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Day 4

Updated: Jul 6, 2019

Day 4 started with a long drive to Samana. After 3 hours of bus time and a few snack stops at gas stations along the way, we ended up at a small school in the town of Los Tocones. We were going to be leading an art project at a summer camp and everyone was extremely excited to spend time with kids. Not only did we want our art project to be fun and simple but to carry a message. Centering our lesson around the idea that being unique and true to yourself is important, we decided to make pet rocks with the kids. They would decorate each rock to be as unique as themselves. We arrived with an assortment of pipe cleaners, paint, googley eyes. We were very nervous to see how the language barrier would affect the process.


Their teacher welcomed us with a beautiful song; she closed her eyes and let her voice fill the room. To introduce ourselves and the project, we put together a short and simple skit and presented it with the help of our translators. The kids just stared back at the loud group of American girls; they were timid and confused at first but began to open up as we worked on our communication. We asked a few “get to know you” questions and shared our favorite sports, colors, animals and foods. We had a lot of common interests (like a love for sandwiches, strangely enough) and giggled over funny responses together.


For those of us who lack in Spanish skills, helping the kids design their pet rock was limited to holding up supplies and asking “yes or no” or repeating the few Spanish art supply words we could recall from language classes in middle school. However, communication is mostly conveyed through body language, so as long as we practiced patience and kept a smile on our face (which was very easy since the children were very cute) we could get basic ideas across.


The kids were extremely smart and eager to understand. They taught me how to say simple words like “scissors” or “glue” and giggled as I tried to pronounce them right. We shared the English translations of their favorite colors and sports while we painted the stones they had picked out from the school yard. In my group, we each took a handful of kiddos under our wing and bounced back and forth until all of their adorable pet rocks were complete. We created dogs, cats, turtles, bumble bees, penguins and mismatched monsters.


The kids were very creative with our limited supplies and seemed to have a great time with us! We all realized that no matter what country they are from or what language they speak or what state of life they are in, kids are kids. These children live in true poverty and, in some ways, have to grow up quick but at the end of the day they just want to learn and have fun. They showed the resilience and positivity I have seen in every Dominican I have met so far. We shared our cultures over a silly art project and had fun together for a few hours. It was a wonderful, lighthearted day.


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