Dominican Republic Spring Break: Day 5
Tuesday, 3/8/16 - Leaning Lessons
Two days in and I've already learned an incredible lesson in perspective. Despite many of the living conditions of the impoverished people down there were surprising to us, it was so normal for them. Even though to us they had so little, they were so full of joy and their faith and happiness were inspirational to us. I also knew going in that animals were treated differently there, but I think it was really eye-opening to experience it first hand. I think what was saddest though was to see even members of my group disregard the treatment of the dog and kitten locked up outside our own house. I fully respect that the humans should be cared for before the animals, but the sad reality is that even as Americans sometimes we don't see animals as much as the incredible and magical beings they are. Realizing this sparked an intense understanding as to why I am so passionate about animals and why the career I crave is such a good match for me. I just hope that others see my big heart for 4-legged and 2-legged beings.
I have always thought I am the type of person that sees the positive in all things, but I think situations can be a true test for some depending on what your passions are. I think we see the crisis in things we see as priorities, we see things others may overlook and that is why each person can make a difference in their own way. That is also why I commend my service trip leader for picking such a diverse group of individuals, who are all incredible in their own ways. I know they will all go on to do amazing things.
We woke early today to see the sunrise. Despite it being a cloudy morning, the pink that shown through the clouds was captivating and a great way to start the morning. Today was also our first clinic day, however it did not go as expected. Apparently the person who was supposed to alert the community that we were showing up for a clinic was on an emergency visit to Elias Pina, so no one showed up at the clinic. So instead, we drove around to serve those in the community who needed our assistance. We started at the school. We took weights, passed out vitamins, and the gave the kids anti-parasite pills. Then we drove around doing the same thing. We also took blood pressures of some of the parents.
After the clinic, some of the group expressed their concerns on how the clinic went. Many were disappointed based on our expectations. It put us at ease to know that today was not a normal clinic day and that even our student leader was disappointed in the disorganization of the day. But we were very pleased to know that even with the disorganization we still ended up serving everyone who needed our help.
Reflection tonight was led by Allison and Kate. We were told to write down nouns and verbs from the day and share them. Here is what I wrote:
Kids playing, Alexa waving, mountains glisten, students listen, water gulp, moto honk, boy whistle, shoes stomp, water splash, children dash, rocks thud, cat meow, sun burn, Kiko dance, arm throw, feet smell, car beep, spirits reflecting.
I thought that our reflection exercise was a very cool and poetic way to see what others observed and to reflect on what we saw and heard. It reminded me to think about what all my senses have experienced throughout the day.
I also loved getting to pick up the kids after school today and getting to take a selfie with two little girls on the car ride home. They are the cutest!
I have always thought I am the type of person that sees the positive in all things, but I think situations can be a true test for some depending on what your passions are. I think we see the crisis in things we see as priorities, we see things others may overlook and that is why each person can make a difference in their own way. That is also why I commend my service trip leader for picking such a diverse group of individuals, who are all incredible in their own ways. I know they will all go on to do amazing things.
We woke early today to see the sunrise. Despite it being a cloudy morning, the pink that shown through the clouds was captivating and a great way to start the morning. Today was also our first clinic day, however it did not go as expected. Apparently the person who was supposed to alert the community that we were showing up for a clinic was on an emergency visit to Elias Pina, so no one showed up at the clinic. So instead, we drove around to serve those in the community who needed our assistance. We started at the school. We took weights, passed out vitamins, and the gave the kids anti-parasite pills. Then we drove around doing the same thing. We also took blood pressures of some of the parents.
After the clinic, some of the group expressed their concerns on how the clinic went. Many were disappointed based on our expectations. It put us at ease to know that today was not a normal clinic day and that even our student leader was disappointed in the disorganization of the day. But we were very pleased to know that even with the disorganization we still ended up serving everyone who needed our help.
Reflection tonight was led by Allison and Kate. We were told to write down nouns and verbs from the day and share them. Here is what I wrote:
Kids playing, Alexa waving, mountains glisten, students listen, water gulp, moto honk, boy whistle, shoes stomp, water splash, children dash, rocks thud, cat meow, sun burn, Kiko dance, arm throw, feet smell, car beep, spirits reflecting.
I thought that our reflection exercise was a very cool and poetic way to see what others observed and to reflect on what we saw and heard. It reminded me to think about what all my senses have experienced throughout the day.
I also loved getting to pick up the kids after school today and getting to take a selfie with two little girls on the car ride home. They are the cutest!
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