Un chin chin... Dominican Republic

After looking forward to this trip/job for months it hasn't let me down yet. For those of you who don't know I am working for a program called VISIONS Service Adventures. The company itself has handfuls of different sites around the world for teens to sign up for and volunteer with the locals. It is something I would have done in a hearbeat as a kid and now I am getting paid to be here.

The trip itself started with a weekend adventure to Boston and training the Conniticut for six of our sites. Although training was a challenge for me, sitting the WHOLE day learning the things I know will come in handy, it was great to connect with people who have very similar stories and even more similar interests. Hearing all the cool things people have been doing really got me thinking ahout other future opportunites.With that said it sounded like one of the jobs that those people returning enjoyed most and found most rewarding was VISIONS. The photo blew is all of us before boarding our flights or taking a few days if rest bride it all gets started.

Upon departure I knew someting was different. I exeperienced the luxery and strange feeling of traveling  with people. I met a few of my new coworkers, Sarah and Chris, at training in CT and we took off together for the DR for  our first week consisting of set up and preparation. Having training so spaced out made us all a llittle anxious to get there. We flew late at night and were greeted by our director Alberto, our carpenter Santos (Alberto's father), and our support staff Juan de Dios. At first I was a little antsy, I haven't spoken Spanish since I left Guatemala almost a year ago and many people we met at training are extremely fluent. But that aniety went away when they brought out the fresh pineapple, banana, and melons. Something about fresh fuit can really make you feel at home. Furthermore the fact that I was understanding the conversations we were having quickly killed the anxiety I was having on the plane surrounded by a whole new accent and a whole new vocabulary... Even as a write this I am trying to write in Spanglish.

Our first day in the Dominican started off slow and relaxed. We were greeted with fresh fruit and eggs while sitting outside in our new neighborhood. As we layed out plans for the week Alberto really helped us to understand the importance of VISIONS in the specific community and how it fits into their current political system. We then set out for a day of touring our new house and walking to the local market to get what we needed to make some progress the first day. After returning we were greeted by part of a big and amazing community that has been by our side ever since. There are a number of Dominican boys/men who do whatever they can to help us and the mission of VISIONS. They spent a good two hours perfecting our welcome sign for the participants and have spent many hours since moving stuff into our houses, helping with meals and overall clean up,and most importantly adding a lot of Dominican flavor and volume to everything we do. 

The people of the DR are different than the other Latin Americans that I have met in my travels. They still have the open arms and positive attitudes that I confronted in both Peru and Guatemala, but they add a big BANG to it all. By far Dominicans are the loudest, most disruptive, and easiest people to make laugh. There is never just a simple distribution of duties. It must be done with a lot if talking over one another, a lot of jokes about this and that, and loud music in the background. I say this is the most positive way because it is extremly energizing to see how everyone in the community- literally everyone- can communicate with such expression and passion and still get everything done much more creatively than any American (even my Echo Hillians) could think of.

What has been best about this first week is truly learning about the country and creating the experience for ourselves. We had a chance to relax on the beach Boca Chica for an afternoon and we have hardly eaten anything that wasn't truly Doninican in some way. With that we have really learned the bonds and divisions that exist in this country and how we are going to be playing a big part in a story much bigger than ourselves or our participants. The Dominican has a number of national problems one of witch is poverty, felt the most by the Batey communities. Bateys are Haitian immigrants who don't have citizenship in Haiti or the Dominican Republic. The Dominican constitution specifically says that all people born in the Dominican Republic are automatically Dominicans- exept for Haitans. This keeps them in a no mans zone that really increases their suffering. Now to understand why we have to go back to the 1800s in the 1840s the Dominican gained its independence for Haiti. Since then the history books have painted in Haitians as evil people. Not only that, but the Hiatians speak French, they practice Vudoo, they have different food; they are a totally different people on one island. The last thing that creates tension between the Haitan, Batey, and Dominican communities is similar to the US Immigration debate. The Haitians will come in and work here for less- theoretically taking those jobs away from the Dominicans. With all these pieces set you can see how much of a cultural rift we are seeing, and how much suffering has and does occur on a daily basis. VISIONS side by side with many other organizations that Alberto either directs or facilities have in mind sustainable solutions to hit the problem where it starts. They are investing in developing a community focused on the eduction of the children-starting in preschool. They have motivation to build schools, provide scholarships and create a productive community in which everyone can prosper. Being a part of something that has a future and a future in the people it is helping is truely a relief and a sense of accomplishment for me. I normally have conflict with volunteer and aid normally because it creates dependency, but we will, and have, put the power on the hands of those directly impacted by the community's success and be able to create a system they can prosper in under their own control. Out projects this year will be a summer camp, English classes, finishing a community center, and constructing a community garden to top off the school VISIONS started five years ago in the pueblo San Luis. 

As the last member of our team comes today we are nearly ready for participants. It will be interesting to see what sort of kids come our way and how that will impact the dynamic we have created here. But here is to what looks like a rewarding as successful summer!!