, you won't see me giving mine up any time soon! After dinner, our students learned the bachata and the merengue from our Dominican guests, and taught them how to bounce around to the infamous "Numa Numa" song. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, google it and click on the YouTube video. This video has been viewed around the world, and, for better or for worse, now it is a sensation in Santiago.)

Everyone is very excited to finish our project today and head to Santo Domingo this afternoon. We will be staying right in the heart of old Santo Domingo - the oldest European city in the Western Hemisphere! Look for a post on our experiences there when we return to the states on Thursday.

Adios!

From a new fan of Juan Luis Guerra....

Yesterday we all had the opportunity to attend church at La Anunciacion, visit La Monumento and the Centro Leon, and host a barbecue for some church members and friends. Here are the highlights:

• JB and I agreed that what struck us the most about the church service was the "peace be with you" portion. Everybody in the (admittedly small) congregation made personal contact with everyone else. Our kids were up in the aisles extending hands of friendship towards the Dominicans, and vice versa. It really brought tears to our eyes.


• Congratulations to Alec Morris and Richard Weiner, who both did readings in Spanish during the service! I'm so proud of these kids!

You can't paint over a cockroach.

The title of my blog is one of the many things that I have learned so far in the Dominican Republic. Here are some more:

• Contrary to popular opinion, the whole world doesn't hate us. (us being Americans) Yesterday a child of about twelve years old proudly held up a handwritten sign that said "I love USA" After all, if kids echo their parents opinions, it must mean that we're at least doing something right!
• You don't have to have a lot of "stuff" to have fun. These kids have next to nothing, and they are arguably more joyful and vivacious than many privileged children.
• The opposite of "anthrax" is "anti-virus." (courtesy of Catchphrase during our group bonding game night)
• You can get through most conversations in a foreign language by nodding and saying the equivalent of "yes." However, when this doesn't work, it goes very badly.
• Sweet plantains and rice go with everything. Also, Dominicans add a heaping teaspoon of sugar for every teaspoon of coffee. And somehow this tastes outstanding.
• We shouldn't take for granted the cleanliness of our schools and our streets. The streets here are literally covered with trash, and the schools are filthy by our standards. Note the title of this blog. I am somewhat abashed to admit that I had to call JB to kill the cockroach, but I did not actually consider painting over it.**
• I can't wait to do this trip again next year!

Tomorrow we will go to mass, tour Santiago, and host a barbecue for some of the schoolchildren. Check back in for more of our adventures!

Hasta Manana!

**Okay, I'll admit it crossed my mind.

How to play ball like a Dominican

Today was our first day as manual laborers/cultural ambassadors for the faculty and students at La Anunciacion. I find myself struggling to describe the feeling of camaraderie that we all experienced in our first day here. As we entered the schoolyard, we found ourselves literally mobbed by children begging for our autographs, dragging us to play a mysterious game that seems to combine red rover and tag, and generally wanting to befriend us. It was amazing to see our students playing a game of pickup basketball with their Dominican counterparts, using a combination of Spanish, English, and sign language to communicate. I hope to post pictures in a couple days so that you can even begin to share the joy that emanates from these children.

On another note, we accomplished quite a bit of painting as well. The learning facilities here are minimal at best, as my photos will show. During our evening reflection, I asked students to respond to the prompt, "If I could buy anything for the children we met today, I would buy..." The responses ranged from basketballs to new desks to whiteboards - things we consider disposable. I hope that what we see on this trip will help our students to appreciate the abundance that we are blessed with, and also motivate them to contribute their time and resources to help others at every opportunity.

There is so much more to share, but this laptop's battery is forcing me to close early. More to come...

PS - Please ignore any grammatical/spelling errors. I don't have time to proofread!

And we're off!

Today "El Equipo RD" (Team Dominican Republic) left Saint Stephen's Episcopal School for a week-long adventure in Santiago and Santo Domingo. We are all very excited for the inaugural voyage of the community service/Spanish immersion trip launched this year by myself and the indefatigable JB Wolcott. As I compose this in Tampa Airport, I am looking forward to a fantastic, eye-opening week of service, cultural immersion, and fun! We have a wonderful group of students who are ready to take on any challenge. Follow my blog over the next week for text updates ... pictures will have to wait for our return to the states.

Hasta Manana! (or perhaps until later today...)