Hello! This was a very exciting and heartfelt day. All of us got up at around 7am and headed to do service for Project Las Americas. First, Thelma taught all the kids and DREAM team members how to dance. Try as I may, I just could not get those moves down! :( After dancing, we all split up and played various games with the kids. Some of us played volleyball, and some of us played basketball. I went on my own and joined some kids in for Frisbee. It was good practice for the ultimate Frisbee game that soon followed. Although I did not contribute much in the game, I still felt that I established a connection with the Frisbee throwers even though I could not speak their language.
Initially, I felt sorry for the kids in the program. How can they live in these conditions? However, I was soon reminded that I should not 'look down' on these kids. In some ways they have a better situation than I do. For example, I could tell that the kids with the Frisbee were very close. Not just them, the kids in general were really good friends with each other. A couple of days ago, a teacher explained to me that people who go through the public school program are 'lost' when they exit middle school. What I mean by lost is that they don't check up on the students' progress after they leave the program. I don't know if it's because of limited resources or another reason. But my opinion is that the teachers should find a way to check up on the students' progress after they leave the program. That way they can adjust some parts of the program if needed.
- Kevin Gima
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Warm hearts conjure the winds in your community.
Such an immunity to this disease called privilege,
with enough smiles for simplicity to be envied.
Barrio Blanco, you surprise me.
The way the internet disguises your pride through lies,
Your beauty resides inside and that's a shine that could never be extinguished.
Warm hearts conjure the winds in your community.
You are the wind that pushes the mills of sustainability.
You are the shanty cocoon, located in the gloomy corners of forgotten room,
though nobody understands your struggle, you know the inevitability of something incredible to soon bloom.
Sooooo I meant to finish that poem lol, but the wifi hasn't been working. That's pretty much how this entire trip for me went. It was full of enlightenments (or what I thought were enlightenments) that turned into
Such an immunity to this disease called privilege,
with enough smiles for simplicity to be envied.
Barrio Blanco, you surprise me.
The way the internet disguises your pride through lies,
Your beauty resides inside and that's a shine that could never be extinguished.
Warm hearts conjure the winds in your community.
You are the wind that pushes the mills of sustainability.
You are the shanty cocoon, located in the gloomy corners of forgotten room,
though nobody understands your struggle, you know the inevitability of something incredible to soon bloom.
Sooooo I meant to finish that poem lol, but the wifi hasn't been working. That's pretty much how this entire trip for me went. It was full of enlightenments (or what I thought were enlightenments) that turned into
Friday, March 18, 2016
Day 6: The 27 Waterfalls: A Day of Unity
We woke up excitement in the air, the day that most people have been anticipating. The day we were going to go to the 27 waterfalls. So pumped and so eager to see what all the hype was about and before you know it we were hiking to the falls. OH man how our shoes took an "L" that day, getting soaked in water as we found ourselves in large and small bodies of water. I still remember walking, hearing that annoying squeaking and slushing sound every step we took. Not only that but Ty constantly making remarks on how his water shoes were just fine but my KDs were ruin. But enough about that lets get to the good stuff.
We finally arrived to the first waterfall, such a beautiful sight. Never have I been to a waterfall where the water is so blue. In fact, I haven't been to a waterfall in general that we are able to swim in. We made it pass the first one and continued on to the next. Special shout out to the workers and Nathan who helped us all get through each waterfall. Unfortunately we were not able to do all 27 but the 7 that we did do where amazing. It took way less effort going down the falls than climbing up. We slid off the rocks and even jumped off of the cliffs into the water; it something that I have always wanted to do. Jumping off had to be the most exciting thing because it was either you do it or don't. People put themselves in the position where they stand on the rock and are hesitant of jumping. They find themselves in a state of matter in which their body is telling them to jump but their mind is restraining them. At that point you either jump or do not, if you do jump than you just got to let “Jesus take the wheel” and anticipate the impact of your body hitting the water. This was a moment I would never forget but it wasn't only the waterfalls that made this experience unforgettable but rather the life lessons that I learn from it
Going through the waterfall you can compare it to real life situations. For example climbing up the waterfalls majority of the people slipped once they made it over the edge and the water was pushing them back as well but that didn't stop us. We kept on pushing on as a team, having each other’s back and encouraging one another. Although we only spent a week together, and prior to this day we only spent 5 days together, I knew that we were there for each other no matter what. For example, shout out to Sihrish who was scared at first and didn't want to continue but we supported her and motivated her and ensure that she was safe with us, which provided her with the courage to continue on to the other waterfalls, keep our group united. There wasn't a time where I didn't feel safe going through the falls or the trip in general because I knew that my new friends had my back. And the way you can connect this to real life Is that we will come across some challenges or issues in life that would have you feeling completely down and defeated but with the right support system and friends there is nothing that can stop you from moving forward. We found ourselves at the end when reflecting with an issue that one of us was facing, and it hurt all of us especially those who have experienced that feeling too but like I mentioned before we were there for each other to hold our heads up high and to ensure one another that everything is going to be fine. I truly do believe that I made some great friendships on this trip and shared memories that would live with me for forever. I just now want to thank everyone for such a great experience.
We finally arrived to the first waterfall, such a beautiful sight. Never have I been to a waterfall where the water is so blue. In fact, I haven't been to a waterfall in general that we are able to swim in. We made it pass the first one and continued on to the next. Special shout out to the workers and Nathan who helped us all get through each waterfall. Unfortunately we were not able to do all 27 but the 7 that we did do where amazing. It took way less effort going down the falls than climbing up. We slid off the rocks and even jumped off of the cliffs into the water; it something that I have always wanted to do. Jumping off had to be the most exciting thing because it was either you do it or don't. People put themselves in the position where they stand on the rock and are hesitant of jumping. They find themselves in a state of matter in which their body is telling them to jump but their mind is restraining them. At that point you either jump or do not, if you do jump than you just got to let “Jesus take the wheel” and anticipate the impact of your body hitting the water. This was a moment I would never forget but it wasn't only the waterfalls that made this experience unforgettable but rather the life lessons that I learn from it
Going through the waterfall you can compare it to real life situations. For example climbing up the waterfalls majority of the people slipped once they made it over the edge and the water was pushing them back as well but that didn't stop us. We kept on pushing on as a team, having each other’s back and encouraging one another. Although we only spent a week together, and prior to this day we only spent 5 days together, I knew that we were there for each other no matter what. For example, shout out to Sihrish who was scared at first and didn't want to continue but we supported her and motivated her and ensure that she was safe with us, which provided her with the courage to continue on to the other waterfalls, keep our group united. There wasn't a time where I didn't feel safe going through the falls or the trip in general because I knew that my new friends had my back. And the way you can connect this to real life Is that we will come across some challenges or issues in life that would have you feeling completely down and defeated but with the right support system and friends there is nothing that can stop you from moving forward. We found ourselves at the end when reflecting with an issue that one of us was facing, and it hurt all of us especially those who have experienced that feeling too but like I mentioned before we were there for each other to hold our heads up high and to ensure one another that everything is going to be fine. I truly do believe that I made some great friendships on this trip and shared memories that would live with me for forever. I just now want to thank everyone for such a great experience.
Day 6: Praise the sun
Woke up to rays of sunlight warming my face and ...a melody of alarms playing simultaneously, with sleeping bodies unphased by them. Took my shower overlooking endless green hills and blue skies, ready to meet new people and hopefully learn, enrich and laugh. Got my cereal and petted the most stoic German Shepard you will meet. Sat in the back and got ready to get scared of Dominican roads, but safely sitting due to a crazy good driver in Eurel. I'd trust no one to make those crazy maneuvers, where our spacious white van stumbles onto oncoming traffic to pass a slow pickup truck, smoothly pathing back into the right lane at the right time.
PLA was fairly close and the ride ended before Romeo Santos got to my favorite part in Cancioncitas de Amor. (Finally found the name of that song) As we rode in the back of Carina's pickup truck to the nearby public school, we felt like militia, we only lacked some AK's and a boombox. After high fiving a bunch of happy kids we finally got to the classroom. We introduced ourselves to the kids there, who were mainly girls, around 8-10 years old. I tried hard to catch their sentences, feeling really accomplished when I actually guessed a word correctly and taught them a new word in English. Alicia was quite the artist and drew a whole picture, labeling different things in Spanish as well as English. We talked about our families and they were eager to hear more. Later we played with the kids in the playground of all ages as I sweat all the DEET and sunscreen off of me while chasing around a soccer ball with some of the kids. Moving to an older age group, we played a competitive game of fill in the blank with Spanish verb conjugations, in which our team lost but everyone looked engaged and eager to get the chocolate that awaited them. It was interesting seeing the kids participate in a prayer, most seemed very engaged. We made one more trip to a school, doing some drawing and singing. I really liked how they taught their kids, all the activities were focused yet fun.
I thought about an earlier comment by someone at DREAM and acknowledged that kids are kids, wherever you go. Carina informed us that most of the kids there were living in slums, but there was almost no indication if you were just talking to them, they were truly just being happy, young souls. One of the other groups at another school encountered a pregnant girl, no more than 13 years old and that sparked some conversation about the practices in the DR regarding marriage at younger ages. It reminded me of similar practices that occur in the rural parts of Nepal. I think the most important message I learned that day or rather got reinforced, is that pity had no place there: these kids did not consider themselves impoverished but rather rich with endless laughter.
PLA was fairly close and the ride ended before Romeo Santos got to my favorite part in Cancioncitas de Amor. (Finally found the name of that song) As we rode in the back of Carina's pickup truck to the nearby public school, we felt like militia, we only lacked some AK's and a boombox. After high fiving a bunch of happy kids we finally got to the classroom. We introduced ourselves to the kids there, who were mainly girls, around 8-10 years old. I tried hard to catch their sentences, feeling really accomplished when I actually guessed a word correctly and taught them a new word in English. Alicia was quite the artist and drew a whole picture, labeling different things in Spanish as well as English. We talked about our families and they were eager to hear more. Later we played with the kids in the playground of all ages as I sweat all the DEET and sunscreen off of me while chasing around a soccer ball with some of the kids. Moving to an older age group, we played a competitive game of fill in the blank with Spanish verb conjugations, in which our team lost but everyone looked engaged and eager to get the chocolate that awaited them. It was interesting seeing the kids participate in a prayer, most seemed very engaged. We made one more trip to a school, doing some drawing and singing. I really liked how they taught their kids, all the activities were focused yet fun.
I thought about an earlier comment by someone at DREAM and acknowledged that kids are kids, wherever you go. Carina informed us that most of the kids there were living in slums, but there was almost no indication if you were just talking to them, they were truly just being happy, young souls. One of the other groups at another school encountered a pregnant girl, no more than 13 years old and that sparked some conversation about the practices in the DR regarding marriage at younger ages. It reminded me of similar practices that occur in the rural parts of Nepal. I think the most important message I learned that day or rather got reinforced, is that pity had no place there: these kids did not consider themselves impoverished but rather rich with endless laughter.
-Piyush
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Day 5: #Canthelpbutlove'em- Thelma
What do you think of when you think of middle school? I bet you think of loud obnoxious 12-15year olds running around and being rude right?...yea I thought the same thing but I bet you don't really think of a kid like this do you?...
Well, This is Jason.
The sweetest middle schooler you will ever meet. Jason bought water for me with his own money, place a chair next to me to put my book-bag on and gave me a million and one hugs. Jason is my favorite student from working with PLA (project las americas). There were certain things I noticed from working in this school. One thing I noticed in the school was that everyone wrote in cursive, which was beautiful. In the U.S, writing in cursive is a skill which people either have or they don't while the students at this school were all showing off their beautiful handwriting, the norm. Another thing I noticed was the connection between the teacher Paola and the children. I know its cliché to say that "the children are the future" but what are children without great teachers? Not only is Paola an amazing teacher, she is always smiling and gets all her students to participate in the activities.
"No Thelma, you will not like these kids more than Yoellis at Dream.." I said... And boy was I wrong.
How can you not love people so excited to not only see you but learn from
You and teach you in return?.
After the half day with the children, prior to lunch, My group and I stopped and bought enchilladas and sodas, all I can say for that is "ILLUMINOSO".
After getting all the energy sucked out of me by the little angels, we returned to the our villa to change for a dance club called "OHO" on the beach. Everyone got very excited to be normal again, meaning wearing non-service clothing. When we arrived at the club, I did not get the opportunity to dance but mainly because I was still tired. Everyone else who danced made it look incredibly fun (if you knew how to) or difficult (if you did not)...dancing is not for everyone.
P.S - we got to see our favorites Adonis and Auto again but they were on D.P (my new invention for dominican people time lol).
Day 4
Woke up (late) super excited for today because we had a full itinerary of greatness - starting with the final day of service in Barrio Blanco :( and ending with a night of dancing and dinner with new friends from Project Las Americas :)
For the past two days, I’ve been mainly serving with the kids in the classroom, but today was the final day with DREAM and I was feeling muy artsy after spending the latter half of yesterday painting the mural with Ledwin so today I decided to help with finishing up the bookshelves for their final reveal. I missed taking the kids to the beach, but I was ultimately happy with my decision to switch it up. I really came in the clutch during crunch time in helping getting the bookshelves finished/touched up esp. since we only had about 2 hours to get it all done INCLUDING DRYING TIME before the kids got back from the beach.
Once all of the students received their bookshelves, we took pictures and school was dismissed. Risheilly and I walked one of the little girls (and her spankin new bookshelf) home and her family was sosososo happy. It was great to see. On the way out Risheilly started to tear up from having to leave the children and I lowkey wanted to cry too but I had to hold it down for the both of us. ALL the feels.
Once we left DREAM, we went off to our cave activity.
After a 20 minute hike through the woods, we reached the cave, but to get to the water, we had to descend a 20 foot ladder and I. Was. Not. With. It.
As I watched my entire DREAM team scale the ladder and enter the water, my confidence and desire to join them grew. Unfortunately, my overactive imagination conjured very vivid images of me falling off the ladder and plummeting into the 50 foot water to my demise so I maintained my firm “nah”. Everyone tried to convince me to come down and get in the water but I needed some time to mentally prepare and was like:
About 10 minutes later, a combination of my team’s support and my need to prove my bravery to myself pushed me down the ladder and into the cave. Go Patience. Albeit very cold and a little frightening , the entire cave experience was honestly so much fun and I’m glad I was able to enjoy the experience with the DREAM team. I would have kicked myself all the way back to America if I let a little fear stop me from soaking up all the Dominican Republic had to offer.
We headed back to our villa in Puerto Plata where we met the Project Las Americas women and they immediately began cooking dinner. For about the first 30 minutes, everyone was shy and awkwardness was a definite possibility, but in no time we were all throwing each other the pool and laughing loud enough to hear from D.C.
They finished cooking and I don’t (really) eat red meat but in the spirit of being grateful and starving, I ate the sancocho they prepared which was filled with green banana, cassava, chicken, pork, and dumplings. The rice and avocado that were served on the side set the whole meal off and my tastebuds literally screamed YAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSS to the high heavens. The women knew a lot of English which made communication easier for a lot of the team and getting to spend that time with young adults close to our age was a lot of fun. We’ll get to see them throughout the remainder of the trip and I’m excited to get to know them more.
After dinner, Sereana and Shirish taught us all Punjabi dancing, the PLA girls taught us salsa and merengue, and it was an all around great time. I’m pooped. I’m saying that now, but I’ll honestly likely certainly definitely end up staying up super late playing UNO. The wifi is down so I can’t post this tonight, so it’ll go up when the signal returns. Don’t know when that’ll be. Hasta.
- Patience
For the past two days, I’ve been mainly serving with the kids in the classroom, but today was the final day with DREAM and I was feeling muy artsy after spending the latter half of yesterday painting the mural with Ledwin so today I decided to help with finishing up the bookshelves for their final reveal. I missed taking the kids to the beach, but I was ultimately happy with my decision to switch it up. I really came in the clutch during crunch time in helping getting the bookshelves finished/touched up esp. since we only had about 2 hours to get it all done INCLUDING DRYING TIME before the kids got back from the beach.
Once all of the students received their bookshelves, we took pictures and school was dismissed. Risheilly and I walked one of the little girls (and her spankin new bookshelf) home and her family was sosososo happy. It was great to see. On the way out Risheilly started to tear up from having to leave the children and I lowkey wanted to cry too but I had to hold it down for the both of us. ALL the feels.
Once we left DREAM, we went off to our cave activity.
After a 20 minute hike through the woods, we reached the cave, but to get to the water, we had to descend a 20 foot ladder and I. Was. Not. With. It.
As I watched my entire DREAM team scale the ladder and enter the water, my confidence and desire to join them grew. Unfortunately, my overactive imagination conjured very vivid images of me falling off the ladder and plummeting into the 50 foot water to my demise so I maintained my firm “nah”. Everyone tried to convince me to come down and get in the water but I needed some time to mentally prepare and was like:
About 10 minutes later, a combination of my team’s support and my need to prove my bravery to myself pushed me down the ladder and into the cave. Go Patience. Albeit very cold and a little frightening , the entire cave experience was honestly so much fun and I’m glad I was able to enjoy the experience with the DREAM team. I would have kicked myself all the way back to America if I let a little fear stop me from soaking up all the Dominican Republic had to offer.
We headed back to our villa in Puerto Plata where we met the Project Las Americas women and they immediately began cooking dinner. For about the first 30 minutes, everyone was shy and awkwardness was a definite possibility, but in no time we were all throwing each other the pool and laughing loud enough to hear from D.C.
They finished cooking and I don’t (really) eat red meat but in the spirit of being grateful and starving, I ate the sancocho they prepared which was filled with green banana, cassava, chicken, pork, and dumplings. The rice and avocado that were served on the side set the whole meal off and my tastebuds literally screamed YAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSS to the high heavens. The women knew a lot of English which made communication easier for a lot of the team and getting to spend that time with young adults close to our age was a lot of fun. We’ll get to see them throughout the remainder of the trip and I’m excited to get to know them more.
After dinner, Sereana and Shirish taught us all Punjabi dancing, the PLA girls taught us salsa and merengue, and it was an all around great time. I’m pooped. I’m saying that now, but I’ll honestly likely certainly definitely end up staying up super late playing UNO. The wifi is down so I can’t post this tonight, so it’ll go up when the signal returns. Don’t know when that’ll be. Hasta.
- Patience
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Day 3: Catching dreams with DREAM
Today we continued our work with the Dream Project. Upon arriving in Barrio Blanco, the group split into two parts – one working with the kids in the school and the other working on the bookshelves. The group that worked with the kids focused on helping them create a dreamcatcher. Many of the kids were extremely dedicated to the project and put a lot of effort into perfecting it, resulting in a final project that they were proud to show off to the rest of the class and their parents. Though I was not in this group (I worked with the bookshelves) I could see relationships starting to form between the kids and the AB group. Some of the people who worked with the kids both yesterday and today said how bonded to the kids they felt already, validating our work with the Dream Project. If the AB group can form close connections with the community, maybe our time there will have a long-lasting impact. The group that went to the bookshelves had to first scrape off the excess glue from the day before, then remove any dirt that was stuck, and finally paint the shelves. The first two tasks did not take very long to complete, but the third took us through the rest of the day. We had a few paint colors to work with, but we made many more through color combinations. After all of the bookshelves had a base coat of paint, we started making designs. One of the Dream Project employees started drawing flowers, cars, and other fun shapes onto the bookshelves so we had an outline to paint by. About halfway through painting designs, a few older kids wandered by and asked to help. Even without sharing a language, it was very easy to communicate with them about which colors should go where. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by how artistic they were: they easily stayed within the lines on each painting and picked out a variety of vibrant colors for each bookshelf. I can’t wait to give them bookshelves out tomorrow and see how the kids react!
I love how close-knit the Barrio Blanco community is. Everyone wanders around freely and is so welcoming that kindness and warmth seem to be the norm, not the exception. Over the past two days I have seen countless examples of this. From people shouting “Moto moto!” when a motorcycle is about to fly down the street, to when mothers go chasing after toddlers that aren’t their own, Barrio Blanco is a community that looks about for its members in a way I have never before witnessed. Sure, in America we have some values and show a basic level of care for people that aren’t our responsibility, but Barrio Blanco has taken the word “community” to a whole new level – to me, they seem more like a family.
-Mara L.
I love how close-knit the Barrio Blanco community is. Everyone wanders around freely and is so welcoming that kindness and warmth seem to be the norm, not the exception. Over the past two days I have seen countless examples of this. From people shouting “Moto moto!” when a motorcycle is about to fly down the street, to when mothers go chasing after toddlers that aren’t their own, Barrio Blanco is a community that looks about for its members in a way I have never before witnessed. Sure, in America we have some values and show a basic level of care for people that aren’t our responsibility, but Barrio Blanco has taken the word “community” to a whole new level – to me, they seem more like a family.
-Mara L.
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