On June 13th 2014 five students including Contessa (senior), Audrey (senior), Mary (junior), Thomas (junior), and Rudy (freshmen), along with Mr. Shaw began their journey to the Dominican Republic. The club teamed up with other clubs from Rockford, Eaton Rapids, and Saint Joe. The travelers met at the school and took a bus to Detroit. The students took a flight from Detroit to Miami. Then they took a flight from Miami to Santo Domingo. After a long night of travel, they finally made to La Romana. The students the next day experience JUMBO, a nationwide grocery store and met and bonded with the other students from Rockford, Eaton Rapids and Saint Joe at the local beach.
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A young girl from batey 106 smiles at the camera
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The first day we traveled to a batey and installed water filters in many of the homes. They also played soccer and volleyball with the children. After a long day of work they were excited to have a delicious Dominican style dinner. For the next three days they worked in Batey 106. The three schools worked together to build two latrines and a shower. We also became very close with the children and families in the batey. Although they didn't speak the same language, that didn't stop the children from wanting to play with the students. After each day of work, they got to experience the Dominican culture. The second night they visited a beautiful Dominican Resort called Altos de Chavon, a replica of a European village where locals often gather.
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The third night we went downtown in La Romana, to play basketball against some of the Dominican people. The students had so much fun, and of course, the Dominicans won. The fourth night they visited Cueva de las Maravillas, which means caves of miracles. The caves had drawings on them from the native Dominican people that were beautiful. Also during the trip, they got to attend a Catholic Church service which is an important part of many Dominican's lives. They also attended the La Romana Rotary Club's meeting. The students thought it was really interesting to see how Rotary club's around the world follow the same as in Saugatuck.
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Two children relax in wheelbarrows.
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Mary plays with two children in Batey 106.
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On the second to last day, they took a boat out to Saona Island to see the beauty of the island and enjoy the beautiful beach. On the way back, they took a catamaran sail boat and had a dance party with all Dominican music. The last day at the batey, the students had to sadly had to give their goodbyes to the children who cried when they left. Before their flight, one of their guides for the trip had his band play and the students learned how to dance Dominican style. Then the students flew back to Michigan.
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