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
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