Lisa's Return to the DR!

Lisa returned for a second visit! Which must mean I’m an awesome host. Just kidding. :) I can definitely understand wanting to revisit the Dominican Republic! I’m already planning my return trip and I haven’t even left yet.

Anyway, Lisa had been here before, so we went to areas that she hadn’t yet seen. We spent time in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, at the Las Terrenas beaches and El Limon waterfall in Samana, my community in Mao and finally a stop in Santiago. Alena, a friend and volunteer from Germany working at our school and Banelino joined us, and we all had a great time! There were over 1300 pictures between the three of us during this trip, which must be a record of some sort, but in any case gave me a lot of choices of which ones to include in this post! Enjoy the photos from late March/beginning of April.

Fashion show that Alena and I found by surprise in the Colonial Zone

a photo op with Columbus

Visiting the Peace Corps office

former hospital site in the Colonial Zone

Las Terrenas, Samana

Horseback riding to the El Limon waterfall

Relampago or Lightening looks innocent enough, but almost booted me off. Still friends!

Alena and Thunder

El Limon Waterfall

we made it with the help of these guides

Lisa and Solomon

took this picture for Sara. The Lynnfield cats' have a primo hermano in the DR!

cute hotel where we stayed in Las Terrenas

awaiting the bus for a nice 5 hours back to Mao

loving the bus!

my favorite local transport

Lisa got to see her pigs - a successful vacation!

Cuidense!

XO

Banana Republic

Last month I visited a part of the country that I have wanted to visit for over two years. What secluded, picturesque beach or far-away travel destination could this be you are wondering? Well, neither really. This place is not isolated nor does it take much longer than 15 minutes to get to from my house. Ironically, it still somehow took me two years though.  

I had the chance to visit some of Banelino’s banana plantations where I saw the whole production process, from banana trees growing in the fields, to the conveyor/pulley systems that take the bananas in to be cut, washed, sorted, and packed into boxes to be shipped to buyers in Europe. 

It was so awesome! Perhaps to understand why this was such a big deal for me, you’d have to know more about what the Dominican banana industry has meant to my Peace Corps service here in the northwestern part of the country. 

To start, most families in my community, are affected in some way by bananas. Many friends work directly in the industry either in the plantations cutting and sorting the bananas or at desk jobs in the offices of the companies that process and ship the bananas overseas. Many more people, myself included, are indirectly affected by bananas. At my school, the students, teachers, and their families are impacted by the banana industry in that Banelino built and sponsors IDENE as well as the school's new workshop building. And then of course, with so many plantations in the area, bananas themselves are inexpensive to buy locally (two for 5 pesos or about 12 cents), therefore, there’s really no telling just how many are consumed here on a daily basis. 

So though it may seem a bit over the top that as a school, we have literally prayed for a good banana crop season, be assured, this has actually happened, on more than one occasion, because bananas are really that important here. 

It is an importance I’ve appreciated aesthetically everyday at the school since arriving here in 2010 (as you’ve seen from pictures - IDENE is a beautiful place!), and understand the depth of as I reflect on the number of people I know affected by the banana industry, to the point that it’s weird to think of my service separate from bananas. The school has grown so much as a result of Banelino and the bananas they export, and without that connection, I’m sure that my projects would have been different. Of course bananas are food (and Dominicans have so many different recipes), but bananas are also a job security and livelihood for so many people in my community that it is hard to imagine a fruit capable of accomplishing more.

in the field, after machete-ing the bananas from the tree

conveyor/pulley system bringing the bananas in from the field

washing after cutting the bananas

stickers!

they were so fast at labeling each one

sunset as seen from my neighborhood

XO

Cross-Country Montessori

In mid-March, Marina (school director), Isabel (school coordinator) and I traveled to the east to do a teacher training in Montessori at Elisa’s school in the Miches area. The trip took the three of us about 10-12 hours by bus away from Mao, to the capital, and then finally out east. It was a part of the country that neither teacher had been to before, and it was great to see Elisa’s community, teachers, and work she has done there. She had asked our school director to share the Montessori work and didactic teaching materials projects that we’ve been doing this year with her school in a morning training session and an afternoon material-making workshop. Plus, she wanted to film our training and workshop for her teacher training video project - so exciting! 

And so, the three of us traveled from Mao to Miches and did just that. Getting there took a little while, but everyone had a good time - my teachers taught some sign language to fellow travelers on one of the bus rides. During the training and workshop it was interesting to work with other Dominican teachers, and refreshing to hear new ideas and perspectives on education, be they negative or positive. Not to mention, my teachers did such a great job leading the event! Less than a year ago we were conducting the same Montessori training at our own school (Marina as a facilitator and Isa as a participant), and now both were leading the training to other teachers. (Ahem, Sustainability? Is that you?!) After the trip, both of my teachers were talking about how they want to continue exchanges and teacher-to-teacher trainings like this, specifically with two special education schools in our province - which is probably the best outcome that I didn’t expect. 

We were able to share Montessori with a group of interested teachers at Elisa’s school, and then (somewhat unexpectedly) I saw just how far my school has come in terms of Montessori knowledge, our curriculum and what our students do on a daily basis while at school. Over the past year alone, so much has been added to IDENE’s classes thanks to our teachers’ interests and creativities. Although it has made for a pretty busy two years, I’m glad to have been here and able to support their ideas, collaborate and work with them. Someday very soon, I know I will miss hearing “Emma, what do you think about...?” or “Emma, I need some help with...” and even large groups of people gushing “Emma is an artist!!” when I draw stick people and lopsided flowers. :)

On that note - below are the photos from our Miches Montessori teacher training and workshop (presented materials are same/similar to pictures in the previous post). Just traveling cross-country, dropping knowledge and going home again - how we roll. 

Marina & Isa at the Miches Rio

Beach in Miches

teachers in the session

filming!

Our cross-country travel start and finish - 10+ hours on the bus!

Everyone post-material making and training workshop!

Elisa showing us the teacher training video project she's creating

school directors and teacher from Miches and Mao

Got a flat tire on the drive back through the mountains...

...no worries. chance for a beautiful op!

XO