Rita Has Arrived Safely in the DR!


 

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Wednesday at Altagracia: Our Best Day Yet

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    We have learned in past years to expect the unexpected on our trips to the DR, and be ready to adjust.  Schedules are schedules, but there are times when events beyond our control change the agenda.  Such the case twice Wednesday, a day that had temperatures pushing into the 90s.  We arrived at the Altagracia school in time for the now familiar opening ceremony, and after the national anthem the Director made the announcement to the students that Thursday’s classes were cancelled and there would be no school.  Just like that, our last teaching day was wiped out.  The students cheered, of course, although many of them later figured out the implications of Thursday’s day off and expressed their disappointment to us.  School was cancelled across the country to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the teachers’ union.  In possibly related news, it was announced Wednesday that Juan Valdez, our good fr...
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Our Last Full Day in Cotui is a Good One

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  When one door closes, another is sure to open.     There was no school on Thursday, but we had a full and at the same time restful day, taking care of a lot of business.     We had the chance to sleep for an extra hour, and after breakfast we had an extra-long team meeting, which gave us the chance to reflect on our week to date. The reflections were insightful and at times emotional. We are so grateful for having had this chance to make a difference, and so pleased that we were able to take full advantage of the opportunity.     We were much more than visitors at the Centro Educativo Altagracia.     We were accepted as partners and friends, and did a lot of teaching and role modeling. Rarely have we heard so many of the participants, particularly our students, talking about returning next year.   After breakfast, we left the hotel and walked five blocks in the 88-degree sun to a nearby nursing home and clinic run by the local Lions Cl...
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Altagracia School and Health Clinic Visits

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  We got right to work on Monday, and accomplished a great deal on a busy day.     We were up at 6:30, ate breakfast at 7:00, and had a 7:30 departure time in order to make it to the Altagracia school in time for the opening ceremonies.     When our bus pulled through the gate (the school is in an urban walled compound topped by concertina wire) we were greeted like rock stars.     Children raced back and forth to get a look at us, and crowded toward classroom windows. Every child we encountered eagerly high-fived or first bumped us as we walked into the school to meet the Director, who guided us to a spot in the large courtyard where opening ceremonies happen every day.     Hundreds of children in plum-colored uniform shirts were lined up in their class groups, patiently waiting for things to start.     After a few announcements on the portable PA system, two children raised the DR flag and students and teachers alike sang the nati...
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