Upon first glance
Something I want to remember when reflecting on my initial experiences in the Dominican Republic is that the reputation of the Dominican Republic is true: Dominican people are kind, welcoming, and friendly. My host family has welcomed me into their home with open arms as if I was one of their own. They exemplify selflessness. I feel very comfortable in my new home. Upon arriving at my host family’s house, I was feeling nervous. I felt nervous about how I would fit in with my new roommates. I felt anxious about how my host family would react to meeting me. Yet, I was also very excited to begin the journey of living abroad in a solely Spanish-speaking family.
The first two days upon arriving in the Dominican Republic were the most difficult for me. I was homesick in a private and personal way. I still felt as if the group had not gelled together yet. The tour de conchos was a low of my experience because I felt cramped and overwhelmed. Yet, after our trip to the Centro León Museum, however, I felt much more comfortable. I have been enjoying my time in the Dominican Republic ever since our trip to the museum, even under the unfortunate circumstances of a COVID-19 outbreak amongst our group.
Learning about your host organization
My host service organization is Acción Callejera (AC). Specifically, I work for the adolescent section of the organization. Acción Callejera’s mission is to help local children who lack a support system around them. AC supports these children by providing them with a place to bathe, eat, participate in outdoor recreation, and receive academic tutoring. Acción Callejera aims to serve their community by providing a place for children to learn and grow as individuals. Most of the children that the organization serves are in a state of survival, working in whatever way they can to earn money and provide for themselves.
A closer look at the community
In its community work, Acción Callejera provides a necessary service to the city. Santiago is a diverse, bustling place filled with the sounds of honking conchos and sites of mango trees around every corner. The population consists of mostly local Dominicans, and Haitians that have either lived in Santiago for many years or have recently just arrived. The three boys I worked with in Acción Callejera were all children of Haitian descent who spoke mostly Haitian Creole.
Envisioning your service role
Within Acción Callejera, I serve the role of being a mentor. As I understand my role, my job is spending quality time with the children involved with the organization, playing basketball with them, helping them with their Spanish studies, and engaging with them in certain games and activities. I imagine that my role will evolve over the course of my stay here, but as of right now, these are the tasks that I have been assigned to participate in.
I have not yet identified any activities or projects that I could help Acción Callejera implement. From my initial observations, setting up a formal Spanish or English class would be very intense for the academic level at which the students currently reside. Likewise, I am still too unfamiliar with the organization’s strengths and weakness to truly say what they might need help organizing. I hope to learn more in the coming days so that I may help create some type of useful activity or project going forward.
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