Sunday May 19, 2019

Westerly School arrived in the Dominican Republic today after surviving their red eye and connecting flights. The group was excited as we drove by the beach and through different towns. Everyone got settled in at the lodge, so they checked out the beach and played some football or played in the sand. And after an amazing dinner, we spoke briefly about the 7 elements of human security after which everyone went straight to bed. We are looking forward to hard work tomorrow!

Monday May 20, 2019

We awoke and ate a breakfast of eggs, toast, cereal, and oatmeal. It was delicioso! We got all packed up and walked to the work site in Las Canas. Upon walking in we met Louis, one of the boys who will live in the house we are helping to build. After learning how to mix cement we were given a tour of Louis’s current home and the general area. Then the group split and started working hard at their assigned jobs.

Some students mixed cement, others packed dirt for the floor, and the rest sanded the walls of the house in preparation for paint. Some local little girls met our group and started playing with the Westerly girls. After we ate lunch, we finished up the work for the day and then headed back to the lodge where we enjoyed the pool. We had a scrumptious cena, a deep discussion about what we experienced today, played some games, and then went to sleep. Miss you Mom.

Tuesday May 21, 2019

What a day here in the Dominican Republic! Today was filled with hard work, education, and a lot of fun!

The day started as normal; breakfast, walk to the work site, etc. But today was extra good because we spoke so much Spanish. So, while we finished the floor and got the septic tank covered with cement that we mixed, we also focused on interacting with the locals. We finished the work after another filling lunch and then walked back to the lodge where we chilled until dinner.

After dinner we played charades, and then learned about the “Divided Island.” Learning more about the history of Hispaniola was fascinating and yet heartbreaking. Walner, one of our program directors, told us his personal story of having to fight for his right to be a citizen of the DR due to a drastic change in Dominican law. It was a weighty story to hear.

So, after hard work, some fun, and some life lessons, we are off to bed before heading out on our first ‘fun’ day tomorrow.

Wednesday May 22, 2019

Wow, another great day in the DR. Today was our first official fun day. You all know how the days starts now; a great breakfast!. But today instead of walking, we jumped on the bus and headed toward to Dudu Lagoon. On the way, we used a little Spanish (and multiplication/division) to exchange some money and then we arrived at Dudu. It was a beautiful little resort with caves, pools and crystal clear water. We ate lunch there and played a vicious game of volleyball. After wearing ourselves out on the court, we jumped back in the bus and drove off to Playa Preciosa!

And preciosa it was indeed! Light blue waters, sweet drinks, and cool trinkets to buy! We spent a couple hours there and really had a great time. But alas, we drove home, singing along the way. At home we had dinner, and then an interesting lesson about leadership.

All in all it was a great day and we’re looking forward to our last day tomorrow! It should be sweet!

Thursday May 23, 2019

Today was our last full day here in the DR, and what a day it was. Let’s jump right into it.

A good breakfast started the day, per usual. We then rolled on down the road to Sosua, about an hour drive. In Sosua, the group split up; half to scuba diving, the other to snorkeling. As I, your blog author, was snorkeling and not scuba diving, I’ll write to you about that experience.

We boarded a dingy from the beach which took us out to our main yacht. The yacht cruised through the placid mid morning waters to a reef about 5 minutes from where we launched. We were relatively close to shore as we jumped in the crystal clear and warm water. And it was a beautiful place to dive. We found all sorts of fish; blue, yellow, striped, bold or even pastel shaded scales. We really enjoyed snorkeling, and enjoyed running into the scuba group at the same reef.

After snorkeling and diving, we returned to shore where we enjoyed lunch and plenty of time getting sun and sand. We then returned to the lodge to shower and change, after which we left to Cabarete for dinner. What a spectacular location for dinner. We sat at our tables in the sand while ordering our meals completely in Spanish. The sun set and we really
soaked it in. We ended the week on a good… no, content note. We had a great time here in the DR and are sad to leave.

So, see you soon, USA.

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Monday April 29, 2019

Hello Chicago!

Today was our first full day in the Dominican Republic and it was a gorgeous, but busy day! We are starting to get in the routine of things, which includes helping some community members build their house. We started by mixing concrete, during which a young Dominicano took charge and told us exactly what to do. We were a bit shy at first, but the Dominicans were warm and the kids were adorable, which got us quickly out of our shells and talking some Spanish.

We did a great deal of work and are looking forward to more tomorrow! Good thing we had some delicious Dominican food to keep us energized and several “botellones” to keep us hydrated. We also took walks and runs on the beach, some of us swam in the ocean, but MOST of us spent some quality time in the pool at our home base.

Bonding has already begun – discussions about our pooping schedules has brought us closer than ever – papaya is the key to pooping! The bugs are mean… and everywhere… but Clara Aeder is a master bug removal service. Ernie, one of our guard dogs, will continue to keep us safe, but always remember, DON’T STEP ON HIM!

 

Tuesday April 30, 2019

We woke up to a rainy morning after a late night of conversations and Uno(Congratulations to Mr.Woods). Our breakfast consisted of fresh eggs and delicious mashed potatoes. We returned to the work site to continue working on the home. The masons were there and with our combined forces we mixed cement and applied it to the walls to help complete the home.

We talked with the community members, while practicing our Spanish. After a hard days work many of us wen to the beach and experienced the high tide and strong waves. In the evening we watched a video about the history between Dominicans and Haitians and the tensions the countries. Walner, our local director, discussed his experienced as a Haitian- Dominican. We are looking forward to tomorrow’s water adventures.

Wednesday May 1, 2019

Today, we woke up to a wonderful hot breakfast. It consisted of toast, banana smoothies, fried cheese and cereal. We went to gather our beach wear and towels and boarded the bus to “The lagoon”. On the way there, we stopped to exchange currency and get snacks. We were greeted by people standing around having conversations and shopping. We were also invited to shop at many of their stores.

Upon our arrival to the lagoon, we were all filled with excitement and quickly gathered into groups and explored the area. Our chaperones and guides did a great job a reminding us to apply sunscreen and encouraged us to stay in groups. We split the group into 3 groups; some at the small pool, some at a larger pool and one left to bath in the sun. We all gathered for a fried chicken, spaghetti, salad, and beans and rice lunch. We were also able to purchase sugar cane soda (Soooo good!!!) After we finished lunch we boarded the bus and headed to our next activity.

We drove abut 25 minutes to what we would describe as one of the most amazing beaches we’ve ever seen. We all agreed it was a lot different from our “beaches” in Chicago. Many of us ran into the ocean, body surfed and spent time bonding. It was great being able to connect with classmates we hadn’t had a chance to talk to. This activity , along with others gave us an opportunity to have fun in a way we’ve never experienced while at Wolcott. Later, we were able to purchase gifts and souvenirs for our family and friends. Venders provided a nice selection of jewelry, and homemade candy. Our chaperones also arranged for us to have fresh pineapple drinks with coconut!

After our time at the beach, we returned back to our camp site for dinner followed by a dance lesson. Our nightly group huddles culminated our night with friendly games of Uno, reflections and singing.

Thursday May 2, 2019

Today was another wonderful day of adventure and learning in the Dominican Republic! After breakfast, we met with our travel “families” to debrief on the trip thus far and to review the agenda for the day. After cleaning our cabins and packing our day bags, we traveled by bus for approximately one hour to Sosua, a beach town.

We were able to exchange money and meet our snorkeling guides for the morning. It was amazing! We saw beautiful blue tang, coral, sea urchins, sponges, and so many other beautiful fish whose names we do not know but are motivated to learn more about.

After snorkeling, we had pizza on the beach and did a bit of souvenir shopping. Ford got a fabulous hair cut – Dominican style – and Moriah practiced her incredible bartering skills with the local vendors. DIego helped shop for a pair of earrings for Sra. Winer and Seamus bought a boogie board to use later in the day and to donate for future trips. Many of us purchased local honey, which we plan to give as gifts (or eat ourselves!).

After yet another fabulous dinner, we engaged in a meaningful reflection about all that we’ve learned here in the DR – about humility, kindness, generosity, privilege, community, and friendship. As Danny mentioned, “this is the best trip of my life”.

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Monday April 15, 2019

Hola from Costa Rica!

We have a long day of travel behind us and are looking forward to our activities in the next few days.

All students arrived at the Tijuana airport late Sunday night for a flight to Mexico City, and after a layover there, a flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. From there, we took a three-hour long bus trip to our home base, arriving around 3 pm. A few afternoon activities included unpacking, kayaking, and swimming in the lake. We are eager to wake up early tomorrow after a good night’s rest to complete our service for the day at a local school here in San Carlos, Costa Rica.

Stay tuned for more updates!

-Amalia Koch

Tuesday April 16, 2019

Hello everyone!

Today was our first full day in Costa Rica. We woke up at 6: 30 and had a wonderful breakfast with some fresh fruit. We did service for 3 hours at the local elementary school in the town of Boca Arenales. We cleaned out the lot where the animals were at where they eventually want to grow crops. The elementary has some nice murals around the campus. When we came back, we had a nice lunch, got to hang out in the lake and we went swimming, kayaking and got to jump. We ended the night with dinner and hanging out with our friends.

Ariana Mondaca

Wednesday April 17, 2019

Hello People!

Today as a group on our second day in Costa Rica we began with a delicious breakfast of eggs, chorizo, and grilled cheese. Not the sandwich grilled cheese, but actual grilled cheese(Many kids thought it was french toast). After breakfast, we all boarded our bus and began our second day of service at the elementary school, where we began finishing up our work in the lot previously mentioned.

As a group we loaded all of the sticks and large branches we cleared from the field the day prior into a classic homemade Costa Rican trailer. We also tore more rocks and concrete out of the field, leaving the plot of land ready for farming. Once we finished there, we boarded the bus and came back for another delicious lunch.

We then journeyed to the animal refuge in town where we saw plenty of native Costa Rican animals such as Pumas, Baby Sloths, Monkeys, Snakes, and even a huge Crocodile. Then, we made our way to the local supermarket and loaded up on junk food and exchanged our American dollars for some Costa Rican Colones.

After that we came back to camp for our final great meal of the day and began getting ready for our night hike which would conclude our day. On the night hike we journeyed on foot around the property our camp sits on where we saw horses, toads, and lots of spiders. It was a day full of satisfaction, fun, and great time with friends.

-Sam Vasquez

Thursday April 18, 2019

This morning we woke up around 7:30 to a beautiful breakfast that included, fruit, eggs, bacon, cereal, and pancakes (my favorite)! After breakfast we played a serious game of exploding kittens. This is a card game that includes many scenarios in order to avoid the exploding kitten. If you get the kitten you’re out! Others played Uno, swung in the hammock or made friendship bracelets. Then we walked to the nearby chapel where Mr. Correnti taught us all about Holy Week and reminded us why we are here to serve.

The tiny yellow chapel, built for the owner’s mom to have a place to pray, was on a hill where you could see a volcano out of the door on a clear day. After leaving the Chapel, we decided to walk to a local store where we got ice cream and other snacks. (Editors note: As I write this I have discovered that Mr. Correnti loves the pop artist Dua Lipa and is currently sitting next to me blasting the song One Kiss and dancing around the room with Mr. Anzar. Lol)

After getting our snacks we were ready for a coffee talk. Alfredo, the owner of the ranch we are staying at, told us all about the coffee here in Costa Rica and even let us sample some different kinds. He actually owns a coffee plantation and produces delicious coffee called Ñor Alfredo Coffee. Later, we all went to the lake to kayak or swim while others took a siesta. After swimming, we played some more exploding kittens, showered and headed over to dinner. Tonight, we had barbeque chicken, French fries, beans, and more. As I am finishing up writing people are headed to the fogata (campfire). Where we will enjoy each other’s company and eat marshmallows (probably while Mr. Correnti and I blast Dua Lipa).

Pura Vida,

Kate Clifton

Friday April 19, 2019

What’s up amigos!

We had kind of a late start today, which was much needed because of all the late nights we have had (and the insane games of exploding kittens should I dare add). We got to wake up around seven and eat a delicious breakfast and overall have a very relaxing morning at the home base.

After breakfast, we headed over to witness the stations of the cross at the local village. Not gonna lie, on behalf of all the students on the trip, we were all a little tired and not the most excited humans when it came to head over to the village. Despite this, when we got there, we jumped right into action and immersed ourselves into the town’s culture and religious traditions.

It was beautiful to not only witness the story but walk alongside Jesus on this special day. It’s not every day you get to walk through a foreign country with the one and only Son of God! Jokes aside, it was surprisingly a great morning, I guess we all just need to keep an open mind about things. Afterwards, we headed over to get ice cream with iguanas! It was super cool, and we saw a bunch of iguanas!

After this quick visit, we got back to home base and ate our lunch, and then immediately jumped in to a soccer game. The laughs definitely made up for the heat and sweat! Afterwards, we left to adoration at the local church, which was very beautiful to witness. On the way there we blasted Bruno Mars songs and sang at the top of our lungs.

Afterwards, we made our own empanadas (which I think many of us needed the help with cooking) and hung out before dinner. Finally, we ended the night telling spooky stories by the lake and probably another round of exploding kittens. Or another one. Or maybe just ONE more…

Pura Vida, Roji 😊 + A little motivation from Frijolito staring at me as I write this

Saturday April 20, 2019

5:30 am: ¡Buenos Días Chicos!

Now, you may be thinking, “hmmm maybe not the best time to start” but when I say it was worth it…it was worth it. Drowsy and tired, we awoke with the simplest idea of what our day had in store: horses + water. Everyone dragged on out of their rooms aware there would be a light breakfast. But to our surprise GLA had prepared for us the classic scrambled eggs, pancakes, refried pinto beans, and some fresh yummy fruit. And of course, you could never forget the Ñor Alfredo coffee. 7:00 am rolls around and now it’s time to head onto the bus.

The group was split into two: Don Ricardo and Mrs. Beeche with group 1 and Don Kevin and Ms. Leon with group 2. Later on, we arrived at the site where group 1 would begin their horse back riding. Everyone jumped off the bus as group 2 stayed on board. Just about a 5-minute ride away was the site of our so called “hot springs”. I know, we’re both thinking of the same thing.

Needless to say, we arrived at Kalambu Hot Springs WATER PARK. Group 2 hopped off the bus and waited in line for a good hour before the park opened. We had an opportunity to play games like slide, sticks, and even taught Mr. Correnti and Ms. Leon some of our youth slang. Once the park opened, we placed down our things and found huge water slides and tubes; even rides like those at our Aquatica back home.

Best of all, lots of pools surrounded by greenery and the stunning view of the volcano. By now it was time for lunch and both groups met at the water park cafeteria. Now we had switched and group 2 had arrived at the horse site while group 1 had their turn to share in the water park fun. Each horse was specifically chosen by height, weight, and horse experience and I was given a beautiful horse named Princesa.

One by one we commenced our journey through the jungles of Costa Rica. We enjoyed a horse ride filled not just with amazing beauty but even things like 60-year-old craters from the last volcano eruption! We were taught to steer the horses with their reigns and developed loving or even some not loving connections with the animals. Nearly 2 hours later we made it back down the mountain in awe of the stunning scenery.

Let me just say, this ride was by far the best thing I have EVER experienced in my life. It was time to head back to home base for dinner, but we made a quick stop in La Fortuna for a few souvenirs and some relaxation. After arriving at base, we had dinner and got ready to head back into Boca Arenal for a beautiful Easter Vigil Mass. We were able to witness the baptism of two adorable little babies and 4 other teens into our Catholic Community. The mass was filled with lots of joy in celebration of our risen Lord!

We even renewed our faith with a blessing of holy water and palms by the priest. We ended the celebration with a caravan around the town to let everyone know that Christ has truly risen! On our way back home, we enjoyed a little bit of music fun and soon enough it was lights out! I know this is getting long but what can I say; it’s been a great day! Onto the next!

Pura Vida,

Christina Hernandez 😊

P.S. don’t be surprised if I end up with a horse when we get back home, haha!

Sunday April 21, 2019

Greetings from Costa Rica!

Today we had a more relaxed morning, with a nice late start and breakfast at around 9 AM, the latest we have started our day on our adventurous trip. While it was a more chill start of the day, we spent our free time at the lake at the home base, and in the afternoon we went to a zipline up the mountain near the Arenal volcano, it was super fun and the students also had fun looking at the teachers scream and shout as they were going fast on the “Tarzan swing”.

Afterwards, the group got around an hour of walking around La Fortuna and some of us tasted a Costa Rican “granizado” (which is a Mexican “raspado”(shaved ice) with powdered milk and lechera.). On the way back everyone on the bus had a great time singing along to music.

Pura Vida Mae, Camilo. Yeahhhhhhhhh.

Monday April 22, 2019

Hola Amigos!

We started today with service at the elementary school. The service entailed a variety of different projects such as taking out the weeds in the school’s garden, painting tires for decoration and cleaning the newly bought area next to the school. Let’s just say that the paint was very messy and some of us came out with a new skin complexion. After service, we came back to home base and ate lunch. After lunch, we got ready to leave for a boat ride.

When we got to the place to board the boat, we found out that we were going to go rafting. We separated the group into 3 different boats, and we were able to swim in the river and even see howler monkeys!! After rafting, which was incredibly fun, we relaxed near the river and ate mini tortillas with queso fresco. After rafting, we went back to the home base and had a delicious dinner. After dinner, some of us played card games, and some of us went to the lake to stargaze.

Pura Vida, Hennessy

Tuesday April 23, 2019

Today we were able to do service at a smaller school that only had 13 students! All the students were incredibly energetic and outgoing. During this service day, we did different activities with the children such as playing soccer, dancing to music, and playing musical chair. In the end, everyone was soaked with sweat and were tired out by the little children. After service we went to the nearby corner store and bought ice cream and cold refreshments. When we went to the home base, we had lunch and then got ready to leave to the iguana souvenir store.

However, before getting to the souvenir store, we stopped at the supermarket for some snacks. Once we got to the souvenir store, we were able to get some more ice cream and see the iguanas. After the souvenir store, we went back to home base and went to the lake. During our lake time, most of us went swimming and kayaking. After lake time, we went to our rooms to finish all our packing and get ready for dinner. For our dinner we had some delicious hamburgers!!! And we are ending our last day with card games.

Pura Vida,

Hennessy