Blog 1:
It has been two days here in the Dominican Republic and already so many different thoughts and emotions have crossed through this brain of mine. My initial thought was that this country has a lot of similarities to Brazil and made me miss it. But I also realized that I have to take in these differences and embrace the culture for the beauty it is. And wow the DR is beautiful! A great seaside view as we were driving into San Cristobal with lush trees and greens. There is something excitin about the chaotic streets and town areas that puts a smile on my face. A lot of this chaos would probably overwhelm visitors that are unfamiliar with this way of life. For me it does the opposite. Chaos is so fun and unpredictable. It is the perfect way to observe the culture and appreciate the little things. There are no road rules here in the DR and people will drive around in motorcycles with three people on the back. It makes me wonder what they would think of all our structure back in America. I am in love with vibrant cultures here, the people are happy and embrace you without judging your cultural background. I find the language barrier an exciting challenge for me to learn the language. My biggest struggle is confusing Portuguese words with Spanish words. I take online classes of Portuguese to maintain my practice, but Spanish words that once were easy for me to remember have become cloudy due to the similarities of the two. I catch myself every once in a while. This culture is refreshing. That is the best word I can use to describe this culture. Refreshing!
We got to attend two different church services that really brought out the kindness and vibrance of the people. One thing that I found really awesome was that the preacher translated his messages to us so that we can understand that message. We were happy just being guests and listening to the Spanish messages, but I thought it was cool that they incorporated us. A small, but meaningful gesture. I think traveling opens your eyes to a lot and I feel that's what makes me love it so much. When I am in a routine in life, I start to just blend in with the crowd. Traveling reminds me of the beauty and keeps me living so alive. Ever since brazil I live with such joy and never take life too seriously and I am thankful for all my travels to keep me this way.
We had the amazing experience to play with the Dominican Republics National team. They don't get the recognition nor the resources that the USA's national team get. We had a formal game in their eyes, but to us it was a pick up game. About ten of them had attended the World Cup in Vancouver, so despite the completely different ways we play soccer we had fun meshing together. Playing with them also made me realize that we grew up with experience in a competitive environment unlike them. A different way of life to say the least.
Blog 2:
Today was a day split into two different projects. Both rewarding in their own ways. We began the morning by going to the ex leper colony. This is a rare disease with only two facilities world wide that properly contain the disease from being contagious. Venezuela and Dominican Republic. Once these people get this disease, they are dropped at this facility and forgotten. It's really quite a sad disease because this slowly deteriorates their skin making it so painful that sometimes they cut off hands, fingers, or legs to eliminate the spread or pain. It is mostly sad because friends and family forget about them in fear that they will get it too. One lady we met counts every day hoping that her only son will visit her. She has been in there for a year and a half and still no visit. It's amazing though because these people have been abandoned and forced to live the rest of their lives in exile here, but they pray for others in this world and find a peace. They care that people live their lives and never have to catch this disease. They have such hope for this world and don't let it destroy their happiness. I can't imagine how lonely they get, but it put great joy in my heart to see how happy they were that we were there visiting them. The little things like that truly touch my heart. I am so thankful that I am able to do the things I can.
The day ended with us visiting an orphanage, but it was a great day in so many ways! Soccer is a beautiful sport that brings so many cultures together. The Dominicans decided they wanted to play all of them verse us Americans. I was laughing pretty much the whole time because we were all having so much fun. There were tons of them and only some of us, so when one of us got the ball then a swarm of them would surround us. We beat them 3-1 and we all bonded over it. Of course they weren't thrilled that a bunch of women beat them, but that could also do with the culture difference. It was great fun!
Blog 3:
One of the most rewarding experiences was visiting the butays. They are the families that work on the sugar cane fields, which is populated of mostly Haitians. This is because it is a tough job that not many Dominicans want to do, so Haitians come and do it since it is better living then what they had. It was a very poor community, but the school was full of vibrant kids. We brought food and toys for everyone in the school, which we had packed in separate boy and girl bags the night before. It was hard to see how malnourished they were due to the poor living conditions. They usually have water with sugar in it as food for them. This is the only time of the year these kids get to enjoy a full meal. Can you imagine? I couldn't. There is so much I want to do to help, but it's a work in progress to help everyone. Something is always better than nothing. The best part by far was playing soccer with them. We played in rocks, so you were sliding everywhere. The four of us who played loved it. The surface may have been unpredictable, but the game never changes. It reminded me of the movie pelada and how they travelled all over the world to find the beautiful game. I would love to do what they did in that documentary, but I feel like I am experiencing a piece of what they did.
It is very nice to come to a country where being an American is highly appreciated. Everywhere we would go we would hear "americanos" and you could see the excitement. They know that we are here to help them and not be a tourist. It really is a self fullfilling feeling to give so much without anything in return. The people are so friendly here. We took a walk into town while saying 'hola' to all, and it brought smiles on their faces. Good laughs too, those kids sure can dance.
Nothing has been more great than having no technology for a week. No cell phones, Internet, or anything. I feel that without this stuff, it allows us to understand the people here. Honestly, it is nice to get away from the chaos for a little and have time to slow life down a bit. We get to interact more with each other than we would if we had all that stuff.
Blog 4:
I found that this experience has heightened my love for cultures and reminded me of the track I detoured off of for a bit. I know what steps I need to take when I get home mainly focusing on a job and hopefully something related to Portuguese. Teaching English in a different country could be a good start, but I am confident in the direction I want to go. I thrive best as an individual traveller meeting people on the way. Who knows what's next...
"There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart... Pursue those." - Michael Nolan
