Day 5: Beach Day!

7.3.12.

Fergie and Hunter pulling in the board

Because of the hard work we had accomplished in the last 3 days, we were all awarded a beach day at Cabarete. We were also permitted to wake up relatively late, however I woke up a little too late and me and my roommate missed the best-breakfast-of-the-trip: granola, yogurt and eggs. After stuffing down a cliff bar, we arrived at Cabarete where 8 of us decided to go windsurfing. We paid for an hours lesson, where we learned the basics of the basics and practiced them with the instructor on land, and two hours on the water, where we shared two people to one board.

The girls just chillin' on the beach

Our group ranged from pretty successful to utter failure (I was closer to the latter), and although it may have been a slight waste of $40 and the majority of our beach time, we all decided it was a fun experience to cross off our bucket lists. After ordering some surprisingly expensive and somewhat American pizza, we headed back to complete our general afternoon routine of pool, dinner, discussion. I fell asleep on the hammock, exhausted after only partial success at windsurfing (my best was probably 20 feet before crashing to the water) and had a nice pre-cena nap.

Phuong, Tuyen and Nehemie on one
of many Bon trips taken during the trip

After dinner, we had a massage party which pretty much consisted of Hunter making his way round the table as we played cards and wrote the group blog, as he was the only one who could give a good massage. We headed back to our cabins then, to pack for the upcoming 5 day trip we were going to embark on tomorrow, where we'd head to a plant nursery and hostile hidden in the montanas,  Santa Domingo's slums and technology school and finally to Dave's Beach Comber.


* Tuyens photos :)

Day 4: Orphanage Returns (with Everybody)

7.2.12.

Painting the school

Our whole group worked at the orphanage today, engaging in a variety of different tasks. We switched back and forth between continuing the path, sanding then painting a new school house for the orphans, moving rocks to clear way for a sustainable garden, and more machete-ing. At lunch, we dug into a delicous salad decorated with fresh dominican avocados (=YUM) and other filling foods. I spent the rest of the time there painting the upper level of the new school with some girls, and playing with the most adorable boy ever, Niko, who found amusement in kicking an empty gatorade bottle, throwing dirt from pile to pile, and the bubbles I brought again.

 A heavy rainstorm passed over us, changing from sprinkling to downpour in a matter of seconds. We all enjoyed washing our paint encrusted hands in the refreshing rain water, and several people took a shower in it. We made our way back before the next shower hit, and jumped in the pool before a dinner of guess what? Chicken, rice and beans! Dingdingding! (We were making a routine here! Work, pool, dinner, discussion, hang out, bed:).

Niko and I - He wouldn't look at the
camera, so I had to spin around!

Me and Niko, Amaricio, and Alejandro
- some orphans at the orphanage. So sweet!

Niko and his plastic bottle :')

Day 3: Hiking Bruson and Cabarete

7.1.12.

We woke, once again bright and early and left for a nice, long three hour hike up a mountain, Bruson, after slipping in a quick breakfast of fruit and cheese sandwiches. The bus ride was 40 minutes long, so while most of the exhausted GLA members dozed on the way there, a few of us stayed up chatting and taking in the scenery.

Some adorable kids we met on the way up

The hike began with a bathroom break in one of the local houses (Dave knows everyone) and a water stock up at a local store - especially for me, since I'd drank all my water on the bus ride down. The DR isn't like America in many ways, particularly in that it lacks an abundance of clean water. You can't just pop into anyone's house or turn on any faucet and expect fresh, filtered water - not even in Santa Domingo motels. This lack of fresh water forces most Dominicans to buy it bottles or packaged, which not only costs them money (if they even choose that over the local, polluted but free rivers) but wastes infinite amounts of plastic which take centuries to decompose. This water industry also allows large corporations, like Coca Cola and Desani to conquer underdeveloped countries like the DR, which only adds to our world water crisis.

Beautiful view from the top of Bruson

On the way up, we observed some completely sustainable families, who didn't generate much income, but didn't need to purchase many items either as they raised their own animals, grew their own plants and had access to water through either an implanted water system or the river. We stopped for water half way up the mountain at a local store, where we filled up our bottles using one of these water taps that a peace corps member had set up just years before. At the almost-top, we met a 80 year old woman who took care of her sick sister and three nieces and nephews, while caring for herself and her garden/animals. Her kitchen was primitive looking, completely made of plant material from the roof to the gourds she used for cooking. It was shocking to me that people could live as she did, but she was content with her sustainable lifestyle, making trips down the mountain only every so often for supplies.

Caberete Beach! 

At the top, we enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken, rice and beans and a beautiful view, before heading back down the mountain (which took half the time but was twice as hard, in my opinion). We then made our way to the local, touristy beach, Cabarete, where we explored the warm, lulling waters, the souvenir filled shops, the refreshing and delicious Bon and got our hair braided (by choice, or by force).

After reuniting with the other half of our GLA group (who switched and worked at the orphanage today), we played in the pool until dinner time. Afterwards we curled up and watched a movie about one of many world crisis' - Dave informed us that we are going to learn about all the problems before looking at the solutions - and how many problems there are...

* Emma's photos :)

Day 2: Orphanage

6.30.12.

The school-room where the orphans learn each day

After waking up unusually early (for summer at least), we prepared our backpacks for the upcoming day and headed down to a breakfast of fruit, fried cheese sandwiches and juice. At 8, our counselor Ferguson walked half of us (my cabin and one of the boys dorms) down to a little village where the orphanage lay. Today's work was mostly manual labor, where we pick-axed trenches around a plot formed to cage some newborn piglets, pick axed a path where we later wheelbarrowed tons of crushed rocks to, and where we machete-ed the overgrown grass and roots surrounding these areas (yes, I actually used a machete!!).

Looking at the photos they've just taken
- they loved the cameras!

 Around 'snacktime', the orphans began to arrive and we spent an hour drinking fantastic fruit juice and playing games with them. The kids loved our digital cameras, and spent the first half hour photoshooting each other before sitting, mesmerized, flicking through the pictures. I brought some bubbles and the kids loved them. I had about five boys circled around me laughing and screaming every time I blew a soapy sud, trying to pop it first. We had a blast.

After snack time, we all went back to work. I shoveled dirt from the trench with Nehemie, while local Antonio proved amazing at pick axing - he zipped through one 10 ft line of it in no time.  Soon it was lunchtime, and we all congregated in a little pavilion just up the hill, which turned out to be a legitimate tree house with a fantastic view of the swooping valleys and misty mountains ahead.

Playing with the bubbles - so much fun!!

We worked solely on the path after lunch for another 2 hours, until we left at 230 - covered in sweat and dirt - and returned to our wonderful organic farm paradise. We all jumped into bathing suits and then the pool, cooling off before the other half of our full GLA group returned. After dinner we had our first of many discussions.

Day 2: My Thoughts

6.30.12. (copied directly from journal, hence mistakes)

What Does Sustainibility Mean to Me?
- expectations
- outlook on next 20 days
- opinions (food)


       Well, for starters, I can't even spell correctly what this whole program is about. But I believe sustainability largely contains an element of respect. Respect for the Earth and its resources, and humanity itself.

       Our Earth is billions of years old, and just in the last century the manner in which we've treated our planet has really been reflected in our polluted oceans, smoggy atmosphere and general, luxurious lifestyles. Trash fills our oceans, trapping and killing its creatures. Poisonous gasses fill our atmospheres, polluting the air we breathe - which cannot be slightly beneficial for our future generations. Lavish homes and gardening systems and mass produced, processed food creates more waste than ever before. If we ate locally grown, natural, humane products, we as humans (specifically americans) would not only be embracing these sustainability elements, but live healthier lives.

       Sustainibility also encorporates living in harmony and helping one another our - not just community wise, but everywhere. Although many people aid others when natural disasters occur  (Katrina, Haiti, etc.),  So Many others just watch - uncaring and unaffected - from their home TV set. And many that do help do so for monetary motives (among other reasons), like the tree cutting companies that flooded CT when the October snowstorm hit.

       I'm not really sure what I expected to happen in the next 20 days.
I guess my goals were...
- Become more independent
- Prep (tester) for gap year
- Help with deciding about college major
- I love community service/helping others
- Make friends (improve social skills)
- Work hard for reward
- TRAVEL

I expect to have a blast while making a somewhat difference and being educated about sustainability. I'm open to anything and everything and am so excited! (and I don't even feel homesick [yet?]).

opinions
food: processed crap = shit = why?
    - meat/animal farming industry = inhumane/unhealthy. > do for profit
    - organic/ natural = get used to it > yum

* we need to discuss the issue of cars: battery/electric vs gas guzzling
Main Issue...
People have to take sides between...

humane, organic, natural, healthy   VS   aiding financially challenged Americans (processed, unhealthy,              inhumane, chemical infused)

...will we ever find a balance?

Day 1

6.29.12.

After waking up at the ungodly hour of two in the morning, Mom, Dad and I loaded my 3 bags into the car and made the two and a half hour drive to New York's JFK airport. I made a protein shake for the ride down (last one for three weeks! - I know, I'm quite sad). I planned to sleep for the majority of the ride, since I only got 3 hours of sleep the previous night, but I couldn't shut eye once. Too much excitement I guess. And nervosity..

We arrived at JFK by 4am, and after I waved goodbye to M&D at security only 12 times, I was officially traveling alone. I regathered my things and found Gate 20, where we'd be departing in less than 2 hours. At the gate I saw glimpses of red, and located 2 other members of my new GLA group, Gabby and Patrick. Eventually all 10 of us waited in line to board, getting familiar with each other. After boarding the plane, we were delayed for four hours before we set off, taking another 4 hours to get to the DR. We met Dave and Jane (our program directors) at the airport entrance and me and 3 others squished into Jane's car and made the 45 minute journey to our farm paradise residence. Lets just say after 11 hours of traveling over the course of the day, my glutes ached. A lot.

The four of us claimed our beds, climbed into our swimsuits and dove into the pool just as the other members began to arrive. We spent that night getting to know one another (which was going to take more than a night, as there were 33 of us), over a dinner of beans, rice and chicken (something we'd better get used to), in the rippling infinity pool and during our farm exploration period, where we all buddied up and investigated the surrounding acres of the total 60. In our journey, we discovered a squalking chicken coop, beautiful rolling fields, a spectacular view overlooking the mountains, and a poor goat leashed to a tree that was going to be dinner in the near future. For the meat eaters at least.

That night, I fell asleep in our little cabin content, and filled with excitement of the upcoming days of activities.

The Road Up

Our Eating/Chillout area

You may be thinking...
 'Is that a hammock? And a jacuzzi?
And a refreshing, heavenly infinity pool surrounded
by lush palm trees?'
And the answer is Yes, yes it is.

Day by Day - in Retrospect

The organic farm we spent the majority of our 21 days in didn't have wifi for me to constantly update my blog with. Instead, I have my old duct-taped composition notebook I salvaged from the depths of my closet and which acted as my GLA DR Journal for those past three weeks. To some the trip up in one word? Fantastic. Amazing. Brilliant.  Specta- okay, that was 3.5 words, but you get the point. It was good.

And now? I get to sift through the 64 pages - yes SIXTY FOUR (what could I possibly have written that much about?!?) and translate it to blog form... Let the blogging begin!