Tuesday, August 11 First Day of 4-H Day Camp!

First off, today had to be the most interesting day by far. We cannot explain fully everything that happened. If you are interested though in learning more I’m sure anyone of us would be glad to tell you about the first day of 4-H Day Camp. 

We started out by doing the usual waking up, eating breakfast, and meeting in the lobby for the bus. As we were told before coming to the Dominican Republic, the buses ran on “Dominican Time”, which was true today. We then loaded the bus and arrived at the Ecological Foundation. Entering the Foundation we found campers who had already beat us there and were already playing games and getting to know each other. 

After all of the campers and Dominican counselors arrived we then separated into four groups (Rojo, Verde, Azul, Amarillo). As groups we decorated individual drinking cups so the campers could reuse them instead of wasting plastic cups. We played name games to get to know each other better. Then two groups went on tours to look at the bee keeping facility and also where they are practicing worm composting.  The other two groups stayed at the Foundation to tie-dye t-shirts. 

When we were back together the counselors chose Dominican partners for the Incredible Journey Water Cycle activity. The kids made necklaces out of beads during this time and learned more about how water drops move through the water cycle and the importance of water. The foundation then provided lunch, giving more time to meet one another and mingle. 

The afternoon was craft based. We made butterflies out of clothes pins and coffee filters. Each camper received a 4-H Frisbee and decorated it however they pleased. We also used honey from the bees we visited to make a healthy snack for the campers to munch on - peanut butter and honey oat balls. For the crafts they each have their own spot to leave their crafts and to keep them together.

 Throughout the day we did have free time where we were able to play games inside like Jenga, Uno, Twister, and jump rope. Outside they played basketball, volleyball, and tag. 

After the campers left we decided to go back to the Indigenous Eyes (fresh water lagoons) to cool down and swim. We had competitions, who could make the biggest splash (Andrew), who could make the smallest splash (Carter), and who could jump the farthest (Jorge). Leaving the eyes it began to sprinkle. Getting out into the open it started to down pour. We walked/ran in this “tropical rain storm” for about 20 min. This is when the day got interesting.  This is also when you can ask your child what happened that day. 

Returning to the Foundation we had dinner, very American, HAMBURGERS. Tiffany today decided to stay back with Carol. So big shout out to Tiffany for getting all of the supplies and crafts ready for the next day of camp (we heard she also got a very good nap in). We waited for the bus which was running on “Dominican Time” once again. Back at the hotel we each had about five tie-dye shirts from our groups that we had to wash out for our campers. Thank you to Sarah for doing mine as I type on the computer. TEAM EFFORT. Today was exhausting, exciting, and definitely a once in a life time experience. We are ready for 4-H Day Camp again tomorrow. Bring it on.

Rachel Harriman and Sarah Peer, Shenandoah County

Monday, August 10, 2015 Team Building/Day Camp Prep - 2

I hope this finds our readers well. J

This morning, my room slept through four (yes, FOUR) alarms and left just in time to eat breakfast, which was fantastic, as usual. 

Jake Kheel (Environmental Director of Grupo PuntaCana and the Director of the PuntaCana Ecological Foundation) came in after we finished eating and briefly, yet fully, described the many sustainable projects he and his teams are working on to better the Dominican Republic. These include bee

keeping (to keep bees from being a nuisance and to make money selling honey), an iguana sanctuary (to reintroduce them in their natural habitat), a hawk sanctuary (also to reintroduce an endangered species into their natural habitat), a coral regrowth project (to keep the local reef thriving), a lion fish “search and destroy” project of sorts to keep their population stable (harvest them to eat and also teach the fishermen's wives to use taxidermy to preserve the fish for sale to tourists).  Lionfish are not an indigenous species and therefore have little to no predators, so they kill off the local fish populations at a rapid pace.   Grupo PuntaCana also has a strong recycling program. (Dominicans have an astonishing amount of garbage, and no government provided disposal).

After Jake finished speaking, we went to the Ecological Foundation to prepare for tomorrow’s day camp for the local Dominican children. I had a great time getting to know our awesome, bilingual Dominican teens who will be helping us throughout the week. 

After we played some games and tie-dyed T-shirts, we went and watched a film made by other local teens in a local film academy. Even though it was entirely in Spanish, we got the gist of what it was saying, and it was really awesome.  They did a great job editing the shorts!

Next on our agenda was a trip to the Ojos Indigenous (Indigenous Eyes), a series of freshwater pools that feed into the Caribbean. We had a BLAST swimming around and jumping off into the beautiful, clear-blue water, and even had our feet nibbled on by small shrimp, which was quite an experience. 

After that was dinner, reflections, and then blogging, Wi-Fi, and swimming. All in all, today was pretty amazing. The teens are hilarious and outgoing; the language barriers are hardly a problem. In fact, they make our interactions all the more interesting and enjoyable. I am so glad we were able to have this opportunity, and I will surely never forget it.

Amelia Kahle

Alleghany County

Monday, August 10, 2015 Team Building/Day Camp Prep - 1

  At 8:17am this morning I was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door. I went to open it and it was Charlie, with a note telling us that we were meeting in the lobby at 9:30 am. I thanked him and shut the door, slamming my finger in the process. What a way to start the day, am I right?

                

After breakfast we had the chance to sit down and talk to Jake Kheel, the Environmental Director for Grupo PuntaCana and the Director of the PuntaCana Ecological Foundation. He spoke with us about the sustainable tourism projects and programs they’ve done to help preserve the beauty of the Dominican Republic. He was from America and traveled to the DR with an exchange program and he fell in love with the country. He then decided to pursue a career in environmental science.

                

Shortly after we met with Jake, we headed over to the Ecological Foundation to meet with the Dominican teens and prepare for our first day of camp. We played some “get-to-know-you” games and had a lot of fun. Being around the Dominicans and interacting with them is so rewarding in itself. At times there are language barriers, but they are patient and understanding. Even though we speak totally different languages, we laugh and interact in the same way and I think that is beautiful.

Later in the day we made the trek to “Ojos Indigenous”, which are freshwater lagoons that are believed to have special healing properties. We got to swim in the crystal-clear water and it was absolutely breathtaking. The water made it seem like it was only about four feet deep when in actuality it was at least fifteen. At this lagoon there was a spot where you could jump down into the water. I found this terrifying, and I wasn’t going to do it. That is, until all of our friends shouted “JUST DO IT!”, like Shia LaBeouf’s speech. I thought Hey, when in Rome! And jumped.

The next lagoon we went to was full of flesh-eating shrimp. We waded around for a bit until we got our bearings, and then stood still while the shrimp swarmed our feet. It was basically a spa treatment! They nibbled at the dead skin on our feet and toes and it tickled. A lot.

After we left the forest, we found our way back to the Foundation for dinner. We had tacos and French fries (Domincan x American cuisine!). All of the teens gathered at one table even though there wasn’t much room just so we could all sit together.

In conclusion, today was a success. On a scale of 1-4, I’d give it a 27: excellent. I love interacting with the Dominican teens (even though they mess with us and laugh at our inadequate knowledge of the Spanish language) and getting to know them and their culture.

Carter Adcock

Alleghany County​