As an integral part of the our Service-Learning program, every semester the students take a week off in the middle of the semester to go live and work in a poor rural area of the Dominican Republic called Rio Limpio. The idea is that we, the students, will be able to see the differences and the similarities between the rural setting and the urban setting in which we work. We were working with CENM, the Center of Ecotourism of Nalga de Maco learning how to make organic fertilizer and with CREAR, a non-profit organization that maintains an organic farm and hosts a technical degree- high school for Dominicans and Haitians to learn about sustainable agriculture together. We also had the chance to work in the fields with the students and, while they all showed us up at weeding and hoeing and general farming techniques, they were all very welcoming and willing to show us how it is done and teach us the reasons behind the things that they do.
We were greeted by the whole community and were invited to an art fair where they all presented us with their hand made goods. After arriving, we played a decent game of baseball against the Dominicans which turns out is both of our country’s favorite past times’ (so they say). It was the most beautiful baseball field you could ever imagine: a simple abandoned field with a fence behind home plate and bases with holes worn through them, but it was situated in the middle of an gorgeous tropical mountain range. I couldn’t help but forget the game for a while and run off with some kids to go pick fresh fruit explore a while. After being scolded by competitive team members I returned to the field only to be playing left field with a goat next to me. We laughed as Neil smacked a line drive straight into a horse’s knee just outside of third base. It was a good game of ball and helped us to get to know the community and fostered relationships that we won’t soon forget.
The week only continued to get better from there. We began working and learning the organic techniques and practices and why they plant mais, yucca, and mohlondrones together (because they not only have different growing seasons and thus keep a steady flow of crops coming in throughout the year, but the combinations of smells emitted from the plants act as natural insect repellants.) We used machetes to chop up parts of plátano (plantain) trees that look like giant cylindrical onions inside, cacao, weeds and other natural ingredients to create layers that foster the perfect conditions and temperature for quick decomposition and rich, fertile soil. The soil they produce is some of the richest in the world and it was amazing to see the process first hand.
We continued to engage in activities with the community. After dinner the adults and kids would meet us at the restaurant where we were served amazing Caribbean, Latin-style dinners (fruits and vegetables and meats and cheeses and fresh juices…) and we would all play dominoes late into the night. We learned the tricks of the trade so to speak and the key to this ever competitive game in this country is to slam your domino down as hard as you can in the opponent’s face when you make a winning move.
I had the chance also to work with the local artisans who made hand carved art out of wood. I had the opportunity to work with two guys my age, Joanael and Hiyo, and actually carved my own wooden spoon, sanded it down, and polished it. Thanks to much guidance by them I now have my own hand carved spoon to bring back to the states and indulge in some of the sugary “normal” cereals that I so dearly miss. It was really interesting to have conversations with them and find out what their realities were, what difficulties their businesses faced and what their goals are for the future. It was an experience that was invaluable in the insights it gave me into my investigation with the artisans in Santiago and the differences and similarities between the rural and urban realities here in the Dominican Republic.
On the second to last night I went to bed feeling especially exhausted. I couldn’t figure out why until the middle of the night when I woke up felt a sudden rush of heat and dizziness only to fight to get out of my mosquito net I was sleeping in to make it all the way to the… well bath tub. It was an unfortunate place to be puking my brains out because the next morning it turned into an internal struggle if I would ever eat spaghetti again as I was cleaning it out with my hands. Anyways, to spare the details, I was sleeping/ waking up/ puking/ repeating all night long along with a couple other members of my program. We were afraid the river we had swum in the day before caused it because other foreigners warned us that they ended up going to the hospital from the same thing.
We never did find out what we had and sadly we missed ascending the mountains on horseback to visit the coffee farms and a cooking workshop with the local women among another game of baseball with the kids. I did however come away from that experience having a greater respect and appreciation for Dominican culture and people. The women who worked in the kitchen of the restaurant made us an amazing ginger/oregano/salt tea that was supposed to kill any potential parasites that were living growing in side of us (there was a fear of this given the fact that an 8 year old girl upchucked a 18inch tapeworm while one of the girls in my program was working at the local preschool). But these women were so caring and generous and insisted on cleaning our rooms and bathrooms and fixing us a yucca, plátano, and garlic soup that evening (after eating plain rice for lunch) so as to settle our stomachs they said. Thanks to all their care and love, it worked and we were all feeling better more or less by the next night.
The trip ended with a giant talent show where the entire community crowded inside and outside of the restaurant to sing and dance and perform skits for us. Because our group had no hidden crowd-pleasing talents, we decided to sing a mediocre rendition of our hymno nacional. It was nothing compared to the Haitian drumming, bamboo didgeridoo-playing, crazy African tribal dancing performances that we enjoyed as a very unique intercultural experience. Spending that last night dancing the night away to the traditional merengue sounds that are very much representative of the life and culture here in the Dominican Republic, made us realize how close we had become with this community and the lasting impact they had on us. It will be impossible to forget how generous and welcoming their community was and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of it, even just for a week.
The next morning we left early in the morning to drive North to DaJabon, the biggest city on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Each Friday they open up the border just for the day and the city is literally flooded with Haitians coming in to sell every type of good you can imagine at the market that turns the whole city into a giant flee market. Bartering, haggling, hassling and begging best describes the experience in the market at DaJabon. I ended up buying a couple T-Shirts, cologne (because after the woman sprayed 10 different kinds on me as samples I felt it was the only way to solve both of our problems), and a very large quantity of Haitian Coconut packaged cookies all for very cheap.
We hopped back on the bus and made it back to Santiago at four pm, right on time. I tried to get some sleep on the guagua, but there was none to be had due to the, well- lets just say, less-than-perfect road conditions. I dropped my stuff off and was welcomed by my host family like a son that went away on a week-long trip. To see their excitement upon my arrival made me feel very accepted and loved. It was good to be “home” again.
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