Final few days in the DR!

Unfortunately, I'm not the best blogger and we all got caught up in our final days in the Domincan Republic. I'm sure everyone has already told their parents about everything that has happened, but for memories sake, I'll write about the last three days and what happened. Thursday was our final day of work. Throughout the day, there was a mix of emotions. We felt proud of what we had accomplished and given Abeja and his family, but at the same time we were sad since this meant we didn't have much time left. We had given it out all to make sure that this house was in the best condition for the family but we didn't want to say goodbye to them or the community. The bus arrived to the house around 8 and right away we started to paint the front of the house the traditional bright blue that Cambiando Vidas uses on their houses. All of the children were beyond excited to grab paint brushes and work together to finish the house. A few hours passed and we were ready to leave for lunch. Jose decided to treat us to a nice lunch at a local Country Club and give us time to swim in the pool there. He brought a few of the workers along and we played monkey in the middle together which created an even better connection than the one we had before. We then went back to the hotel and got ready for the final ceremony with the family. During the ceremony, Jose thanked everyone who was involved with the building of the house and translated it for the natives. Abeja and Bebela spoke as well and expressed how thankful they were for everything that we have done for them. It was heart-warming to listen to them talk about how happy they are to finally be able to call something their home. As a team, we gave them an American flag to act as a memory that they can hold on to when we leave as well as a house key from each member. The keys symbolized the completion of the project and the beginning of a new phase for the family. As a Cambiando Vidas tradition, the family makes the first meal in the new house and serves it to all of the people that have helped. The meal was delicious and had four parts of it. None of us really knew what we were eating, but we all enjoyed it! After dinner, we celebrated by dancing Domincan style with the people there. Fortunately we knew the dances from earlier in the week which made the celebration much more fun. Everyone danced and had a great time, especially those who went the extra mile and continued to interact with the natives. None of us wanted to leave the celebration, but it was getting late and we knew Friday would be a long day. 

On Friday, we had to travel back to Santo Domingo so we could fly out of there on Saturday. Jose gave us a break midway and we stopped at the beach again. We stayed there for two hours and ate lunch there as well. The water was so warm, calm, and clear. It wasn't like the beaches in Ocean City and was much better. We got back into the bus and drove for two more hours before arriving to the hotel in Santo Domingo. What a different atmosphere this was compared to our other one. This was a high end hotel where we received welcome drinks when we arrived and was much bigger. Some of the rooms also had a gorgeous view that allowed you to look out and see the rest of the city. After everyone checked in and showered, Mr. V had us do one final exercise together. He had us write our names on the top of a piece of paper with the sentence, "Two minutes about me, thank you." We then passed the papers to our left and wrote for two minutes about the person who's paper we had. It got messed up a little bit in the beginning, but once we smoothed it out, everything went well. He took back the papers and said he would give them back at the right time. After that, we had four hours to walk through the hotel's plaza and go shopping for souvenirs. Kelly, Tim, and Kishan were our main barterers in the beginning but by the end, the others picked up on it. It was interesting and a good experience for all of us. Dinner was buffet style and it was delicious. Of course they had chicken and rice, but there were more options as well. Jose spoke again and thanked us all on behalf of the community and the program for what we have done and gave us our tshirts. Our team decided to all wear it the next day in the airport and then we headed upstairs for one final hang out. We went to Tim and Kishan's room as per usual and laughed together as a team for a while. All of us headed for bed one final time in the DR and set our alarms for 8:00 so we could all eat breakfast at the same time. 

Saturday morning we were able to sleep in until 8 and then all met for breakfast. Again, it was buffet style. The food was delicious and they had a variety of options for us. Our bus left for the airport at 10 so we had a little bit of time left and we decided to walk the plaza again. During the bus ride, we listened to Jose's story and how he started Cambiando Vidas. It was nice to see where everything started. He wanted a nonprofit organization that used the donations appropriately, not like the other nonprofits he had worked for prior to it who used donations to buy new laptops or unnecessarily objects. Jose had a dream and made it happen. When we arrived to the airport, we took one final group picture with Jose and then all hugged him. He thanked us and told us that if we were ever in the Domincan Republic again to contact him and come visit. We waved goodbye and walked into the airport. Everything ran smoothly in the airport and our flight boarded at 1:45. It was time to go home and see all of our family members.

On behalf of the team, we would like to thank all of our family members who have helped us through this journey. We are especially thankful for Mr. V and Mama V who took care of us throughout the trip and did a lot of work behind the scenes to make this run smoothly. Thank you to everyone on the team for working hard and giving your all in the process of building the house. This trip has impacted us all for the better and we wish the best of luck to Abeja's family and Cambiando Vidas that they continue to change the lives of their community.

- Caroline Cooney and the rest of CV'16

June 14th and 15th - Third and Fourth Day in the DR!

Last night we were too busy staying up until 12 a.m. to celebrate our team member Josie's birthday that we forgot to blog. A few of us sat around in the hallway talking and then once it turned to midnight, we sang happy birthday to her. Perfect way to spend your birthday, right? Anyway, yesterday we helped put up the roof and leveling the floor for the cement that consisted of a lot of bucket lifting with dirt. We also collected rocks for roughly two hours in order to fill the septic hole behind the house. Unfortunately, there was only smaller rocks so it took much longer than past years.
All of the people who have helped build the house signed two of the wooden rafters and we put it so the family can see it whenever they look up. This makes the house so much more personal and acts as a reminder of what we have all done together. After we finished at the worksite, Jose showed us the Haitian and Dominican Republic border and gave us a little bit of a history lesson about the relationship the two countries have. The border surprised us all when we saw it. Rather than having a long process to have people come into the country, people are asked why they are coming into the Dominican Republic, checked if they have the documents, and then are allowed into the country. We finally drove back to the hotel where we had an hour to get ready for dinner and nap a little.

Today, we covered the dirt inside the house with cement and made a sidewalk too. We lifted buckets and shoveled all day, but it was doable and we survived as usual. The progress is amazing to watch. Throughout the day, all of us constantly brought up the fact that we have been able to build a functioning house in three days. Once all the hard work was over, we drove to a nearby field where we played a massive baseball game with all of the kids in the community who have helped with the house. Baseball is extremely popular down here so all of them were much better than us. It was fascinating to watch the Dominicans and Americans play the game and be able to communicate with each other even though the language barrier is there. There is also a much stronger sense of community here compared to America. Everyone works together and goes out of their way to help. Tonight at dinner we had Karaoke night and sang happy birthday to Josie and Tim. Kishan and Kelly sang "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift and everyone joined it. We're all in shock that this trip has gone by so quickly and can't believe that tomorrow is our last day of work.

June 13th - Second full day in the DR!

Day three was a success! Today we were able to sleep in an extra 15 minutes which was nice. When we arrived to the worksite, we instantly started to work. The objective for today was to solidify the walls of the house and prepare it for the roof. In order to do so, we had to have a carpenter set up wood along the top of the cinder blocks and fill it with cement. Let's just say that by the end of the day we were covered in cement and sore. Throughout the day, we had to fill buckets with cement and lift them up to the workers who were pouring them onto the roof. After a long day of work, we traveled to the nearby river and were able to relax for a little bit. Some of us decided to not go into the water since we were all exhausted from working but according to everyone who did go into the water, it was worth it and was so relaxing. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go mango picking (which upset Kelly a little bit) but we were able to get home and shower. Currently, nine of us are sitting outside in the hallway and waiting for dinner. We can't wait for dinner and are all ready to relax together afterwards!

Caroline Cooney and the rest of CV'16

June 12th - First full day in the DR!

Hola Domincan Republic! Yesterday we arrived in Santa Domingo around 1:45 after a safe flight with minor turbulence that caused us to pop out of our seats for a split second. Our drive to San Juan was much longer than we had expected. Every time we tried to see how much longer there was, Jose seemed to never really know and just said a random time. We decided to stop at the beach half way during the drive.  It was so different from the beaches at home; the water was much warmer and the sand was black and didn't have any shells. When we saw what lunch was, you could tell that most of us were caught off guard since the fish was whole and the legs of the chicken were still on it. Then we got back onto the bus and traveled for two more hours until we reached San Juan. The hotel has three floors, comfortable beds, and a lovely view. After we unpacked, we went to the nearby restaurant and met the family of five that we are building the house for. The team was exhausted but thankfully, we managed to power few for a little bit longer and enjoy the burritos while talking. The long day finally concluded with a much needed sleep!

6:45 came much earlier than we were all expecting. Breakfast was at 7:00 -- we had toast, eggs, sausage, and two kinds of fruit. The fruit tasted so fresh and was very juicy as well. We headed towards the community around 7:45 and stopped for chicken on the way. The bus driver got out of the bus and came back a few minutes with two trash bags with chickens that were freshly killed -- definitely not something that you see in America. When we arrived to the worksite, we put all of our belongings in the neighbor's house and got ready to work. Today we had to lay down the foundation and set up the walls. Each time we looked away there were more cinder blocks ready to be moved. It took a while for the children to warm up to us but once they did, it was an instant connection. We started to play with the frisbee and it kept them entertained forever! At first, the language barrier was a struggle but we were able to find other ways to communicate with the children. The girls started to pick flowers and put them in all of the girls' hair while the boys continued to play with the frisbee. It was hot and a lot of hard work but it definitely paid off as we watched the walls continue to grow higher and higher. We headed home around 4:00, took off all of our gross sweaty clothes and showered. The shower felt so nice and we all hung out until we went to dinner and ate mashed potatoes, vegetables, and some sort of meat. The meal was delicious and satisfied us all after our hard work today. We can't wait to sleep tonight and prepare for another hard day of work tomorrow! 

- Caroline Cooney and the rest of the 2016 CV Team

June 11th - Arrived in the DR!

Just a quick update before we head off to bed.

We arrived safely in the Dominican Republic around 1345 and were moving nonstop until now.

We will update you on what we did today at another point.  Now it's off to bed after at least 19 hours awake.

Tim Yantz and the rest of CV'16

June 11th - Finally headed to the DR!

As the clock rolls around to 0400 people either start to wake up, or just start moving after hours of Netflix, trying to stay up until it was time to head out (or I was the only one who had that crazy idea, but who knows).

As I write this, we are just sitting on the bus, headed to Philly, leaving the world we know behind.

Next time you see a post, we will be in the DR!

Tim Yantz and the rest of CV'16

June 10th - 1 More Day

As everyone frantically packs at the last minute, we can not believe we will be in a whole new country a day from now.  Who would have thought that we would be in the Dominican Republic, building a mansion for a family that has so little on June 11, 2016.  

This time one year ago, I never thought I would have a second opportunity to experience the DR and all this trip has to offer.  As I write this tonight I know that this group will be forever grateful for the opportunity that our parents have given us by sending us on this trip.  

Parents, know that even if we do not say thank you enough, we will definitely appreciate you a whole lot more a week from today!

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this trip happen and see you all bright and early tomorrow morning!

Tim Yantz and the rest of CV'16