Day 11...We're Back!

Unfortunately, today was our departure from the Dominican Republic. Leaving the foundation at 10 am for our flight didn’t give us much time for goodbyes or everything we were going to miss about the Dominican Republic. Saying goodbye to Ben, Victor, Julio, and Miguel Angel was extremely hard for each of us and was about a thirty minute process because we all had to give them at least three goodbye hugs. Ben and the three of them also left us with some heart-warming speeches thanking us for our help and time to assist and run the camp for the kids. They also mentioned that they will all be coming to stay with us in the United States; something we all hope really comes true! The part of the speech that really touched me was when they said that we are a part of their circle of friends now and we each have a special place in their hearts. What I don’t think they understand though is what a BIG place they have in each of our hearts as well.  After spending 10 days and getting to know each other very closely, I have to say that this is one of the best experiences I have ever been a part of and these bonds that we have formed over our stay in the Dominican Republic will be with us forever.

Speaking for the group today as I write this blog, today was another emotionally hard day for us because we have had so much fun getting to know and spend time with the DPV guys. I have to say that looking back on the ten days; we have had so many incredible memories. To name a few; one of my favorites was on the first day when they taught us the “dynamicos”, activities to get the kids warmed up, and gave us some dance lessons of the Salsa, Machata, and Merengue. Another fun night was when we went to the beach after dinner and all of the girls tried to wrestle Victor to the ground. We were unsuccessful of course but by the end of the wrestling match, Victor’s jeans resembled a cross between a mini skirt and jean shorts! Amazingly, even with the communication barrier, we were all able to form close bonds with the DPV guys and all of the kids.

These experiences over the past ten days have shaped us in ways that we had no idea were possible. Ben told us today that we will not really understand how much this service learning trip has impacted us until a later time, and I think he is right. As I look back on this service learning trip to the Dominican Republic, I know how lucky I am to have had the opportunity and resources to have experienced this, and I know I am not alone when I say that I would do it over again in a heart-beat. But like Miguel Angel said, “It’s not goodbye”, it’s “See you later!” So until next time Dominican Republic, children of Veron, Batey El Prado, Victor, Julio, Miguel Angel, Liz, Kayla, and Ben (I could go on but I’ve already gone over the word limit) you impacted me more than I could have imagined and I hope we all were able to repay you in some way! Adios Amigos, Hasta Luego!

Brittany Boone


Trey's Dad did the honors and took our "welcome home" photo

Group huddle/pep talk before we headed home for the night

Day 10

          Today was our last day in the Dominican Republic. We went to Macao beach, which was a 45-minute bus ride from the Foundation. When we pulled up to the beach the landscape was incredible! Palm trees lined the shore and in the distance there was a massive cliff that jutted out over the ocean, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. There were people horseback riding on the beach and venders selling shells, bracelets and small trinkets on the sand. With our bargaining skills each of us were able to buy a little something to bring back to the states. I bought a hat woven out of palm frons, two Punta Cana Bracelets, and last but not least my favorite purchase of the day, a coconut. A man riding a 12-year-old donkey named Marisol, sold it to me. After 80 pesos and a sip of the sweetest coconut water I have ever tasted in my life, I stepped up on a piece of wood, with my coconut of course, and hurled myself onto Marisol, the donkey. Her owner took me on a short walk down the beach. Although my donkey ride was short lived, I’m glad I got to show Marisol some love and ride a donkey (on the beach) for the first time in my life! We spent a lot of time in the ocean; the water couldn’t have been more perfect! After 3 well-spent hours at the beach we got on the bus and headed to the market where we did some more bartering. 

           After our beach excursion, we went on a tour of the Ecological Foundation with Ben; the man behind the magic of this place. Before we went on the tour, he hooked us up with some honeycomb straight from their local honey production. We then stopped at the bee production boxes. In just this past year alone they produced over 2,000 gallons of honey. Ben explained their efficient recycling center that has saved them over $112,000 in the first year. In addition to seeing honeybees, we also saw an aerated compost system that they hope to implement in the future. To finish up the tour, we stopped at the “farmers market” fruit/vegetable farm full of everything from chives to platanos (plantanes). The Punta Cana Ecological Foundation is designed to serve as a prime example in environmental sustainability for others in the DR to follow. The Dominican Republic is ecologically one of the most diverse countries in the world and after that tour it became apparent to us that Groupo Punta Cana is extremely invested in more parts of this culture than any other hotel business on this island. There will always be a special place in my heart for this little island that has been my home for the past 10 days and I have so much hope for it’s future!

Kelly Conheeney

Day 9

Hey Hokies

Today was a day to reflect and work on our global citizenship paper due next week. Camp started on Saturday and our days were jam-packed until yesterday’s beach trip. It’s hard to believe that we’ll be back in good ‘ole Blacksburg in less than two days. Living the Dominican life, even if only for a few days, has been absolutely incredible. Although we’ve done some amazing and unforgettable things, the experience is hard to put into words.  I miss my friends and family back home but I’m not ready to say goodbye to the Caribbean or the good friends I’ve made while being here.

The camp concluded with yesterday’s beach trip, so today we had an opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. A few people rose early to exercise, but my day began at nine thirty. While eating breakfast I had a chance to read and organize my personal journal. Every night we document the day’s major events so we have a solid base when it comes time to do reflective assignments. After a few hours of work I headed to the resort for a once in a lifetime combo of poolside office hours and water polo. Sadly, today’s lunch was our last meal at the resort’s employee café La Tortugita. They do a great job of alternating between authentic Dominican beans and rice, and American foods like pizza and chicken tenders. We had a great time conversing with the locals and other study abroad students under the same roof every day at mealtime.

For dinner in in the evening, we took the shuttle to the Punta Cana village and treated our Deportes Para la Vida friends Miguel Angel, Julito and Victor to Wendy’s and Baskin Robins. They don’t get the chance to eat in the village very often so they we very grateful and content with their Baconators and frosties. Before heading back to the foundation, we hit the supermarket to get snacks for tomorrow’s beach trip and Dominican coffee to bring back to the states. The evening concluded with watching game 4 of the NBA finals, and although most people down here are Lebron fans, the DPV guys aren’t shy about supporting Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs.

Go Hokies

Kyle Aaron Jared Butts

Enjoying Baskin Robins

Treating the DPV trio to Wendys

Day 8

Hola!

        It seems like we just arrived here in the Dominican Republic a few days ago; time flies when you’re very busy.  Unfortunately, today was the last day of camp here at the Ecological Foundation as Michael, Ronnie, Brittany and I ran the camp for the kids.  We decided it would be a good idea to take the kids to the beach.  Amazingly, despite living right here in the Dominican Republic, they don’t get the chance to go there that often.  When we told the kids yesterday that we were going to the beach, they erupted with joy and applause.  The looks on their faces were priceless and something I will never forget. 

Walking the campers to the beach. 

        Today, we started out the camp with a dynamica and a short lesson on character.   We started off the lesson with a recap of what the other VT athletes had taught the kids earlier in the week, and then followed with our own lesson on character.  We emphasized that character includes self-discipline, core values, sense of identity, and emotional security; all the things we have learned from our time as Virginia Tech student athletes.  The kids were very receptive to our lesson and seemed to retain a lot of the information that we had taught them throughout the week.   It was very rewarding to know that the kids absorbed much of the information and feel like we are making a difference.

       Immediately following the lesson, we took the kids to the beach and they absolutely loved the experience!  They were swimming, splashing, doing handstands, and riding the airplane float.  We also brought a giant tarp to make a slip and slide into the beach!  As it turned out, it was somewhat of an organized chaos, but the kids had a really great time, and that’s all that mattered to us. 

       After the beach trip, we handed out certificates to each participant of the camp.  It was a great feeling to see the expressions on their faces when each child received their respective certificate.  I could see the sense of accomplishment in their eyes and the joy it brought to all of them.  However, I could also tell it was a bittersweet feeling for most of the kids, because they wanted to come back for another day, and I have to admit, so did I. 

      I have had such a great time with everyone at the camp and couldn’t have asked for a better experience.  I have learned so much from the DPV representatives, the kids, and also learned a lot about myself on this trip.  I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity. 

Trey Gresh


***here's a couple more pics from the last few days***

Jared keeps a close eye on a camper.

 

Kelly hasn't gone a day without having a camper in her arms. 

On our way to the batey, our bus got a flat tire which turned
out to be a pretty cool time to check out the town we were in,
 take some pics and eat some of the best pina (pinapple) in our lives. 

Day 7

Hola Hokies!

Morgan leads his station during volleyball day. 

​Today we continued the sports camps that we have been running. Today was my group’s day to lead and we were teaching volleyball. Reggie, Bria, Becca, and I rotated the kids through stations. We taught them underhand volleys, setting, and serving. Reggie also led the groups through a leadership lesson. Using the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare”, and the very helpful translators, Reggie was able to teach an impactful lesson to the children about discipline. This story was not as commonly known as it is in the USA and the kids really enjoyed Reggie’s animated story-telling. It was awesome to see the kids so intrigued by the lesson! We ended the day with a group picture and gave out fruit to eat before the kids returned home.

       

Brittany participating in the warm-up game

After camp today many of us went to the pool to relax, while some of us just took a much needed nap. It is amazing how much energy it takes to lead 80 children for a few hours! After my nap, a couple of us went to look at the animals kept on the property. We are staying in a dormitory on an ecological foundation. This foundation does many things, including manage the upkeep of an animal petting farm. We spent an hour interacting with various animals like horses, goats, sheep, and ducks. The highlight for us had to be when a turkey gobbled just like a Hokie as we were leaving. Proof that Hokies exist everywhere!  Of course, no night could be complete here without an authentic Dominican meal from La Tortuguita. Once again, we had finished up a long day in the Dominican Republic.

         With one more day of camp, many things were starting to dawn on the group and me. Even with the language barrier we have grown very close to the children. It is amazing to me how much they adore us and I truly believe we are making a difference for them. Tomorrow will be our last day of camp and most likely the last time any of us will ever see these kids. We all realize this and are going into tomorrow ready to enjoy it as much as possible.

Morgan Latimer

Group photo of campers, DPV volunteers & VT students

​

Day 6

       

Kelly teaching shooting skills.

After two informative days of camp run by the DPV boys, it was time for us to run the show. The main emphasis of this class is learning leadership, and I cannot think of a better way to learn it than teaching sports to children in the DR! Ashley, Jared, Kelly and I were handed the torch to run the first day teaching soccer. There were three different components that we used as guidelines to help make the day run smoothly: 1. a warm up to engage the children 2. a leadership lesson and 3. teach them soccer skills and techniques.

Bria and Ronny helping during
soccer camp. 

​For the warm up, we started with a classic game of Simon Says, Dominican style. Jared spent time looking up the translated words for each body part and had a lot of intensity to start the day off right. All of the kids were loving the game and they were all really good! After that was over we taught them an important leadership lesson titled Drivers and Passengers. We explained that drivers are people who take control of the direction of their life and their attitude when something goes wrong. Passengers are those who blame others for their troubles and don’t take responsibility of their lives. We summarized the lesson into three main points. First was having “actitud positiva” which means positive attitude. When things don’t go the way they planned them to they can be sour and blame others for their misfortunes or they can keep a positive attitude and keep moving forward. The second main point is “determinacion” which means determination. This is important for them because they have to be determined to have control of their life and not let someone steer them down a wrong path. Lastly, flexibilidad (flexibility); when they reach an unexpected obstacle it is important for them to persevere. After we finished teaching lesson (all using a translator, they are the BEST!) we split the kids up into groups and began the soccer stations. The four different stations were dribbling, passing, shooting and juggling. With the help of the other student athletes, we taught them those four skills and the kids were having a ball (no pun intended hehe.) It was really inspiring to watch them be so excited to learn new things! We wrapped up the day with a huge game of kickball and about 70 kids smiling from ear to ear.

Ashley rounding the bases
during kickball. 

​After the kids left at 12, we sat as a group and talked about what went well about the day as well as improvements that can be made for tomorrow. After brainstorming for about fifteen minutes, we headed to lunch and then had some free time. A good number of us headed to the beach and some people stayed behind to work on other classes they have or to catch up on some zzzzs. At 6 oclock we all gathered together again to eat a delicious buffet dinner that was set up for us at Francos. We ended the night by having class by the pool discussing how past experiences, good or bad, shape our futures.

Shannon Mayrose

Day 5

Hola Mis Amigos,

This is the day that the LORD has made, rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalms 118:24) We have done just that; today was another remarkable day of engagement and intensity. The weather was beautiful with a slight overcast. Camp began at 8:30 AM, and once again, we were greeted by each child’s contagious smile. Today’s camp was similar to yesterday in that it was run by Deportes Para La Vida. Although, there were some faces that we did not see today, we had a lot of new kids, which means that they heard how fun the camp was from their friends yesterday.

Victor, a DPV entrenador (trainer), help
leads the Tree of Transmission game.

As usual, we started the camp off with a simple “ dynamica” to get all of the kids excited for all of the knowledge and fun that they would receive today. All of the children split into two smaller groups and stayed in those specific groups all day. I have enjoyed all games, but one of the games that we played today impacted me the most - it was called Tree of Transmission. We formed a big circle, and there were two individuals in the middle. The first individual represented the human body and the second individual represented the immune system. It was then our goal on the outside of the circle to try to hit the human body with the ball softly (suave). Surprisingly, the immune system protected the human body very well and she received no attacks (hits from the ball). Then we added another person to the circle that represented HIV. HIV held the immune system's hands back while trying to protect the human body, and we found that it was so much harder for the immune system to protect the human body. Finally we added an anti-retroviral drug to the middle, and it didn’t cure the human body, but it aided the body. After the game, we came back and Cayla, Peace Corps Volunteer, explained the importance of the game to the children. This was a great message for the kids to understand and apply as they continue throughout life.

At the end of each game, DPV leads a Q&A time, connecting
 the games to health/sex education objectives.

Yesterday, at the beginning of the camp, the children were asked to take a 10-question quiz to see what previous knowledge they had about HIV/AIDs. Many of the kids only got two or three questions right, but today the kids took the quiz again to see how they improved. The majority of the group enhanced by answering 7 and 8 questions correct. This warmed my heart immensely and validated that the work and educational games that DPV implemented were effective. For the past two days, I have been extremely impressed with the educational programs that DPV have put on and how they positively reach the kids of Veron. Even though we are 5 days into our time here in Punta Cana, it blows my mind to see a diverse group of young children so determined, engaged, and willing to better themselves and their education.

Bria, Kelly, Michael, Cayla
(Peace Corps), and Trey watching
DPV introduce a game

The camp finally ended at 4pm and the bus came to take all the children home. At the end of the day, all the VT Students, Peace Corp Volunteers, and DPV guys gathered to talk about how the day went and to share comments and questions. We then had some free time to hang out at the Ecological Foundation. At 6pm, we had dinner at Franco Pizzeria and ended the day with class poolside. We discussed all of the different values that mattered to us and the importance of putting these values to practice because ultimately, you can’t be a leader until you know your own values.

Well, tomorrow is the first day of the VT student athlete run sports camps. For the first day we will be playing soccer. The camp will be ran by Shannon, Jared, Kelly, and Ashley, and I am excited to see how the intensity and enthusiasm will increase.

Hasta Manana,

Bria Fletcher

Day 4

Victor, Miguel and Julio introducing
themselves and the mission of DPV

Today marked the beginning of our camp experience in the Dominican Republic.  The camp was led by Victor, Julio, and Miguel Angel, the three members of the Deportes Para La Vida (DPV) we have worked closely with all week. Today was our first opportunity to see the DPV members in action doing what they do best - leading community members by instilling a sense of hope, and a vision of possibilities for future success.

Our camp agenda consists of two days that focus on HIV education and prevention, followed by three days of sports camps, which we will run. In just one day, the DPV members have set an enthusiastic and committed tone for the rest of the week. Their interactive teaching methods are truly remarkable. It’s apparent that the young community members are inspired by the DPV men and look up to them as role models.

The camp began with a short quiz to test the children’s current knowledge on HIV/AIDS. The questions were directed towards common misconceptions DR residents have acquired through the community and lack of education. For example one question was, can overweight people get AIDS? The purpose of the question was to falsify the myth that only skinny people are prone to HIV/AIDS. After the quiz the children engaged in several fun games such as mi soporte (my support), decisiónes (decisions), limbo, and pass the ball. After each game the group came together to discuss the message behind each game, and the impact of decisions on their lives.

Miguel serves as a powerful role model to the
community through his leadership within DPV

Our goal was to help assist the DPV engage the children as much as possible. Although we faced a language barrier, the children welcomed us with open arms (literally). We interacted with them by participating in all the DPV games, and also had an opportunity to reach out on a more personal level by talking and playing with the children during breaks. At the end of the camp, the children will be given the same quiz they were given today. The goal is to see improvements in their scores. After last year’s instruction students improved their scores by 80%, we hope to reach similar improvements this year.

Becca Niles