Reflections - Addie Guthrie

It's difficult to describe this trip and put everything I learned and felt into words. I am so thankful for being granted the opportunity to go on this trip because it truly was life changing. I have travelled countless times to various parts of the world, but this trip really opened my eyes and taught me many valuable lessons that my previous travels had not. I had seen poverty, but not to the extreme of what we saw in Veron. I had seen happy, thankful children, but none nearly as happy as those that we gave candy to in the streets, and as those who attended our 4-H Day Camp!

As I travelled to the Dominican Republic, I slightly feared that having only one year of the Spanish language would limit me and my interaction with the Dominicans, however once in the Dominican Republic, I came to see my lack of the language as somewhat of a blessing. As I strived to use my limited vocabulary to communicate with campers and other Dominicans, I found that I was quickly able to pick up on some new vocabulary and speaking skills because of my immersion in the language. In the future, I hope to learn more Spanish so should I return on this trip again, I could use more Spanish, and continue to learn from the native speakers as well. Thankfully, we had many Dominican teens who were there to help us out all week, whether it be translating, bargaining, or simply just teaching us the way they live. I found priceless friendships with these teens and we are all planning to 'reunite' hopefully before the 4-H Dominican trip next summer! I am so glad I met these kids, they and their families were so loving and welcoming, and definitely fun to be around!

While we did have loads of fun on this trip, we also did a good amount of service work for the communities. We painted two rooms in a school house and also weeded around the area. We also collected school supplies for children at a small, poor school. These activities were some of the most fulfilling acts we accomplished on the trip. Even though we didn't meet all the people our service affected, we all knew that we had done a good thing and were really influencing many, while having fun at the same time!

The 4-H Dominican Republic trip was truly amazing and I had an incredible time! I'm so thankful that I was able to attend this trip, help others, and meet and interact with such great people!

Contributed by: Addie Guthrie - Shenandoah

Reflections from Brian Walsh

As I sit here and reflect back on our amazing trip to the Dominican Republic, I can only think about the amazing experiences that I have had, and the life changing opportunity that I was presented with. This program has allowed me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, see new things, and make a difference in our world. This program has taught me so much about myself and the world around me and has given me a new perspective on life.

Coming into this program I had three goals; meet new people, see new things, and make a difference in a country that desperately needs it. Through this trip I have accomplished those goals and have learned and achieved more than I ever thought possible. Although this was my second year going on this trip, I was still able to see and learn many new things. From the service projects that we did, to meeting and hanging out with the Dominican teens, the experiences that I had over this trip will remain with me for the rest of my life.

One of my favorite parts about this trip was knowing that we made a difference in a community that needed our help. It was also very good to know that we didn't just help one school or one family, but that we made an impact on many different children and two different schools. Cleaning up the one school was a lot of fun because we knew that what we were doing was helping many different kids. The time and effort that we put in to picking weeds, cleaning up trash, and painting classrooms was well worth it because of how good it looked at the end of the day. Visiting Colegio Elizabeth and delivering school supplies also gave me a great feeling. The poverty that was around this school was very sad to see, and knowing that we helped this community was amazing. Finally, I really liked spending time with the campers at the day camp. This was a great opportunity for children from the area to come together and have fun, and I think they all enjoyed their time with us.

The biggest thing that I have learned from this program, is to be thankful for everything that you have in life. Everybody has bad days and things that they don't like about their lives, but no matter how bad you think your life is, there is always someone who has it worse. Whether it was walking through the streets of Higuey or visiting Colegio Elizabeth, it was very noticeable that poverty filled much of the community. However, the most noticeable thing was that these people didn't complain and feel bad about themselves. Instead they took what they did have (family, friends, culture, etc.) and made the best out of it. This is the biggest thing that I have learned from this trip, and this has changed the way I look at life.

Another thing that I thought was very cool about the people of the Dominican Republic was the caring and generous attitudes that they displayed towards us the whole week. Whether it was the workers at the resort or people on the street, they were always very nice and always greeted us with an "Hola". This generosity was also seen in the Guidicelli family who invited over 20 people over to their house to have dinner. This was a great opportunity for all of us because of the fun that we had dancing and hanging out with the family and friends.

This program is extremely important, because of everything that it offers to us. Whether it is helping us to practice Spanish, making a difference in the world, or establishing new friendships that will last a life-time, this trip offers so much to the youth. I am extremely thankful to have been a part of such an extraordinary opportunity, and I hope to visit the Dominican Republic in the future.

Contributed by Brian Walsh, Shenandoah County

Time to Reflect

As our trip is coming to an end I have started to reflect on this past week. It is truly remarkable to see the calibur of young people we have in our 4-H program across the state. Although these students come from different backgrounds and have not met each other before this trip it is wonderful to see how they have made friends so quickly and embrace each other. This program has become very well-known here at Punta Cana and we owe a large part of this success to the work of the teens. They are extemely hard workers and they have such positive attitudes.

In 4-H we learn to be flexible, but in the Dominican Republic this word takes on a new meaning. Even though this program has been in existence for five years, everyday poses new challenges for the adults and delegates. We are constantly dealing with schedule changes and not many details, but I have not heard any negative comments or attitudes from our group. They take it in stride and instead of grumbling they just sit back and take it all in and they realize that this is a different culture and one that we all can all learn by.

It is amazing for me to see how little the Dominican people have but how rich they are in culture, happiness, and families. Their next door neighbors are their family and everyone helps each other whereas in the U.S. many of us do not even know or talk to our neighbors. Here, people are able to slow down and enjoy life and each other, they do not need alot to make them happy. Each year that I come we always take a bus and travel to the city of Higuey. As we drive through the villages I notice all of the people that are just hanging around in the streets talking to one another, listening and dancing to music, playing dominoes in storefronts, and kids playing with empty bottles or anything they can turn into a toy. This year I got to be one of those people, at the end of our service project we had the opportunity to visit a colmado (store). Afterwards, several of us sat in the chairs in front of the store listening to the music and just watching people come and go and telling everyone "hola". Everyone was so friendly and one guy even tried to get us to start dancing!

We can learn so much from this culture and these people. So many times we ignore each other on the streets or in the hallways, here there are very few times that people do not talk to one another and each hello is generally greeted with a hug and a kiss. We don't take enough time in our lives to slow down and enjoy the roses or the hibiscus, which is a gorgeous flower here in the Dominican Republic. We need to remember that family and our friends are our most important parts in our life and we need to appreciate them.

This was also evident when we were invited to Jean Paul and Joanna's home for dinner. At the end of the wonderful meal instead of the teens retreating to the basement or upstairs, we all stayed in the living room and pushed chairs and tables back and began to dance. Not just the kids, but also the adults. I learned most of my moves from their grandmother!!

I am extemely fortunate to be a part of this program and it has been one of the most important things I have done in my life. I have not only grown as a 4-H agent, but as a person and each time I return to the U.S. I try to bring a little of the Dominican Republic back with me!!!
Thanks to all the partners here at the Biodiversity Center including Ben Hulefeld and Jake Kheel, the teens, adults, and
Carol Nansel for making this a truly inspirational piece of my life.

I look forward to 2011!!!!

Contributed by Christine Hodges, Bath/Highland 4-H Agent

Snorkeling

This morning we were supposed to meet at the dive center at 10:00 a.m. and the second group was to meet at 11:00 a.m. In the morning we all got a call from the adults saying that the times have been switched to 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.! So, the first group walked down to the dive center at 9:00 but they were closed and no one was there.

Finally somebody showed up about 5 after 9. They had no idea who we were and why we were there. They made a couple calls and at 10:00 a.m. the other group showed up and found out we had no gone yet. Gaby, the director of the dive center, and Cocoa, the captain of the boat decided to put us all on one boat instead of taking two trips.

After getting our flippers fitted, our life jackets picked out and mask and snorkel we climbed into the boat to continue to the coral reef. Most of us had fun doing the NAVY SEALS move, where you fall out of the boat backwards and land in the water on your back.

The water was crystal clear, you could see everything. There were so many types of fish swimming just inches away from us. I brought a disposable underwater camera to try to get pictures of all the fish and coral reefs.

After an hour we all climbed up onto the boat and headed back to the beach. I really enjoyed seeing everything including the artificial reefs they are constructing to try to grow some endangered corals.

Contributed by:
Chase Smith, Bath County

In the Streets of Higuey

The morning started off just like it had the rest of the week, waking up with too little sleep (in my opinion). I had no idea what to expect of the trip we had planned for the day. We were going to Higuey to see the farmers market and do a little shopping.

Before we did anything else we went to Veron to take the school supplies we had collected to the Colegio Elizabeth, which was a very small elementary school that had five rooms and taught nearly 200 kids. After dropping off the supplies we went around the village giving candy and toys to the local (and some naked) kids. This was a way of slowly showing me what their lifestyle was like there.

Some of you might be thinking that the farmers market here just sells fruit and vegetables in the lazy summer heat. Well I can tell you it is nothing like that. At Wal-Mart, or wherever you get your meat, you have the prime meat looking nice, neat, and covered in plastic wrap. But this market had every little piece of the animal hanging from hooks, displayed in the most unappealing way, with their insides just sitting on the cutting table or thrown in pots to cure. By now you are probably kinda' grossed out and don't want to read the rest but there is more to the story. Now that you have an image in your head I can tell you about the smell. The word that comes closest to the description of the smell is horrific. The smell was absolutely unbearable and it came from everywhere, not just the market.

Also in the streets was trash. Everywhere you looked there was trash. Trash in the sewers, trash in the street, trash stacked in piles just anywhere. Then there were cars (mostly motorcycles) that would just weave in and out of everything not caring about any regulations. I know if it was like this in America we would all be involved in major accidents almost everyday. "We crash enough just when we are alone on the road," said Cody Ross. There is one word to describe it, absolute mayhem.

Now I get to talk about haggling with the local gift shop owners. It was great to get close to the price that you want for whichever item you are getting. For example, I got a necklace that might cost around $10-$15 in America, but here they put the price at $20 and I brought it down to $10 plus two free necklaces. It is all about how much you want to pay for the item.

After all of this we went to the supermarket to buy whatever we wanted. Most of us went for skim ice (frozen ice pops), coffee, clothes, or Dominican candy. I can tell you one thing, everything there was pretty cheap. George bought a 3 Liter bottle of Pepsi for $2.

Then we went back to the resort to have a Dominican dinner at the employee restaurant, and we settled down to wait for the Dominican teens to come back and dance with us in the lounge. They were so late that we almost thought that the staff was going to close the lounge for the night. We had been waiting to dance in there ever since Friday night.

Jon Vaus- Highland County

Colegio Elizabeth

Every year that we have conducted this program in Punta Cana, we have reached out to a tiny elementary school in Veron called "Colegio Elizabeth". We have watched the school grow from one crowded classroom to five classrooms in five years. One year they were building the second classroom from donated bricks while we were there. They didn't have money to buy paint for the classroom, so our group went to the hardware store and bought them paint.

Senora Elizabeth runs this elementary school for about 200 children in her community. One group attends in the morning and another group attends in the afternoon. Their parents pay whatever they can afford for their children to attend. Each year our 4-H group collects school supplies which we carry with us on the plane, and then donate to Colegio Elizabeth. This year we were fortunate to be able to meet with Senora Elizabeth and to tour the school when we brought the boxes full of school supplies to her school. The classrooms are very small, but they are well organized. Every resource is used.

Each of our 4-H delegates collected school supplies to bring to Colegio Elizabeth. Churches, neighbors and families all donated to this cause. We are also grateful to the Virginia Chapter of 4-H All Stars for collecting school supplies, and donating to our cause, as their service project during their Summer Conference. Senora Elizabeth was very grateful to receive all of the school items we brought her. Gracias to everyone who contributed!

Contributed by: Carol Nansel, Shenandoah County 4-H Extension Agent

Dinner at JP and Joanna's House

On Saturday night, the 4-H delegates were graciously invited to our Dominican friends house for dinner. We met Jean Paul and Joanna at the shuttle bus stop and they gave us a tour of the village they lived in. We saw their school, church, several shopping spots, and a Wendy's restaurant where many citizens in their village spend their free time. At their house, we mingled with their family outside on their back lawn, but soon moved inside when it started to sprinkle. Our Dominican friends' parents prepared a traditional Dominican meal consisting of roast pork, rice and beans, a family recipe potato salad, and a traditional cassava bread. They also prepared two cakes (carrot cake and almond cake) for us as well. The entire group enjoyed the meal very much! After dinner, the family put on some traditional Dominican music and taught us how to dance. We danced the salsa, merengue, limbo, jerk, and reggaton. We were able to use our new dance moves the next night when we all had fun in the dance lounge at the resort. Everyone had a great time interacting with Jean Paul and Joanna's lovable, happy family and we all felt welcome! We interestingly observed that the Dominicans did not have any problems dancing with their own family members, like many American teens do. Jean Paul and Joanna's parents demonstrated their outstanding dance skills as they danced the merengue for us. We then learned that they had once won national dance titles! Their family has invited us to come to their home again next year. We then walked back to the shuttle bus stop, reflected on our day, said adios to our Dominican friends, and returned to the resort for a well needed long night of sleep!

Contributed by:
Addie Guthrie - Shenandoah

Networking with the local Rotary Club

The Rotary Club of Punta Cana-Bavaro sponsored our service project today. They provided a bus to transport us to the school site in Bavaro and they also provided the supplies we needed to paint. About ten members of the club were there to welcome us and to provide refreshments, including the incoming president, Enriquillo Abreau. We had a chance to speak with the Rotary members and renew our friendship from the service project we did with them two years ago. They are going to work on a service project for us to do in 2011.

While we were working at this small elementary school, we were able to learn a little bit about the school and the students from several Rotary members. The Punta Cana-Bavaro Rotary club has been in existence for about three years now. They have taken on this school as a special project. The school used to have two classrooms and include students through the fourth grade. Just this year, the Rotary club built an addition to the school which added two more classrooms. The school now serves about 150 students through the seventh grade. About half of the students attend classes in the morning, and the other half attend classes in the afternoon. There are two teachers, who are paid by the government. Teachers salaries are low - around $100 per month. Living expenses are high in this area, so one of the teachers lives at the school during the week and goes to her home, about 30 miles away, only on weekends. During the summers, the teachers are not paid by the government, so the Rotary club pays them so that they will return to teach again the fall. Since this is a public school, the students do not have to pay to attend school. The Rotary club helps with expenses for books, desks, teaching materials, and uniforms for students who cannot afford them.

A larger project which is being conducted by this Rotary club is to build a fire station for the community. There are no fire stations between Punta Cana and Bavaro. If there is a fire, they try to get the Airport Fire Department to respond, but the response time can be long. So far, the Rotary members told us they have two fire engines and one ambulance donated to their cause. They have land, and they have Rotary members who are volunteering their time to design the fire station. In the United States, we take our infrastructure for granted. Here, someone has to pay for and provide the infrastructure that is needed to serve the businesses and families who are living here. In many cases, local businesses here take the initiative to build and maintain roads, build water treatment plants, and provide electricity.

Being able to connect with local people, like the Rotarians, really enhances our program and our understanding of the life and culture of the Dominican people. I hope we are able to build on this partnership in the future.

Contributed by Carol Nansel, 4-H Agent in Shenandoah County

Service Project Day

Our group arrived at our service project site, which was a school doing reconstruction, at around 9:30. We got supplies ready and began pulling weeds and painting. Once the weeds were pulled, everyone started painting two new classrooms. We painted for about two hours and then talked with members of the Rotary Club. After all that was finished we went to a local store right beside the school and got some local food and drinks. We then got back on the bus and drove back to the resort and had a big lunch.


Contributed by: George Miller and Drew Newmarker/Bath County

Second day of 4-H Day Camp

Our second day of 4-H Day Camp started off, like every other day, way too early! The previous night was late, but fun as we mingled and bonded with the Dominican teens at the pool, which led to several of us being thrown in the pool...fully clothed. The 4-H Delegates met for breakfast at the Punta Cana Resorts' breakfast buffet where we all enjoyed another great meal. We then walked to the Biodiversity Center where we prepared for our second, and final day of 4-H Day Camp. During camp, we assisted the campers in making several crafts such as picture frames and kaleidoscopes. We also played numerous games, had a water balloon toss, and got to know the campers a little more. After a long, hot day in the biodiversity center, we took a tour of the iguana preserve as well as the ranch. To conclude our day camp activities, we took the campers to the beach for some fun, refreshing time in the ocean. Several of the 4-H counselors struggled with the language barrier between themselves and the campers; however, we were able to overcome this difficulty and interact with the campers effectively and had a lot of fun in doing so. Many of us also expanded our Spanish vocabulary. We were all sad to see the campers leave this afternoon and hope that they enjoyed their time as much as we did. We have grown very close to them over the past two days and hope to see them in the future.

This evening we plan to dine at Franco's and hang out and go dancing with our Dominican friends.

Contributed by:
Addie Guthrie - Shenandoah
Cody Ross - Shenandoah
Jon Vaus - Highland

Perspectives

As an adult, my perspective is a little different from the 4-H teens. So far, I have been very impressed with the teamwork I have seen between the Dominican and Virginian teens. It's as if they have known each other their whole lives. One comment I heard today from a Virginia 4-H'er was "The Dominican teens culture is different from ours, but we listen to the same music and we have the same interests. Deep down, we are all the same."

The teens will be spending most of every day with each other here - conducting activities at 4-H Day Camp, doing a service project and touring Higuey together. I feel like I am seeing the beginning of many lifelong international friendships.

Contributed by Carol Nansel, Shenandoah County 4-H Agent

First Day of 4-H Day Camp

The third day of our trip was started with another amazing breakfast. Afterwards we met with Jake Kheel, director of the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation, to get a little insight into what the Foundation is all about. He shared many interesting stories and gave us a great amount of information about what the Foundation does and how they have evolved into the organization that they are today. After this meeting we proceeded upstairs to prepare for the campers arrival. It didn't take long for the campers to begin coming in, and we started off by playing some games and getting to know each other. Then we did several different activities in which the campers were able to tie-dye t-shirts, make reusable cups, and make pinwheels which they were able to take home. After a lunch, consisting of hamburgers and french fries, we boarded a bus and went to the pool. We had a wonderful time playing games and interacting with the Dominican kids. We then headed back to the Bio-diversity center where it was time for the campers to leave. The rest of the day was spent on the beach and at the pool and was ended with a delicious dinner from the employees restaurant at the resort.

Contributed by

Brian Walsh and Cody Ross
Shenandoah County

Teambuilding Day

Wednesday was the first full day that we had. We all woke feeling a little bit more energized than yesterday. When we were done with the hotel's wonderful breakfast, we went to the Educational Foundation to get ready for the day ahead of us. First we met all 12 of our Dominican teen partners, who will be helping us with the 4-H Day Camp, with the service projects, and who will accompany us on our field trip to Higuey. We started getting all the arts and crafts ready for the day camp. I'm sure the kids will love all the toys they get to make. After getting them ready, we went over the games we will play for introducing names. Then we made our tie dye counselor t-shirts with the Dominican teens. The rest of the American teens and I can't wait for the rest of the week to come!!!

Contributed by Chase Smith, Bath County

Travel Day

On Tuesday, eight Bath, Highland and Shenandoah County 4-H members, and four chaperons, all met at the County Government Center in Woodstock to depart for our trip to the Dominican Republic. It was very early in the morning - 2:30 am to be exact! We then drove to Dulles International Airport for our flight up to JFK in New York. We got there and then flew approximately 4 hours to the Dominican Republic. What a beautiful country! We then arrived at the Punta Cana Resort - and what a BEAUTIFUL place!!!


Three of the Dominican teens we met in previous years came to see us at the resort before dinner. We all retired to bed early to get a full night's sleep since no one had slept the night before.

Contributed by Bryan Liskey, Shenandoah County

Packing

Our group of eight 4-H teens from Shenandoah, Bath and Highland counties, two Extension Agents and two volunteers will be leaving for Punta Cana, Dominican Republic later tonight. Everyone is busy with last minute packing today. Wonder how much sleep everyone will get since we are departing from Woodstock at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, July 13 for Dulles Airport.... Our flight leaves at 6 a.m and we will be flying through JFK Airport in New York. We should arrive in Punta Cana around lunchtime, which gives us time to explore our surroundings and maybe rest a bit before we meet our Dominican teen friends on Wednesday to prepare for the 4-H Day Camp. We'll try to keep this blog updated as we are able to access the internet at the Biodiversity Center in Punta Cana.

Contributed by Carol Nansel, Shenandoah County 4-H Agent

What is this program?

The goal for this program is to give Virginia 4-H High School students an opportunity to travel to a Spanish speaking, developing country to interact with their peers. While there for a week, the 4-H'ers conduct an environmental 4-H Day Camp for Dominican children, learn about Dominican culture and food and conduct at least one service project in the local community.

We offer this program in partnership with the Punta Cana Center for Sustainability and Biodiversity at the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation, of which Virginia Tech is a research partner. We began this program in 2006 and the current program involves 4-H teens from Shenandoah, Bath and Highland counties.

Contributed by Carol Nansel, Shenandoah Co. 4-H Agent