Don’t Cry Because it’s Over, Smile Because it Happened

Dr. Seuss always knows best.

Jack Johnson’s pretty good too, “It’s not that it goes too fast, it’s just that it goes at all”

Yet, it is probably the best way to sum up everything, and now seems to be the time to sum up.  Upon return, everyone is asking how it was and what the best part was and I just get tongue tied. Actually, I think this blog is probably the best way for me to share, as well as remind myself, in the most organized, meaningful way.  In my jumbled words of “incredible” and “amazing” it’s been hard to relay any of  the experience, but I do feel like anyone who’s read this blog has probably come the closest to understanding. Not only have I ruled it down to being the best decision and best three months of my life, but it was just such a huge volume of experience in such a short time that I don’t even know how to start thinking about it.  Yeah, yeah, this is a bit sentimental, but I just returned from our showcase and our final dinner with all our professors and friends.  My roommate also just left, so I’ve got a room to myself, a heart full of goodbyes, and nothing but Punta Cana in my brain.

Our last night out, we got paper plate awards! It was the awesome touch that reminded everyone just how well we knew each other at this point. On a plate, we captured each other’s personalities surprisingly well and got some fun souvenirs out of it. As the Free Spirit, I was content with the mark I left. To the group, I was always barefoot, frequently found upside down or climbing things, kind of Sara B’s best friend, and one of the most talkative in Spanish.

The final morning, I woke up early and ran to the beach. My favorite part of the beach.  It’s called Playa Serena, and for a good reason. With a nice, flat stretch of sand there is hardly anyone in sight. On its own little cove, you can lay down there for hours and never see more than a few people stroll by. I smiled at it as I went to say goodbye to the rest of the resort.  Next stop was the lagoons, and it was perfect.  The water temperature was perfect, and the faithful duck, Donald, was there to see me off.  When left to ourselves, each member of our group seemed to have their own way for saying goodbye and set out that morning to do it in their choice way. Mine just so happened to be handstands by the lagoons. Who’d have thought?We also managed to weasel our way into a hotel breakfast, which was great. Real food, and a final trip by the hotel market, we said goodbye to the resort for good.  It was bittersweet to say the least, having spent such a long time on the same grounds just being happy to be present in such a wonderful environment.  As we finished packing and headed out, it just kept sinking in. We said some sad goodbyes to the foundation staff and our Punta Cana friends, and piled in the car. I am not sure that I even cried when I graduated high school, but I was definitely included in the waterworks this time around.  Understandably so, the drive from the foundation to the airport was the saddest part.  Just saying goodbye to our foundation family, and knowing we were leaving, it was hard. In the happiest of ways.

The flight went smoothly, and we returned happily to our professor-dads that drove to Charlotte to pick us up. Naturally, the drive was cold and rainy, and it was a little hard to be back in the US. While some of us went home and others went to the hotel, we separated for the first time when we got to Blacksburg. My roomie was still with me though, and that lasted for another two days. Yesterday was follow-up mettings, and prep for the showcase of the trip today.  It was also my first really shocking moment being back.  Though there were a few of us that needed to be home, roomie and I were not that into it.  Being back was just not where it was at. There were so many people and normal lives and cell phones and shiny cars, and frankly I was okay without them. On the upside though, I did get to see a few friends and get back to my gymnastics crew that I did truly miss.

The main event though, was the showcase. We each divvied up parts of the trip, and created powerpoints that visually expressed our favorite parts of each class. An hour later, we had our last dinner at the same restaurant we ate at before we left.  Although these are the friends that aren’t getting left behind, we will see them all again, the marking of the end of Punta Cana was still emotional.  Hopefully we’ll all stay close friends, but Punta Cana times are rapidly turning into memories and “real life” is commencing quickly in its footsteps. I dropped some friends off after dinner, and promptly cried the rest of the way home.  Oddly though, they were not tears of sadness.  I mean sure, saying goodbye is always sad, but it was mostly just happy water on my face.  It was such a powerful semester, and I did my absolute best to be thankful and appreciative for the time while it was happening. That said, time passes. It has an odd habit of doing that. But if you’re living in the present and enjoying the moments while they’re happening, there’re no regrets and no remorse. I am so happy that this trip played out exactly how it did, and I’m sure I’ve got quite the adjustment period in my near future.  Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen, it was truly life changing. 

Counting Down

Slow week for the gang, perhaps because everyone has been counting down the days. Not necessarily in a cant-wait-to-get-out- kind of way, but more so as the end of an experience approaches, there are melancholy undertones to most events.  Although we are, for the most part, ready for Blacksburg at this point, it is still a little sad to see the trip end. Nonetheless, the week has been full of good times yet again. Oh, and I swam with the sharks. No big deal.

That was cool. A few friends and I went on a “just for fun” dive, where we just drifted with the current hanging out with the sea life. Which just so happened to be a nurse shark! It was little, and the only one that we actually saw, but we were all pretty excited. We also saw two sea turtles! It was all very exciting, and well worth the month-long diver certification that we pressed through at the beginning

Once the week got underway, we caught up with our final Spanish class session.  We have a presentation to prepare (and give today) and our online class to wrap up as well. When I finished the online class, a follow-up test to measure our progress was administered by my computer box that thinks it’s a profesor. It’s a dumb professor at that. Regardless, it gave me a passing score! Despite all my thoughts otherwise, according to professor-machine that thinks it knows my life, I improved my Spanish by almost 30%! My score got way boosted, and I have no idea how it happened. So by all official documentation, we can say my language skills improved I just hope they don’t leave me before I get the chance to keep them up.

As part of the course, we went on a short trip into the town of Higuey, where we visited a basilica and experienced what may have been the ultimate culture shock of the trip. The church however, was beautiful. Instead of paintings and ceramic- style artwork, the church featured incredible stained glass and wood carvings.  The alter was a dark wood, with leaf carvings throughout.  It was so interesting and I have never seen anything like it. So glad we drove the hour out of the way to see it.

Next came the markets. Which are fun and dandy when you’re picturing little handmade souvenirs, but a little different when we’re talking about butchers and carvers. Walking down the sidewalks in shock of all the fruits and vegetables, we hardly noticed where we were headed until we stumbled into the meat street.  I’ll spare you the gore, but I saw pretty much every body part from every species of Dominican livestock, all within a few minutes.  Culture for the win.

The next day, I went on the third and final surfing excursion. Ah, and how different each time was! This time, it was windy and pouring rain- but tons of fun regardless. Though I spent more time paddling, ducking under waves, and getting washed around, I loved being in the big, stormy waves and managed to get a few solid rides in.  We met some more friends, and everyone really loved it. I am so glad that everyone else had a good time. While I know I’ll never leave the ocean after a rough day, I know that it is an entirely different scenario when you are just learning and having everyone else love it was just awesome.

Today, I managed to catch the tail-end of a sunrise, and I hope I can catch another one before I leave. I’ll miss everything about this island, but it has left me with more than I can relay. I’m excited to see what the next adventure in store is. Although, I haven’t made it home yet. There’s plenty of time for a grand finale

 

Is it Summer Yet?

Ten days to go

Ten days left until this wonderful little paradise semester goes back to the United States and becomes real life again. It’s okay though. It was only a matter of time before the present became the past, and I’m glad that it happened. Anyways, we’re winding up here, finishing up projects, and hopefully doing laundry for the last time.

And one of our last hurrahs was the Olympics! We decided to host our own games on the beach at night, costume mandatory.  However, if we’re going to be honest, it turned into kind of a 4 hour chaotic beach party.  Initially, we had set up games like the three-legged race, dodgeball, and chicken fighting. Most people ate sand.  It was fun though, and it gave us 9 a chance to hang out with our other Punta Cana friends before we leave them for real life.

As for our class this week, it was was all about interviewing, and it was really informative. As I’ll probably put some of these skills to the test in the next month, it was particularly relavent to my summer. We learned things from how to walk in, how to prepare, and even how to answer popular questions. Our theater teacher made it his side job to channel all his acting knowledge into interviewing techniques- and he’s been very successful. What better job could there be during a recession? Teaching people how to get jobs when there aren’t any is just a way to ensure that your career is in demand in a time when jobs are few and far between. As this is still our culture class, we also attended a classical music concert , and saw a wonderful symphony-style performance. There were some very talented musicians, and live music is one of my favorite things.  However, advice for next year’s group: EAT. Somehow we figured we’d just eat afterward, but afterward turned into 11pm pretty quickly and we were two rows of growling stomachs. The complimentary wine may not have been the best remedy. We decided to walk home, and it was a beautiful, full moon stroll on the beach (college is okay i guess..).  We did meet up with some Chinese food later that evening, and I regret trying some of the mystery chicken. I paid for that the following day.

But it was a nice occasion to get dressed up again.  We really are a crew of nature girls, as I like to call it. Showering and laundry are both very optional things, and make-up is a rarity in itself.  I like to think I keep the bar low intentionally so that people get excited when I do clean up. Regardless, we shocked the boys with our roughing-it style.  The two guys on our trip and our coordinator however, are the divas.  They are all about some coiffed hair stylin’. Either way, we all looked pretty sharp for the concert and the infrequency of the effort made everyone feel even more special. So it was a rather calm week for us, we’re winding up. Thought I’d check in though and share some fun photos. I also stumbled upon some scuba pictures that never made it to the blog before, and underwater pictures are kind of the best. alright, well that’s all for now. Perhaps I’ll provide some more artistic storytelling in the future, but for now just letting you all know that I’m still having fun and I’ll be seeing you very shortly!

Nana, we’ll be going shopping soon I hope! Blacksburg, we’ll hang out for a while before I head home. no worries. Carrie, drive safe. Austin, If you ever fall off a cruise ship I’ll send dolphins your way. Virginia Beach- let’s go. Love you all and see you before long!

sf

That’ll do it for the Gringos

First let me apologize for any lack of emailing or other communication as of recently.  While I’m hoping that all of the organizations and application-senders are reading this and thinking, “ahhh she did get my email, of course I’ll hold the deadlines now that I see she intends to respond,” however it also applies to the more likely friends and family I have perhaps neglected.  So, I will get to you all individually and skyping is very flexible for the remainder of my time here.  As I was being a bit lazy and starting to push back more things, I asked myself, why not? Homework should not take priority over travel blogging, and it’s not like I don’t enjoy it, so I am really not sure why I haven’t been more proactive. So here it is, marking things of my to-do list like no other.

This week is Intro to Theater. Which has been pleasantly modified into Dominican Culture-Related Topics and Lessons on Productive Interviewing. I’ll take it.  The plan was this: prof arrives, depart following day for our four-day excursion, return Thursday evening, and spend the following week with interview techniques to wrap up the entire course. Itinerary in hand, we departed this past Monday for our artistic endeavors and our final journey through the Dominican Republic.

With our new professor the first yet who has been strict with timing, we left at exactly 8am.  This time I had Tina Fey’s new book in hand, and the next four hours breezed by in Shannon Land. The hotel we stayed at was called the Belario, and it was beautiful. With a courtyard in the middle, it carried a B&B air more so than a hotel. Also of note, this trip was talked up to be the Good Eating week.  After 9 weeks (give or take) of the same two restaurants in Punta Cana, this trip was much anticipated and approached with high expectations. And it did not disappoint. The first lunch we had after checking in was at a colorful, quaint place that served stuffed eggplant in upsettingly small portions. Now nourished, we set out on the rest of what would be a busier day than we expected. (our hotel below)Taking a walking tour around the city, we passed through a beautiful church, a Larimar factory, and a cigar shop. The church was incredible.  Something I’ve discovered about myself in recent years, foreign churches are awesome. I really do love seeing the unique architecture as well as the internal artwork, and just experiencing the different feelings that each emits. Typically in the DR, the churches have focused more on color and simplicity, so it was cool to finally see a decked-out cathedral. Following more walking and talking, we ended up in a Larimar factory. Larimar is a sky-blue colored stone that is the DR’s national stone. I’m not sure what it takes to qualify as a “national stone,” but these folks boast it like it’s their job (okay, maybe it is) and they sure don’t let you forget Larimar. It’s the National Stone, you know. Mocking aside, it was pretty cool getting to see a little behind-the-shop factory where the pro’s make the quality jewelry, and I was lucky enough to score a free sample. That may have had something to do with the pitiful-sounding, halfway true, No Tengo Dinero speech that I gave to a Dominican Salesman that seemed have a affection toward the gringas.  Either way, I walked away showing off my freshly-made stone to all my now-bedazzled classmates. Working the system since 1991. As we just finished reading a play that takes place in a cigar factory, a large bit of the trip was spent educating the less-informed (myself topping that list) on cigars, and the culture behind them. This first exposure however, was simply a purchasing opportunity. The tour itself came later. Exhausted and smelly, we returned to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Another key distinguishing feature of this trip, was that it became our “get fancy” trip.  As most of the girls hardly used any of their fancy clothes they brought, this was a last-ditch effort to make sure all clothing got some show and I figured it’d probably do me some good to brush my hair and shower.  Though it almost goes without saying, I did not initiate this plan. But I had packed some nice clothing, so I figured wearing some of it in the last week was probably not the worst idea.  Thinking we would be going to a fancier place than we did, we strolled into a texmex-style restaurant significantly overdressed, but still standing by our decision. It was a cool restaurant though, and entertainment was dancers that spun around on top of rum bottles. In case it wasn’t implied, studying abroad is awesome. Exhausted, we came back, tore off our dresses, and promptly fell asleep before midnight. My kind of night. 

Days always seem to go by smoother when I wake up before the rest of the world.  Something about some “me time” on the plante before the 9 to 5 commences is kind of great.  Not much space or energy to get fancy, I started the second day reading out on the balcony in the courtyard and it was wonderful (again, studying abroad > most other things). After a lovely breakfast, we set off for a day of museums. It was pretty great. I loved just having set time to just hang out at our leisure and wander through paintings. Another love that international treasure (i meant to type “international travel” but “treasure” sneaked in somehow, and I think I like it better that way) has helped unearth.  Late afternoon presented itself with a pina colada and a great lunch of steamed calamari and vegetables. As always, no complaints from my end.  This afternoon we also got to visit the markets, and I met an artist that showed me around his studio, which in my mind was evidence that he was making the art rather than buying and reselling it. Alright Kiko sir, I’ll support that. You can see it when I get home A little more meandering, and it was time to begin the getting ready process night two. Straight hair here I come! Two girls with us have the same birthday, and although the 21st in the DR doesn’t carry quite the “responsibility” that it does in the states, it was still fun. So we celebrated the eve of, and got to go back to the awesome falafel place again and we had a great time. Later that night we went out to go dancing, which was alright.  More exciting however, was the bus rides.  I’ll save the details for any parents reading, because after all, we’re still alive, but let’s just say we were not always certain that would be the case. Lots of joking, bus dancing, and Dominican honking concluded a fun night out. Goodbye Santo Domingo, hasta luego. (first one is going to be what my art gallery foyer looks like, whenever I get around to opening it) 

The next day was another travel day. We drove up to Santiago, with our guide, for some more museum time and a tour through the actual cigar factory. This museum was also great. It was mostly modern art, and nearly all paintings, but cool.  We had less time for strolling, and that added some obnoxious pressure to the situation but overall it was a really cool visit and I gathered some gift ideas from it

Cigar factories are interesting. There is a very traditional method of creation that has hardly diverged from its roots in the last century. Unlike many of the other factories we visited past trips, the workers here are valued. Those with the technique and precision to roll a quality cigar are selected to be a part of the process. While there is definitely tedious work, a lot of the workers we met seemed enthusiastic about their work and clearly proud.  Another fun touch is the lector.  In the early 20th century, the factories hired lectors to read novels to the workers. And it is too great that they continue that tradition. A man was sitting in a corner reading the paper as we walked in, and it was definitely a little joy to see the pattern continue.  Oh, I should mention. This was the Aurora factory, for those of you cigar connoisseurs. The rest of that night was wonderful as well. We went to an incredible, outdoor restaurant with its own Christmas lights and waterfall. As a birthday dinner, I’d say this seafood restaurant would have been hard to top. We went back our hotel, one of the nicest yet (complimentary toothpaste is kind of a big deal in my book) and hung out at the brightly-colored bar downstairs where we dressed in hawaiian-themed birthday attire and danced until we dropped. Which is kind of not true because we had to climb UP stairs to get to our rooms. But I think the jist is implied.

The next day was wonderful. I’m starting to realize that I just cant type every detail into this post, so I’ll end with our evening. There’s a European element to the DR. Naturally, it is the richest place where celebrities by property, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  Historically it was a place (I really should look up the details) that a ruler created for his daughter who turned it down. With an amphitheater and cliffside view, this little village was beautiful in its entirety. It helped that we caught it at the perfect time of day, just before sunset with a bit of sun peaking through, but everything from the architecture to the open air added to its serenity. A wonderful Italian dinner in an open-air restaurant was the ultimate capstone to the trip, and I started another book for the ride home. Starting a new adventure as mine was ending, and it was great. A little over two weeks left on the adventure, we finished up our final field trip and are enjoying all the sun we can, while we can Love and smiles. 

Medical Geography

Lots of greatness came from this past week, perhaps my favorite trip yet. It was a nice midway point between the first two trips. We had lots to do, but lots of down time as well. Scheduling was more of a day-to-day task rather than abiding to a specific itinerary as in the past.  Whatever the differences, it molded to my style of traveling pretty comfortably. And the morning before we left when I woke up feeling crummy and worried, well that turned out to be the worst of it and a lingering cough was all that accompanied me throughout the rest of the trip. Which was great, except for the small fact that I was only the first of many everyone to go down. While I prided myself on my vitamin C intake, the rest of the group dropped like flies throughout the next few days. Luckily, it just seemed to be a cold. Aside from GI distress that follows us on most trips into the country, the contagious bug seemed to just be congestion, which is hardly debilitating by comparison. Anyway, I left early Sunday morning with a good book in hand headed for Puerto Plata, the northwestern peninsula of the country.

This day was mostly transportation. I packed some small snacks for the ride knowing we had not done our usual pack-the-car-with-food-in-advance-to-save-money routine, and it was probably my best decision of the day. Some eight hours later we roll into a Fridays as ravenous college students. Although Fridays would never be one of my go-to restaurants, I was able to find a shrimp salad that looked appetizing and the place had kind of a pleasant ambiance that made it an easy meal.  With uncomfortably slow service, we finally left for the last leg of the journey over two hours later. Upon arrival, we met with a Project Esperanza leader and hung out for the rest of the evening. Ah, and I should mention that we stayed at this hotel before, and there was a pregnant kitten. Now there were kittens. It was too great I know right. Too much.

Project Esperanza (http://esperanzameanshope.org/) is essentially a non-profit organization designed toward alleviating poverty, particularly in the Haitian batey communities located inPuerto Plata, DR. We worked with them for the next three days, mostly surveying the population. As we were a large body of labor, we were put to use interviewing the families of the Munoz community about their living conditions, family incomes, and working statuses.  It was an much-welcomed opportunity for me, as I mostly translated for the group,were working with Spanish, Creole, and English. While it was interesting spending so much time in an intimate community, it was also a lot of time with eye-opening poverty.  Throughout our time there we learned how to cook (or rather, learned how to eat) a yummy shortbread cookie, got our hair braided, and made friends with the goofy kids.  We also went into the schools and gave some short lessons in hygiene, and the school system blew me away. The teachers and adults just don’t have the resources to dedicate time and money to things as trivial as textbooks. Education is such a vital tool toward cultural improvements, and it was hard to see the basic foundation struggling at such a so level. In addition, it engraved me with a huge gratitude for the educational resources and such high quality schooling I have received thus far. That aside, I really enjoyed working, as opposed to just seeing sights, and it felt good to move around and do tasks that I knew would be a big help for the organization. And the third morning we saw waterfalls! Twenty-seven to be exact! (http://www.27charcos.com/index.php) This was too cool. We took some videos that I may get my hands on soon, but I wish I had some pictures to share. The few of us that were up for it (sick roommate and nervous girls stayed behind) left really early and embarked for the nature park that boasts the insane cascades. It was composed of a 45 minute hike to the top, and a couple hours worth of sliding and jumping back down. And it was too cool! Beyond the great natural exposure that being in the middle of beautiful, natural, waterfalls granted us, it was tons of fun just hanging out and exploring.  Though the water was cold, it satisfied the adventurists of the group and was a great way to spend the morning.

Throughout the trip we met with a group called CEPROCH, and another called BRA. Both of them deal with public health, the latter with a focus on bateyes. The Dominican Republic has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, surpassing Haiti. Not only is it the leading cause of death, but its immunodeficient nature allows Tuberculosis to step in and sweep second.  A large part of that is due to the  touristic nature of the island and the high prevalence of sexual tourism that follows. With a heavy emphasis on education, the groups spend a lot of time in both the poorest parts of the country and the wealthiest We spoke about their statistics, their methods of attacking the diseases, and the nature of the programs. .  In addition, they both also shook their heads with a chuckle when asked what kind of support they get from the government. The Dominican government also tops a statistic for paying less attention to nationwide health and education as any other caribbean country. And as such, nearly all of the programs aimed at increasing the two are run privately, as their only option. It was interesting talking with the groups, listening to their planned approaches, and seeing the work they do. They both have seen large improvements since their presence was introduced, and hopefully, it can stay improving.

That evening we headed to Santo Domingo, where we met with some additional public health groups and toured a hospital. We did not spend much time there, but enough to enjoy a delicious dinner at an open-air mediterranean restaurant and a delicious pancake breakfast. We’re back “home” for a few days before we take off on our Intro to Theater class with hopes of good eating and lots of art. Can’t wait to share it, and hope all is well in Hampton Roads, Bburg, Asheville or anywhere else you may be living life. Enjoy your weekend,

Cheers,

Scf