Dominican Republic Slideshow 2010

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Caption Contest!

Today was our last day in the Dominican Republic, and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing our experiences. Stay tuned for a slide show of highlights from the whole trip. Until then, I propose a contest! The image below is from an advertisement on the side of the highway in Santo Domingo. Post a caption for the ad in the comments section. The best caption will win a prize!

Santo Domingo: Day 1

What did we do today, you ask? The better question is, "What didn't we do today?"!!
In the morning, we visited the Acuario Nacional, where the highlight, ironically, was the iguana display. There were also stunning views of the Carribbean Sea, marred only by the omnipresent floating islands of trash.

After a brief siesta, we took a tour of historic Santo Domingo, including the Cathedral de las Americas, the oldest cathedral in the Americas. My favorite part (and something I missed last year) was a cross that was blessed by Pope John Paul II. Our tour guide explained that, instead of confession, Dominicans place their hands on the cross to purify themselves of their sins.

The highlight of the day was dinner at El Conuco, which was our first meal in Santo Domingo that could compete with Lazaros home-cooked dinners. Both the food and the music were fantastic, and our students particularly enjoyed the merengue demonstration. I'm going to try to post the video here! As Mark Kurlansky says in his new book on the DR, The Eastern Stars, "Things you cannot do while listening to merengue: reflect, stand still, be sad."

Adios, Santiago!

After our barbecue / dance party last night, the students were feeling particularly reluctant this morning to leave their new friends. Today was our last day at La Anunciacion - a day filled with tearful goodbyes and promises to return next year. (Para una mes! says Padre Almonte) Always one to think ahead, JB had brought several children's books for us to share with the little ones. I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical that those little Dominican balls of energy could sit still long enough to listen to a story, but they absolutely proved me wrong... check out the wonderful photos!

Tonight we arrived in Santo Domingo and took advantage of our first opportunity to wander around the Zona Colonial. Tomorrow: Acuario Nacional and a historical tour of the city. We have two exciting, full days of touring ahead of us, so it's time to say Buenos noches a todos!

Today in Pictures

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Exploring Santiago

Today was a wonderful, full day of work and play. We worked in the church today, putting on a fresh coat of paint that truly brightens the space. Each day, we are becoming more efficient and learning to work better as a team. I am also hearing more and more Spanish from the students each day, not only with the Dominican students, but amongst themselves as well! After another fabulous lunch of traditional Dominican fare, we left to explore Santiago. The tour of the Centro Leon brought a host of new experiences. We watched cigar rollers in the factory, learned about African and Spanish influences on Dominican history, tasted tamarindo, and saw artistic tiles from all over the world. Then we did the requisite climb of the Monumento and braved the wind to take in an incomparable view of the city. Now we are all looking forward to some much-needed rest before our last full day of work tomorrow!

All God’s Children

As predicted, chaos did indeed descend on us this morning as we arrived at La Anunciación. We had the opportunity to meet both the little ones (lower school age) and the older ones (intermediate and middle school age). I never tire of watching them communicate with one another. Language barriers are meaningless to a four-year-old! Our students are forced to use words and gestures as best they can, although they can usually operate under the safe assumption that the little girl wants a piggy-back ride! (I’ve attached some of the most awww-eliciting photos from today.)

So far, we have finished painting all three floors of classrooms and we have prepped the church for another coat. We made an abortive attempt at painting the outside of the school, thwarted by an afternoon rainstorm. Hopefully the productivity will continue tomorrow morning, before we head out for our tour of Santiago in the afternoon.

One of my favorite things about working with teenagers is the things they say when they don’t know you are listening. Here is a small sample from today:

“It’s like a zombie movie.” (In reference to the throngs of screaming 13-year-olds trying to climb through the windows to get at Mike Acosta. No joke.)

“I could eat this every day for the rest of my life!” (In reference to mangu, an unappetizing-looking gloop of unidentified starchy vegetable – that is served with queso frito and is absolutely delicious. I don’t know about every day for the rest of my life, though.)

“I didn’t think this was going to be fun, but it is!” (Indeed, service can be fun!)

To wrap up, I will leave you with a funny mental image: JB Wolcott playing Frisbee with paint can lids, by himself, in the rain. Yes, that actually happened.

Off for another delicious dinner “Chez Lazaro” and then mandatory group fun. Buenos noches mis amigos!

Vamos a pintar!

Our first full day at La Anunciacion was a busy one! After a delicious breakfast of hamon con huevos with Lazaro, the owner of the Hotel Colonial, we headed to church to enjoy a Pentecost service with Padre Almonte and Dona Olga. Jena did a reading for us, and we followed along with several upbeat hyms (Alabanza, alabanza, alabanza por Dios el Rey! … or something along those lines) After a quick change into work clothes, some of the students enjoyed a game of basketball with the Dominican teenagers, and others worked their way through a conversation (entirely in Spanish!) about their favorite music. Finally, it was time to get to work. I was so proud of our students, who painted and straightened six classrooms in two hours!

Right now we are waiting for dinner and enjoying the calming sounds of the rain falling outside. The first day can be an overwhelming experience, so we will take some time this evening to debrief on all we’ve seen and accomplished today. By the way, if they think they heard a lot of Spanish today, they should wait until tomorrow when hundreds of excited, chatty Dominican children descend upon them!

And we're off!

Here we go... off for our second service trip to the Dominican Republic! I am so excited to be bringing these sixteen wonderful students to meet our friends in Santiago. Right now we are settled in at the Tampa airport waiting for our flight to Miami. We will land in Santiago this evening at 8:30 PM, where we will be greeted by Padre Salvador. I think the highlight of this evening will be Lazaro's dinner, which is JB's favorite comfort food. We are looking forward to attending church tomorrow morning and touring the city of Santiago. Stay tuned for updates each evening (internet access permitting) as we embark on our adventure!