Sandy Spring Friends School Dominican Republic 2024

March 11, 2024

The most important thing we learned today was about the relationship between Haitian immigrants and the Dominican government. Haitian immigrants are treated very poorly here in the DR and due to lack of opportunity many end up working in Bateyes (settlements), the local communities we worked in. Many Haitians either work in construction or in sugar cane fields because nobody will hire them. The only place where they can find help is through various organizations like ASCALA, which is where we are staying. Today we spent the day creating cement floors in houses in a local community. The activities were very fun and educational as we got to practice our Spanish speaking and meet new friends. The process was hard at first, but we got right into it. First, we brought sand from the sand pile over to the front yard of the house, then we poured cement into the sand and mixed. Next, we poured water into the sand and mixed the cement/sand in with the water. We then filled buckets with the cement and brought it into the house to get laid down and turn into a new floor. The sun was beaming down on us, and we were sweating buckets, but we pushed through. While in the DR we have been keeping in mind the Quaker SPICES. Simplicity and peace have been two big ones we have talked about, mainly relating them with how peaceful and simplistic the communities are. The people in the communities were very nice and everyone came together to welcome us into their community. They were also very respectful of each other, and everyone supported everyone’s needs in the community which showed a very different way of life that we hadn’t really thought of. Keeping these themes in mind throughout the trip will help us so that when we go back, we can try and fill our lives with those themes and ideas. There were a lot of memorable moments from today. We laughed a lot, and someone even fell into the cement! But most importantly we started making some of the first memories that we’ll make on this trip.

By: Elijah and Chris

March 12, 2024

Today we started off the day by going back to the batey and continuing laying the cement floors. We switched up the groups we were working with on the first day and learned each other’s methods of work. Adapting to a new style of work was challenging at first for many, but at the same time everyone was able to keep an open mind and adapt to new ways as well as learn to work alongside new peers. One group worked on a house deeper in the batey that was home to a family of over five children, while the other group continued working on Claudia’s house at the front of the batey. The same techniques were used regarding the sand, cement, water, and mixing. Assembly lines were crucial to both groups in order to transport the cement from the outside to the location of the cement floor easily. We left the batey around noon and traveled back to ASCALA for a delicious lunch consisting of chicken, rice, plantains, coleslaw, and fried eggplant. We were able to have some down time, where many of us took a much needed cat-nap, before returning to the batey and finishing our projects for the day. Around our time of departure from the batey was also when the kids of the community were returning from school, many of whom we had made connections with the previous day. Some of us played soccer with them, some played volleyball, and some simply conversed utilizing the Spanish they have learned over the years as a part of the SSFS community. It was extremely rewarding to immerse ourselves in the community we were helping and seeing the people that our work would help. Community, one of our SPICES values, was extremely prevalent during this time. Everyone was deliberate in making connections to the best of their ability and being present in the community we had the great privilege of helping. After a tough goodbye to our new friends we headed back to ASCALA to clean up before an exciting dance lesson! We had the privilege of being taught by a wonderful woman, Angelica, who actually grew up in a batey. Although dancing is not many of our strong suits, we all moved to the music and learned some beautiful native dances including Bachata, Merengue, and Dembow. By the end of our lesson we were dancing without the instructor’s guidance, you could almost call us pros! Dinner followed the dancing where we had yucca, banana, fried cheese, and scrambled eggs, it was delicious. Before closing out the night with an educational documentary we sadly had to say goodbye to Heriberto, but at the same time we got to meet Luis who talked to us about the Dominican Republic’s complicated history and culture. Luis’s talk prefaced the documentary called “The Price of Sugar” quite well, and we all learned about the corrupt forces impacting the exact community we were helping, the bateys. Today was packed full of adventure, work, community, fun, and much laughter. Quaker values were utilized heavily throughout our day and immersing ourselves in this new environment helps put into perspective our place in the world.

By: Zoe, Betel, Zoe, Mia

March 13, 2024

In the morning we toured a different part of the batey and learned about sugar cane production in the Dominican Republic. On the tour, we were shown how they cut sugar cane with a machete, and we even got to eat some. Our tour guide, Domingo, described his experience working on the sugar cane plantation. He told us about the low salaries ($4 per TON) that are shared between the workers. In many cases they are paid before the sugar cane is weighed, giving supervisors opportunities to deceive the workers. Later, our group went to JUMBO, a Target adjacent store here in the Dominican Republic. We bought snacks and other goodies for our day at the beach. We swam, played Marco Polo, and took some action shots while others played football and buried each other in the sand. We finished off the day with dinner and karaoke!

By: Abby, Anderson, Charis, Ehi, Allie

March 14, 2024

We started off the morning with a nice breakfast, and a lot of coffee. After breakfast, we went to the common spaces to do a little reflection and speak about our experiences throughout the week before making our way to the bateyes for the last time. We worked extra hard today because it was our last day of service and we needed to finish the projects we started earlier in the week. We split up into two groups, one worked on Teresa’s house in the batey, while the other group continued work on a woman named Claudia’s house from earlier in the week. We then went back to ASCALA for a lunch of chicken, rice, and lentils. After having that delicious meal we went to finish our service from the morning. This time, we all worked as a larger group to first finish Claudia’s house, and then continue the floor in the other house. At the end of the work day, a light rain refreshed us as we played baseball and attempted conversation in Spanish with the community members we had become closer to over the week. We then went back to ASCALA and had our final meal here, which used up all of the leftover ingredients to make a chicken stew with bread and rice. We then had an early nights rest to prepare for our final day in the DR!

By: Vincent, Daniel, Dylan, Jay

March 15, 2024

In our final full day in the Dominican Republic, we said our goodbyes to ASCALA and headed on the road. After a cramped bus ride and a brief stop at our hotel in Bayahibe to drop our bags we headed to the Padre Nuestro trail where we had a blast swimming in a fresh water cave which felt really refreshing after a 20 minute hike in 90 degree weather. In the cave we swam, some climbed rocks inside the cave, and jumped off some rocks as well. Afterwards we had a small lunch consisting of tostones (fried plantains), veggies , avocado, and chicken (saw some adorable cats as well) and headed out for snorkeling. We all tried on a plethora of fins, trying to find the right size. Soon thereafter, we chartered out on a medium size boat and traveled to three distinct locations. While at this locations all of us swam in the ocean and saw cannons, fish, a stingray, and a small shipwreck. After multiple hours of snorkeling on the boat, and straight after the snorkeling adventure we headed for some fantastic smoothies consisting of some fresh fruit and everyone got a chance to try some cool fruit drinks. Afterwards we toured the town of Bayahibe for a short while, collecting souvenirs and checking out some of the local shops as well. Afterwards we had a quick meet-up before having a delectable dinner in a restaurant right next to the port, with the background of a serene sunset behind us.

By: Jake, Donovan, Trevor, Evan, Leland, Gus