Day 28-35 : EARTH University in Costa Rica -- 10/13 to 10/19/15

We had to say goodbye to the DR, but everyone is more than excited to head to Costa Rica for adventures, sustainable farming workshops, and a lot more home stays! 

We are staying at EARTH University for a couple of days learning about sustainability in all respects -- waste management, animal farming, agricultural farming, and energy efficiency. With workshops focused around getting us to work and experience what EARTH students experience, we've learned so much just in a couple of days! 

Here are some pictures from EARTH: 

Beautiful campus! Students at EARTH learn through experience how to create, run, and sustain an organic or self-sustainable farm. We learned about a lot of the systems and processes that go into Eco-friendly farming, limiting waste, and reusing any waste materials. We also talked a lot about space efficiency and energy efficiency with regards to waste management and sustainable agriculture systems. 

These are some pictures from the process of harvesting and processing the cacao plant and the last picture is of the cacao peel that is reused and put into a compost pile to then go back into the soil for fertilizer. It is a good source of nutrients for several plants. 

This is just one example of the processes and systems that we saw at EARTH. It was a great couple days of learning through experience how sustainable farming works!

After a great stay at EARTH, our group split up into 4 groups of 4 to do a homestay at a farm in Pocora, CR. We spent 4 days waking up early to feed the chickens and pigs, harvest yucca roots, build a chicken pen, and to eat great food! A lot of rice and beans, but it never gets old, it just keeps getting better. 

We also made bread, paper, and enjoyed our host families company! I got to practice my Spanish a lot with my host-brother Dennis, who is also a juggler! We both put on a show where I accompanied his routine with some guitar. It was a great homestay, and I can't wait for our next ones! 

Here are some pictures:

Had a room to myself, it was a little weird! 

Somebody was really excited for their breakfast at 7 in the morning! 

This is where our rooms were! 

Some homemade bread, so good! 

Some great pictures of a couple of juggling shows Dennis put on for us! It got intense when he whipped out the torches too. It was firey. 

Headed to a river after a good days work and then to church that night! It was interesting to see the similarities and differences in the traditions of the Catholic Church and this parish we went to! 

Finally after 4 great days of amazing food, good Spanish practice, hard work, and fun nights, we had to say goodby e to our family and part our ways! Hopefully we can stop by sometime in the future! 

We're off to Turrialba, CR to do some rafting and Spanish classes. 

I'll update when I can! 

Day 17-27: Consuelo and Montecoca, DR -- 10/1 to 10/11/15

Our week stay in Consuelo staying at ASCALA was busy with service and training! We worked in a botey (a sugar cane farming community) building concrete floors and two latrines. It was quite an eye opening experience working in Montecoca and talking with the people who live there and learning about their experiences with cutting cane and their relationship with the sugar companies. 

For those of you who don't know, boteyes are some of the poorest communities in the Domincan Republic. They were created when sugar cane companies brought over Haitian workers and gave them places to stay and money for cutting sugar. However, the money was little to none, the quarters were tight and bare, and the Haitians usually did not receive documentation and were illegal immigrants. Due to this, the boteyes acted more like work camps. Workers would make maybe around 150 pesos for 5 days of work (which converts to around $3.50 a week). It turned into a subtle form of slavery as the workers would not make enough to move out of the botey, the barracks would be locked at night and guarded, and even if workers escaped they did not have proper documentation and could therefore not get another job or be at risk for deportation. 

Some of these issues are still extremely prevelant today, especially Haitian Dominicans being at risk for deportation, some of which have never been to Haiti. There is a lot of unrest between the Haitian Dominicans and the Domincans, specifically racial discrimination. The darker the color of your skin, the lesser you are thought of. Dominicans do not want the Haitians coming over and taking jobs or using their resources. Especially as elections draw nearer, I believe that the issue of Hatian Domincans and deportation will arise further and unfold-- either for better or for worse. 

Anyway, here are some pictures from the past 10 days in Consuelo and Montecoca:

Whenever we weren't doing service, all of us were in the classroom getting a Wilderness First Aid certification! From assessing a patient in the field, to learning how to clean wounds using pigs feet, to practicing using epipens, the course gave us the basics of first aid for a wilderness setting! 

Here are a couple pictures of our team making some concrete to lay on the floors of five or six different houses. It was hard work, but definitely rewarding to see how it directly impacted the people living in the community. 

Here's a picture of our group learning and helping out to build a latrine. The hole is 15 feet deep, dug out by two of the men in Montecoca. It will last the small family of 4 about 10-15 years. 

A little basketball to top of a great day of service! 

I had to walk by this big guy everytime I need to grab more sand to mix with the cement. He would give me the stink eye everytime I passed. We were good friends in the end though. 

Here is some of the group posing for a photo after we got poured rain on during our making of concrete. We were cold, tired, but we still managed to sing Build Me Up Buttercup at the top of our lungs to keep us going. 

Here is a picture of the head guy we worked with in Montecoca. His name is Roberto. He and I got along very well, and he was a great partner for me to practice my Spanish while at the same time get work done and build floors. I hope I can go back and visit him some time!

After a couple days of service, we took a trip to the beach and Tom and I got some good frisbee shots in the water! 

We ended our time at ASCALA in Consuelo with a beautiful sunset and then a bonfire to roast marshmallows! It was a great end to a hardworking week of service and Spanish speaking. 

We then tried out some more light painting! Here are some of the cooler ones! 

Found my house in the DR, everyone's welcome!

We are ending our last couple days in the DR with a weekend in the beach town Bahibe! It's a good relaxing way to end a great stay in a great country! With some kayaking, catamaraning, and a lot of beach time, we'll all be refreshed and ready to go to Costa Rica for some Spanish classes and service! 

I'll start now to post week by week, starting when we get into Costa Rica! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Day 16: Santo Domingo to Consuelo -- 9/30/15

Having a great day! Just finished up another day of Spanish classes and we are now headed to Consuelo, which is about an hour and a half east of Santo Domingo. We're going to be working in the communities of the sugar cane farmers -- called bateyes. We'll be without internet for 10 days! So I will give a week update when I can with many pictures! 

See you guys in 10 days! 

Spanish class is always fun! 

Day 15: Santo Domingo -- 9/29/15

Had a great day with Spanish class from 9-3 with a break for lunch, and then headed to the Peace Corps building for a little tour and information session to teach us a little bit more about the projects they do. 

Here are some pictures: 

Here's our classroom from the outside and inside! Our teacher Dilcia was so much fun: we talked the entire day about Dominican culture, the upcoming elections and the electoral process, and about the different types of music and dance in the DR! We also played a couple of games that allowed us to practice describing things and better our vocabulary! Great class! 

Here are some pictures from the Peace Corps office in Santo Domingo. We were able to talk to some volunteers about the different types of projects they are doing (education, sexual health and education, healthy living, business initiatives, etc). It was also really interesting to talk to some of the leaders of the office and see what the process is like to apply and what volunteers can do. 

Also after dinner Tonight we are going to have a discussion about different cultures and how a culture can shape your values and mindset as an individual. I believe this will include our role as travelers and how we interact with new cultures and traditions to allow for an exchange of ideas. Can't wait! 

Day 14: Santo Domingo -- 9/28/15

We headed to see a private and public hospital in Santo Domingo to see the differences in the two. We then headed to an NGO about an hour away to look at the services they provide for local sugar cane farmers and their families. We ended the night by all of us making a family dinner of pasta, salad, a lot of veggies, and brownies! 

Here are some pictures:

Here's the private hospital we visited today. They have tons of speciality branches that cover all types of health care services. This is ( I believe) the cardiovascular center that they just built in the past year. 

Here is the BRA medical center that we visited. BRA provides consults, emergency services, donations, clean water filtration packets, and medication for many of the families who live in some of the poorest parts of the DR. 

Here is the poster that explains the water filtration systems and how they work. There is a lot of question about the efficiency of these systems, but nevertheless the packets allow families to get clean water for their kids.

And here are some pictures of all of us making dinner tonight! Pasta with a great meat sauce, and a ton of veggies and salad!! And we finished in time at 1015...! Not to late right? 

Day 13: Santo Domingo, DR -- 9/27/15

Spanish classes were cancelled today, so we learned and talked a little about public health and what that means in terms of the projects we will be doing, and then in the afternoon we headed to the beach! I tiring (relaxing) day in the sun for all of us! 

Here are a couple pictures: 

Kate, our new program manager for all of the public health related service projects, gave a presentation about the basics need-to-knows about global public health. All in the comfort of our bed and breakfast! 

A little beach time and lot more spikeball time at one of the beaches just outside Santo Domingo, what a day!

P.S. I'll post as often as I can from now on. Just a warning once we head out of Santo Domingo into the boteyes where the sugar cane farmers are, it will be a little less day by day. Thank you all again for tuning in and hope you enjoy! 

Day 12: Manabao to Santo Domingo, DR -- 9/26/15

Had a great morning finishing up our homestay and then headed to Santo Domingo! We had a great dinner -- Tom and I had some mufungo, which is smashed plantains with some pork rines, it was delicious! And then we got to see some night life of Santo Domingo!

Here are some pictures from the day! 

Here's the hotel we're staying at for the next 3 days! All four of us guys are sharing a small room with two bunk beds. We're going to get pretty close the next couple of days.

Saw a parade on one of the Main Streets with dozens of horses and Latin American music blasting!

Got to listen to some jazz after dinner on one of the stairwells! The guitarist was shredding pretty hard!

We also got to see one of our program manager's ( Kate) friend Adnor play for a half hour! Ah he was so great!

It's been a busy night, and we start more classes tomorrow morning! 

Also wifi from now on may not be as available as it has been so far. I will do my best to keep up, but my post might become a weekly thing instead of a daily one! I guess we will see how it turns out -- anyway thank you all for tuning into my journey so far and hope you keep following! 

Until next time!