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
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