Dominican Republic, Summer 2007 SST unit

Final Retreat and Returning Home

9 Aug 2007 08:09 EST

Last Tuesday the final group of DR SST students boarded the plane for home. After spending the weekend with their host families, we all gathered for our final retreat on Monday morning. At a hotel near the airport we enjoyed time together to share highlights of our service experiences; we processed some of the many new thoughts and feelings our...

Final Project Presentations

27 Jul 2007 21:59 EST

Students presented their final projects today. The work was creative and the presentations engaging. Some of the highlights included: an analysis of the social role and economic future of colmados , demonstrations of fiber art/papermaking; poetry and children's story book reading; comparisons and a demonstration of different water filtration systems...

Welcome Back to Santo Domingo!

26 Jul 2007 21:58 EST

All SSters arrived safely back into the capital today. This afternoon we gathered for a lunch of PB&J and cold cut sandwiches and spent lots of time swapping stories. Tomorrow students will take their Spanish final exams in the morning. In the afternoon, they'll make their final project presentations at Casa Goshen. We are looking forward to hearing...

Ashley and Linsday Teaching and Learning in San Pedro

16 Jul 2007 18:25 EST

From Lindsay I have enjoyed living in San Pedro de Marcoris and getting to know my way around the city. This has given me a lot more confidence about my Spanish and sense of direction! I enjoy walking to work and am working with Ashley at a program for "barrio" kids. I have enjoyed getting to know the kids and my co-workers. Our director ...

Laurelyn Working with MUDHA

13 Jul 2007 18:00 EST

Update from Laurelyn Today has been a crazy and unexpected day at the office. While Tom and I were talking in the front office waiting to have a meeting with the director of MUDHA (A Human Rights Organization Started by Dominican and Haitian Women), Sonia Pierre, the MUDHA jeep was stolen. Needless to say, chaos has ensued in the office. Although...

Brian, Hannah and David B. working at Loma Quita Reserve

12 Jul 2007 17:19 EST

Greetings from Brian Life out here in the campo is pretty much a vacation. I pass my time planting trees, swimming in the river, and walking around the countryside and mountain. It is hot, but everyone here wants to help; whether it is delicious food or ice-cold, fresh chinola juice. Everyone working with the foundation is great and a lot of ...

Betha Enjoying Matancitas

12 Jul 2007 16:43 EST

Postcard from Betha Iâ€™m living in a small town called Matancitas, which is on the North coast and practically on the beach. Iâ€™m working with an after-school type program, which is fun but challenging. Iâ€™ve been trying to fill up 2 hours every day with educational activities, but usually we just end up playing Uno (Iâ€™...

Justin and Andrew Digging Latrines

12 Jul 2007 16:18 EST

A postcard from Andrew Things have been going real well here in La Peonia so far with lots of things to do. Justin and I have completed six latrines so far and plan on doing at least two a week till we leave. I live with a family of seven, three kids, two sisters, and a mom and dad. They feed me a lot and there are many days were I will have two ...

Zach and Kelly Building Stoves in El Yayal

12 Jul 2007 15:49 EST

Postcard from Kelly Zach and I are living in a tiny pueblo of about 300 people called El Yayal. We are working with a Peace Corps worker on building outdoor wood cook stoves. Soon we will be experts with cement mixing, clay making, and dirt digging. So far weâ€™ve completed 6 stoves and plan on finishing five more before we leave. Other...

David Farming and Sipping Organic Coffee at Sonido del Yaque

12 Jul 2007 06:20 EST

A postcard from David I drink coffee. Yea, that about covers it. I use the river for both my refreshing fun and my bathing. I enjoy my refreshing mountain breezes a great deal, and definitely enjoy my kilometer or so long hike to and from Los Dajaos to work with Don Jose on his organic coffee farm. I have been doing a couple of days of work ...

Jordan: Technology Assistant in San Victor, Moca

12 Jul 2007 06:11 EST

A postcard from Jordan Life in San Victor is kinda boring for me, but that means Iâ€™m getting a lot better at dominoes! My family is a lot of fun, they like to joke, laugh, and dance. There are always new people coming over to visit as well. Generally Iâ€™m pretty bad with names in English, so trying to remember names in Spanish is ...

Lucy Leading Summer Camp in La Vega

12 Jul 2007 06:04 EST

A postcard from Lucy I am working at a summer day camp in La Vega for kids from low-income families. It is one of the activities that the organization does throughout the year to provide structure, a chance to learn, and a place where authority is present. About 300 kids come to the center from 8 to 12 to do crafts, sports, dance and hang out. ...

Emily Teaching English in Salcedo

12 Jul 2007 05:42 EST

A Postcard from Emily. . . I am living in Salcedo and working at an English school. My mother here owns and runs the school with the help of her daughter and two other teachers. My mom, her mom, two of her daughters, and her eight year old grandson live in our house. Both of her daughters are also judges in Salcedo. My job at the school consists...

Katie building binational relationships on the Haitian border

5 Jul 2007 23:19 EST

Katie works with Plan International, an impressive international development organization, in the border town of Elias Pina. Katieâ€™s been traveling some with her work colleagues and attended a national meeting for Plan International in the Dominican Republic. Katie works in the office many days and accompanies her work colleagues to relationship...

Jodi teaching and learning in El Cercado

5 Jul 2007 22:21 EST

We caught up with Jodi on market day in El Cercado-see Tom looking at tennis shoes with a three inch heel. It was great to see Jodi looking relaxed and at home in her new site. Jodi spends mornings doing intake work at the Mennonite Clinic on the edge of town. On a few afternoons a week she also teaches conversational English at the local language...

Drew and Ian Helping Habitat in San Juan

5 Jul 2007 17:21 EST

Drew and Ian work construction with Habitat for Humanity in San Juan de la Maguana. Together they are helping to build a home for Drewâ€™s host mother, a single mother with a young son. Drew and Ian report getting very sweaty and hot working in the sun, mixing cement and carrying blocks. It is hard physical labor, and both Drew and Ian are ...

Hannah and Tera Caring for Malnourished Children

5 Jul 2007 11:19 EST

Hannah and Tera help the Sisters of Charity (Mother's Theresa's order) care for 31 malnourished children aged 3 mos-17 years. As we visited the care center the children were very affectionate with both Tera and Hannah. Over lunch in San Juan with Ian and Drew, Hannah and Tera shared stories of their work and lives in Las Matas. Hannah and Tera...

Clausura for DR SST Program--Celebrating 22 years!

1 Jul 2007 07:48 EST

--Contributed by Tom Meyers After 22 successful years of collaboration between Goshen College and our Dominican partners the SST program will end. Over seventy people gathered at the Palacio Bella Cristal on the evening of June 29 to pay tribute to the many, many people who have contributed to the program. Williams Velez served as master of ceremonies...

Graduating from CEIC and Preparing for Service

29 Jun 2007 09:44 EST

On June 15th, our wonderful students graduated from their 6-week intensive program of Spanish study. Everyone received a certificate of completion and a few words of congratulations from their teachers. The gracious teachers of CEIC prepared a feast of Dominican treats that we all enjoyed. After lunch, we met at Casa Goshen for final preparations...

Exploring Models of Service

13 Jun 2007 21:25 EST

This week we are "Developing our Culture for Service" in preparation for the SSTers departure for their service assignments on Friday morning. On Tuesday we met with the Sisters of Charity who live and work in a low-income neighborhood of Santo Domingo. The sisters run a preschool program and work on issues of community concern in their barrio . ...

National Palace Tour and Fiesta en la Casa de Williams y Lourdes

8 Jun 2007 09:48 EST

Last Tuesday we toured the stately Palacio National . Completed in 1947, under the regime to the dictator Trujillo, the palace exhibits strong European architectural influences. Our Romanian guide (who speaks six languages fluently) enthusiastically described the history of the building and of the beautiful local marble and mahogany found throughout...

El Cercado Service Day

5 Jun 2007 08:54 EST

Our group spent Saturday learning about local development projects in El Cercado, helping with two projects and hearing about the application of liberation theology. We began the day by loading everyone on our big, blue flatbed truck and enjoyed a lovely ride through the countryside. As we rode through the mountain roads in the cool morning air...

Haitian Border Trip and Toca de Palo Dance

4 Jun 2007 09:28 EST

This weekend we spent four days in the impoverished western mountainous region of the DR bordering Haiti. Our visit focused on learning about ecumenical (Mennonite-Catholic) efforts at community organizing and promoting social programs in this beautiful and stark area of the country. After a four hour bus trip from the capital through the mountains...

Batey Visit with MUDAH

30 May 2007 09:40 EST

On Monday our group visited a nationally famous and controversial non-governmental organization working to improve social conditions in the Dominican Republic, MUDHA, Movement of Haitian and Dominican-Haitian Women . MUDHA works to secure citizenship, better health care and educational opportunities for Dominican-Haitians, particularly in the bateys...

Enterprise Zones Investigation, Snorkeling and Birthdays

27 May 2007 20:23 EST

Experiencing Community Development Eco-Tourism

24 May 2007 12:32 EST

We spent the final two nights of our journey at Sonido del Yaque , an eco-tourism complex in the mountains outside of Jarabacoa. The community of Los Calabazos, made up of 36 families, built 10 rustic cabaÃ±as to host visitors and help fund community development projects. In one of the photos DoÃ±a Esperanza is showing us the hydro-powered electric...

Exploring Diverse Eco-Systems: A Mangrove Swamp, Pristine Beach and Cloud Forest

21 May 2007 22:05 EST

We had an incredibly full and fun day on Saturday! At dawn a few of us explored the mangrove swamp abutting the hotel property. It felt like a prehistoric wonderland full of avian life and smelling of decomposition. Hannah especially enjoyed checking out the ancient coral beds which have turned into shore side rocks. We all boarded the bus bright...

Mirabel Museum and Rio San Juan

21 May 2007 21:39 EST

This weekend we made a grand tour of the central mountain region and northern coast of the Dominican Republic. During our second week of classes weâ€™ve been studying Dominican history and economics. Our trip this weekend deepened our understandings of recent Dominican history up through the Trujillo dictatorship. We also contributed to community...

Colonial Zone Tour

17 May 2007 23:34 EST

On Tuesday afternoon we met 'under the big tree' in the Parque Colon to explore the 500-year-old colonial zone. SST'ers demonstrated their public transportation savvy by arriving punctually for our lunch at the Hotel del Conde right on the park. The Spanish architecture of the Colonial Zone is lovely. Much of it is built with limestone containing...

Host Family Photos

15 May 2007 20:52 EST

At the family picnic we took pictures of each student with her/his host family. We'll print these photos so each of the families can have a recuerdo of their adopted hija/o. There are 22 students pictured here. Can you pick out the honorary SSTer?

Celebrating Host Families and U.S. Mother's Day at the Family Picnic

13 May 2007 20:40 EST

It was a wonderful day for our family picnic--sunny, not too hot and the park was lively. We ate a great variety of delicious Dominican specialties provided by the host families. The SSTers enjoyed the opportunity to meet each other's host families. After eating lunch, we played group games, dominos and cards. The children enjoyed drawing pictures...

Last Chance to DANCE!

10 May 2007 18:20 EST

The SST group practiced their merenge, bachata and salsa skills with our energetic and skilled teacher, Xiomara Perez. This is the final dance class Xiomara will offer the Goshen College students as this is the final SST unit for Goshen College in the Dominican Republic. In late June we will have a celebration to recognize all the dedication and...

Casa Goshen Day and Service Interviews

9 May 2007 18:13 EST

Tom and I spent much of the day checking-in with individual students about their service opportunities. We asked students what gifts they have to offer and how they would like to grow and develop during service. The students' desire to serve and grow was evident during interviews and impressive to us both! At mid-day we met in our small book groups...

! Felicidades Zach y Drew!

8 May 2007 06:58 EST

The first day of our lecture series was also Zach and Drew's 21st Birthday! Three students bought a special Dominican biscocho (cake) at a store nearby the school where we meet for lectures. The group enjoyed an entertaining leture by Puro Blanco about Dominican Social Norms and Social Problems, which was ably translated by Tim Shenk, former SST...

Public Transportation Training and Navigating the City

4 May 2007 17:45 EST

Yesterday morning the students traveled to CEIC, the language school, via public transportation accompanied by their host families. This first introduction to public transportation provided a good foundation for the afternoon session, public transportation training. After language assessments, students ate plato del dia lunches, and then returned...

Orientation and Going Home!

3 May 2007 22:11 EST

What a full day! We began our orientation with food, singing and prayers of thanksgiving. After a talk about keeping safe and healthy, we heard tips for getting along in the DR from Marta, director of the language school. Students then dispersed in pairs through the neighborhood around the hotel to find a 'treasure' with 10 pesos. The returned with...

Safe Arrival

2 May 2007 22:09 EST

All 21 students arrived safely, if a bit tired, into Santo Domingo this evening. Williams Velez, our Dominican Program Assistant, joked with some students that they look nothing like their photos, which we use to learn their names prior to arrival We stopped on the way to the hotel for a special pica pollo dinner. And after a brief orientation at...

Meet the Family!

2 May 2007 07:38 EST

The host families met at Casa Goshen yesterday afternoon. Williams Velez, our in-country assistant, and his wife, Lourdes, prepared some fun treats--including donuts! Patricia Zweir, our program consultant, worked her traditional wonders of finding families and making suitable matches for our students. The families enjoyed sharing tips about how...

Gearing up for Wednesday!

30 Apr 2007 01:00 EST

Tom, Zachariah, Silas and I are all looking forward to our students' arrival on Wednesday evening. Tom and I have been finalizing family placements with Patti and Williams. The language school teachers are ready and our lectures and field trips are almost set. We have some sad news. The father of our long-time Dominican assistant Williams Velez...