Our last day in the Dominican Republic

On the snorkeling trip

I am so sad that tomorrow we leave. I’ve had a blast! I have had so much fun here and I’m not ready to leave. Today we went snorkeling which was pretty cool to me especially since I want to go into marine science. We saw a barracuda too!

The highlight of my day however was Joanna’s house hands down. It was her birthday party! I’ve never had so much fun, definitely in my top 3 favorite memories. I love dancing even though I’m not good at it. They were teaching me moves and such and everyone was smiling, it was just a blast and I cannot ask for a better day!

The barracuda!

All good things come to an end unfortunately but at least I can say I walked away from this experience being more grateful and having fun memories! I plan on coming next year though and I’m looking forward to it!

 Contributed by:  Allyson Cutlip, Bath County

Kelsey Lindsay and Lexus Ryman

Tropical fish

A natural pool area in the ocean

Christine Hodges, Paul Giudicelli, Aligda Giudicelli, Joanna Giudicelli, Carol Nansel, JP Giudicelli

Joanna liked the larimar jewelry we gave her for her birthday.

Learning to merengue - a national Dominican dance

Allyson Cutlip and Chase Smith

Nicole and Carol

Monday - Snorkeling and Joanna's 17th Birthday

On the way to snorkel over the coral reef

Today was our last full day in the Dominican Republic. We went snorkeling in the morning and it was really fun.  We saw a barracuda. The water was so clear and blue it was awesome.

We later had a meeting with Jake Kheel, from the PuntaCana Ecological Foundation, and he talked about his job and about some of the projects going on at the Foundation. It was pretty interesting hearing about what he does to help the environment.

Later I went kayaking with Ally and Garrett. It was my first time and a lot of fun.

Beautiful water!

That night we all went to Joanna Giudicelli's house for her 17^th birthday party. The food was sooo good and it was my favorite night yet. There was Dominican dancing and music and it was a great way to end this trip.

This week has been life changing and one of the best experiences of my life. I sure hope I come back next year.

Contributed by:  Ali McLaurin, Bath County

Tropical fish



Growing new coral - a Foundation project

The coral reef



Carol Nansel, Jake Kheel, Christine Hodges



Sea Kyaking

Aligda carving the pork for Joanna's birthday dinner

Everyone danced!

More dancing

Learning the merengue

Garrett learned Merengue from Nicole

Joanna's birthday cake

Heather and Ali

Christine, Cody and Jacob

Higuey on Sunday

Basilica in Higuey

Today (Sunday) we visited a farmer’s market, a Basilica, multiple stores, and had an authentic Dominican lunch in Higuey. The farmer’s market was very different than anything that we have ever experienced before. The pungent odor of the “fresh” meat hanging in the sun created an interesting atmosphere, while the many types of grain and herbs caught our eye. Motorcycles with as many as four people on them weaved in and out of the pathway of giant tour buses.

Shopping was a lot of fun! We bought a lot of gifts, jewelry (Larimar, the official stone of the Dominican Republic), and other souvenirs. We employed our bargaining skills to get the best possible deal. After we shopped in the morning, we had an authentic Dominican lunch, which consisted of: rice, beef, chicken, fries, salad, and fried plantains.



Inside the Basilica

On our way back to Punta Cana, some of the teens (both Dominican and American) danced on the bus to the beat of Dominican hip-hop music. Overall it was a really great experience, and yet another wonderful day here in the Dominican Republic.

Contributed by:

Heather Landes, Shenandoah County

and Kelsey Lindsay, Bath County

 

 

Buying meat at the Farmers Market



Chicken vendor at the Farmers Market



Different kinds of fish at the Farmers Market

Bananas and Plantains at the Farmers Market

Grains and beans at the Farmers Market

Selling meat at the Farmers Market

 

Selling root vegetables at the Farmers Market

 

A family riding home with their purchases

Buying Skim Ice at the Farmers Market

JP bought a coconut from a street vendor so we could taste fresh coconut milk

Veggies for sale at the Farmers Market

Eating lunch in Higuey at an open air restaurant

The tie dye t-shirts were hard to miss.....

Shopping for souvenirs

Workers riding in the back of the truck

Saturday Service - Changing for the Better

Renovations to Colegio Elizabeth in Veron

Today after our service project in Domingo Maiz we traveled to two schools to deliver school supplies like past years. The first school was in Veron, Colegio Elizabeth, a small school which supplies have been donated to every year. When we walked in there I noticed that where there used to be an opening to another classroom was shut off by a concrete wall. I thought maybe something had happened, like their school caved in or something terrible to that sort and they had to fix it. Actually what had really happened was the teacher gathered the funding to separate the two classrooms to stop distractions and interruptions. I really thought it was neat to see how much the school had changed in one year.

Desks we refurbished last year

Then after Veron we took a 45 minute ride to Macao to deliver school supplies a second year in a row. We found out last year that the Rotary Club was in the process of raising enough money to build a new school in Macao that would have a stable foundation. Also, our service project last year was to renovate old school desks for this school to use. So I was already anxious to see the school to see what changes they had made. When we pulled up to the school I was in COMPLETE SHOCK! I could not believe the new school, it was beautiful. It was painted bright green on the concrete walls with a sturdy roof, much better than the tin and wood walls and roof they had before.



El Cajuil school in Macao

When we walked in we saw all of the desks we had worked on a year ago, I have to admit, I was proud to know that we were the ones who made these desks usable again for these students. When I saw the teacher both of our eyes lit up, she immediately remembered me and we hugged and I told her that her new school was beautiful! I could really tell that she felt more confident in herself knowing that she had a durable school to teach in every day.  I have to be honest, it took every bit of me not to shed a tear seeing how awesome this new school was. This has been the best service day that I have participated in the past 5 years that I have been going. It really makes me think of how lucky of a person I really am and how fortunate I am to have all the things I do; it makes you take the small and simple things for granted.

Contributed by Chase Smith, Bath County