Our DR Trip: Getting settled in
Kyle and I have been back from the DR for a little over a week. I'd be lying if I said adjusting to regular life again was easy, but the fact that today is a snow day softens the blow a little. It also gives me some time to catch you up on our trip. Just a fair warning, this is NOT the abbreviated version, so feel free to read as much as you like or simply scan the pictures. I'm writing this mainly so we can have something to look back on and to remember all the small details that made this trip an incredible adventure!
There is a part of me that still can't believe we actually went. It's something I've wanted to do for months but I never let myself believe it was actually going to happen for fear something would come up and we'd have to cancel our plans. Fortunately, all went smoothly and before I knew it, it was time to start packing. The week before we left was a bit chaotic with Kyle working late several nights and us having other plans in the evening. We were set to leave on Friday the 13th (I know! What poor planning!) and I didn't get around to physically packing anything until Thursday. In fact, I still had a load of laundry to do when I took off work around noon that day.
The plan was for me to pack my stuff and then lay clothes out for Kyle so he could pack quickly when he got off. Only he didn't get off until about 8:30 that night and we still had to drive Oliver to Ponca. So when we got home he essentially just threw everything I'd laid out for him into a bag without looking at it, and we headed to bed. What trust he must have in me! To let me plan the entire trip on my own right down to his wardrobe for the week. I can't imagine it myself but that may be a girl thing.
Our flight wasn't until 11 on Friday, so we took some time getting ready in the morning and heading out of town. That's when I really started getting nervous. I've flown many times but I've never been out of the country, so I wasn't sure how customs or any of that worked. But I kept reminding myself we didn't have to worry about that part just yet. We flew from OKC to DFW to MIA and then spent the night in Miami.
I chose an airport hotel for convenience but Kyle wasn't thrilled with it. It was perfectly nice just not in the most attractive area. I kept reminding him it was only one night, and I think he warmed up to the place after his initial disappointment wore off.
The one thing Kyle had been looking forward to about this trip was our night in Miami. He wanted to go out and get a steak because there was no telling what we would be eating for the next week. So we looked at some reviews and chose Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Instead of getting a cab, we decided to try Uber. Kyle was a little hesitant but I was all for it since it's cheaper than a cab and, from what I hear, usually a lot nicer. Turns out our first driver rolled up in a Dodge Caravan. Not exactly what Kyle was hoping for. The breaks squeaked at every stop, and we were both glad to be getting out of there when we did. In contrast, the restaurant turned out to be really nice. Our waiter was wonderful and the food was awesome. Kyle's favorite part was his steak, which sizzled on its 500 degree plate. My favorite part was the broccoli au gratin, which was the definition of cheesy awesomeness. We considered getting dessert but in the end we were both too full.
While we waited on our Uber ride, Kyle oohed and awwed over the cars. A Ferrari, a Corvette, an Audi R8, a Maybach and a Mercedes. All cars that mean very little to me, but I was happy to see him so excited about it. And as luck would have it, our ride turned out to be an Audi this time around. The driver was very nice and told us he was proposing to his girlfriend on Valentine's Day! I hope she said yes. Back at the hotel we FaceTimed Oliver and Kyle's parents before heading to bed. (He was doing wonderfully, of course.)
We got to sleep in a bit, taking the 10:30 shuttle to the airport. While we waited, we met a nice couple from Arkansas. They were headed on a cruise but were excited to hear about our trip. They had a son who visited Haiti on a mission trip. They said he felt like there were almost too many people there trying to help and that his time would have been better spent giving back to his local community. That was an interesting perspective to hear and in the days that followed, we would talk a lot about an over abundance of nonprofit involvement on the island.
Our flight to the DR seemed so short. I think it was only about an hour and a half but the time there was two hours ahead of Oklahoma time. We flew into the Puerta Plata, which felt a whole lot more like the OKC airport than the MIA airport. Getting off the plane, we were hit with humidity but it wasn't too hot outside so we weren't miserable. There was a small band playing merengue music, which I found to be quaint and welcoming. Kyle found it be loud and possibly a little annoying, but his focus was on getting us through the checkpoints. We gave them our customs form, purchased our travel visas and then there were several men waiting to scoop up our bags. They asked us what hotel we were staying at. I told them we had people meeting us, so they led us outside where I scanned the small crowd to find the Discover Corps sign.
It didn't take me long to spot the tall bald man holding it up. We would later find out that his name was Giorgio and he was originally from Italy, serving in their Army for several years. He, his wife and his daughter moved to the DR some time ago but he only recently got a job with 7 Elements (the organization we would be a part of for the next week). He was accompanied by a younger, short (in comparison), dark haired American named Scott. Scott was part of the Peace Corps and spent two years in a rural DR village. He started working for 7 Elements about a year ago and was the main organizer of our trip.
He welcomed us and introduced us to Giorgio and Meggi, the only other participant there at that point. Meggi is a retired pharmaceutical scientist with a German accent. She currently lives in California but spends most of her time traveling the world. She has been on several volunteer trips and is a wildlife photographer in her spare time.
Wilma, or Willie, was the next to join us and had actually be on our flight. She's retired also and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a government employee at one time during her career and now has a part-time job at Kohl's because she needed something to do. She likes to travel but this was her first volunteer trip. She said her friends thought she was crazy for going on it. I personally admire her courage to do something like this on her own and all by herself. She reminded me of Uncle Dan in that way.
We were waiting on two more - Bill and Terri from Iowa. They turned out to be pretty much newlyweds who had only been married for two years. Terri had several children with her late husband who passed away about five years before she met Bill. Their friends and bridge partners set them up and they've been happy every since. Bill has one son who is the golf coach at Iowa State and they have several grandchildren between them. Bill wasn't quite retired yet but, as of March 31, he will be. I remember thinking they brought an awful lot of luggage with them, but I later found out they were staying an additional three weeks in the DR. After I learned that, I though they were traveling pretty light!
After the initial introductions, Scott led us to the commuter bus that would be our main source of transportation over the next few days. It was a little dusty inside, but the seats were comfortable and it was a good amount of space for our group of eight. And just like that, we were off to our home base aka "the lodge."
It was a pretty smooth ride in the beginning. I loved looking out the windows at the lush, green countryside and seeing the towns we passed through on the way. There were lots of political signs up for the 2016 election, and every now and then Scott or Giorgio would point out something to us. Like the baseball field, which is the national sport in the DR. (Dad told me about that before I left. I had no idea there were so many professional players from the DR.)
It was about a 45 minute drive. We passed lots of what looked like run-down communities among beautiful scenery. I found it very interesting but I think Kyle found it a little troubling. When we passed through Sosua they mentioned that it was the prostitution capitol of the island. I glanced at Kyle at that point and he shook his head with an expression that said, "what have you gotten us into?!" Fortunately we kept driving and eventually turned off the main road. That's when things got bumpy. There had been a storm earlier that day, but Scott said the road was actually in pretty good shape and we should see it when it's really bad.
It had been sprinkling some on the drive, but right before we turned off the main road the downpour started. We could see the beach out the right-hand window when we took our last left turn and drove a few feet down the dead-end road/driveway. I knew we were there because of the palm tree huts. They looked just like they had in the brochure only I remember thinking it was awfully muddy. (This is their off season, so they are taking this time to do construction around the property. They are building an office and taking out some grass to replace it with a garden that can produce food for the guests and community.)
Waiting just behind the gate for us was a big rottweiler, two smaller scroungier-looking dogs and Dave. Dave is a bulky bald man who kind of reminded me of Coach Cameron only more gruff. We exited the bus and gathered under the covered entry. Dave told us all which huts we'd be staying in and then said he and Scott would deliver the bags so we didn't have to get out in the rain. Kyle ended up going with them, but I opted to stay dry and ran with the rest of the group under the large pavilion or "restaurant" that we would use as the main meeting place during the rest of our trip.
Then it was time for the orientation, otherwise known as the most sobering 45 minutes of my life. Dave talked about a lot of the issues facing the area and what was on schedule for the coming days. The most crushing blow was learning we will have no hot water for the week. I thought that may be the case, but I was hoping for the best. We also learned that the day will start at 7:30 every morning and we will end work around 3 with some time at the beach before dinner at 6. Dave told us we would be mixing cement by hand most days, which I knew nothing about but Kyle seemed to think it sounded horrible. He also told us we would be eating primarily chicken and rice and that we would be "sick of it by the end of the week."
So after that little pep talk, we sat down to a dinner of, you guessed it, chicken and rice. There were also beans and fresh fruit. Everything tasted much better than I had expected, but I think we were all a little drained after our travels. Shortly after dinner we headed to our huts. They were really nice looking from the outside but were pretty bare bones. Local people constructed them and they were meant to give us the experience of what it's like to live in the Dominican Republic. Except they are so much nicer than many of the homes we would see later in the week.
We had lots of creatures living with us and very near us. Including all kinds of insects, lizards and the neighboring hogs and rooster. That first night it seemed like there was still lots of time in the evening left but we weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves. Kyle bought a word search at the airport and I journaled to pass the time. Later we would get the WiFi password, which meant we could get online and message our friends and family.
That first night was rough. Kyle discovered a spider and that sent him over the edge. He just couldn't believe this is how we were going to spend our vacation. I had to admit that I kind of agreed with him. What were we thinking spending money to travel here, stay in a place without modern conveniences and spend our days working instead of relaxing? So we had a small little spoiled Americans breakdown and decided to go to bed early. I told Kyle I didn't really want to take a cold shower, so I would probably wait until Day 2. He looked up at me with a defeated look and said "I think showering is going to be a waste of time on this trip." I don't know why but for some reason that cracked me up. He was totally right and, although he didn't see the humor in it right away, we'd both have a good, long laugh over it in a few days.
There is a part of me that still can't believe we actually went. It's something I've wanted to do for months but I never let myself believe it was actually going to happen for fear something would come up and we'd have to cancel our plans. Fortunately, all went smoothly and before I knew it, it was time to start packing. The week before we left was a bit chaotic with Kyle working late several nights and us having other plans in the evening. We were set to leave on Friday the 13th (I know! What poor planning!) and I didn't get around to physically packing anything until Thursday. In fact, I still had a load of laundry to do when I took off work around noon that day.
The plan was for me to pack my stuff and then lay clothes out for Kyle so he could pack quickly when he got off. Only he didn't get off until about 8:30 that night and we still had to drive Oliver to Ponca. So when we got home he essentially just threw everything I'd laid out for him into a bag without looking at it, and we headed to bed. What trust he must have in me! To let me plan the entire trip on my own right down to his wardrobe for the week. I can't imagine it myself but that may be a girl thing.
Our flight wasn't until 11 on Friday, so we took some time getting ready in the morning and heading out of town. That's when I really started getting nervous. I've flown many times but I've never been out of the country, so I wasn't sure how customs or any of that worked. But I kept reminding myself we didn't have to worry about that part just yet. We flew from OKC to DFW to MIA and then spent the night in Miami.
Waiting to board our 1st flight in OKC!
I chose an airport hotel for convenience but Kyle wasn't thrilled with it. It was perfectly nice just not in the most attractive area. I kept reminding him it was only one night, and I think he warmed up to the place after his initial disappointment wore off.
The beautiful view from our room. How could he have had a problem with this?!
Warming up by the fire before dinner.
Ready for our evening out on the town.
Kyle's precious steak.
We got to sleep in a bit, taking the 10:30 shuttle to the airport. While we waited, we met a nice couple from Arkansas. They were headed on a cruise but were excited to hear about our trip. They had a son who visited Haiti on a mission trip. They said he felt like there were almost too many people there trying to help and that his time would have been better spent giving back to his local community. That was an interesting perspective to hear and in the days that followed, we would talk a lot about an over abundance of nonprofit involvement on the island.
Ready to head to the DR!
It didn't take me long to spot the tall bald man holding it up. We would later find out that his name was Giorgio and he was originally from Italy, serving in their Army for several years. He, his wife and his daughter moved to the DR some time ago but he only recently got a job with 7 Elements (the organization we would be a part of for the next week). He was accompanied by a younger, short (in comparison), dark haired American named Scott. Scott was part of the Peace Corps and spent two years in a rural DR village. He started working for 7 Elements about a year ago and was the main organizer of our trip.
He welcomed us and introduced us to Giorgio and Meggi, the only other participant there at that point. Meggi is a retired pharmaceutical scientist with a German accent. She currently lives in California but spends most of her time traveling the world. She has been on several volunteer trips and is a wildlife photographer in her spare time.
Wilma, or Willie, was the next to join us and had actually be on our flight. She's retired also and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a government employee at one time during her career and now has a part-time job at Kohl's because she needed something to do. She likes to travel but this was her first volunteer trip. She said her friends thought she was crazy for going on it. I personally admire her courage to do something like this on her own and all by herself. She reminded me of Uncle Dan in that way.
We were waiting on two more - Bill and Terri from Iowa. They turned out to be pretty much newlyweds who had only been married for two years. Terri had several children with her late husband who passed away about five years before she met Bill. Their friends and bridge partners set them up and they've been happy every since. Bill has one son who is the golf coach at Iowa State and they have several grandchildren between them. Bill wasn't quite retired yet but, as of March 31, he will be. I remember thinking they brought an awful lot of luggage with them, but I later found out they were staying an additional three weeks in the DR. After I learned that, I though they were traveling pretty light!
After the initial introductions, Scott led us to the commuter bus that would be our main source of transportation over the next few days. It was a little dusty inside, but the seats were comfortable and it was a good amount of space for our group of eight. And just like that, we were off to our home base aka "the lodge."
It was about a 45 minute drive. We passed lots of what looked like run-down communities among beautiful scenery. I found it very interesting but I think Kyle found it a little troubling. When we passed through Sosua they mentioned that it was the prostitution capitol of the island. I glanced at Kyle at that point and he shook his head with an expression that said, "what have you gotten us into?!" Fortunately we kept driving and eventually turned off the main road. That's when things got bumpy. There had been a storm earlier that day, but Scott said the road was actually in pretty good shape and we should see it when it's really bad.
It had been sprinkling some on the drive, but right before we turned off the main road the downpour started. We could see the beach out the right-hand window when we took our last left turn and drove a few feet down the dead-end road/driveway. I knew we were there because of the palm tree huts. They looked just like they had in the brochure only I remember thinking it was awfully muddy. (This is their off season, so they are taking this time to do construction around the property. They are building an office and taking out some grass to replace it with a garden that can produce food for the guests and community.)
We were staying in the closest hut.
I took this at the end of the week. When we first got here there were only a few rows of cinder blocks complete. They work fast!
The "restaurant," which was our main meeting place.
Then it was time for the orientation, otherwise known as the most sobering 45 minutes of my life. Dave talked about a lot of the issues facing the area and what was on schedule for the coming days. The most crushing blow was learning we will have no hot water for the week. I thought that may be the case, but I was hoping for the best. We also learned that the day will start at 7:30 every morning and we will end work around 3 with some time at the beach before dinner at 6. Dave told us we would be mixing cement by hand most days, which I knew nothing about but Kyle seemed to think it sounded horrible. He also told us we would be eating primarily chicken and rice and that we would be "sick of it by the end of the week."
So after that little pep talk, we sat down to a dinner of, you guessed it, chicken and rice. There were also beans and fresh fruit. Everything tasted much better than I had expected, but I think we were all a little drained after our travels. Shortly after dinner we headed to our huts. They were really nice looking from the outside but were pretty bare bones. Local people constructed them and they were meant to give us the experience of what it's like to live in the Dominican Republic. Except they are so much nicer than many of the homes we would see later in the week.
Our room had two beds so we opted to keep the luggage in one to protect it from all the critters.
This is the bed we actually slept on. It was just a bit too short for Kyle and we could feel the matress springs in our back. We didn't mind it at first but, as the week wore on, we were feeling it.
Our bathroom, which was very nice. We had cold water but it was very easy to control with that shower head.
The rules. My favorite is number 3. No squishing bugs around here!
The hog pin that was directly behind our hut. you can see the mom in this picture, but there were also several babies who liked to squeal in the middle of the night and scare us to death.
That first night was rough. Kyle discovered a spider and that sent him over the edge. He just couldn't believe this is how we were going to spend our vacation. I had to admit that I kind of agreed with him. What were we thinking spending money to travel here, stay in a place without modern conveniences and spend our days working instead of relaxing? So we had a small little spoiled Americans breakdown and decided to go to bed early. I told Kyle I didn't really want to take a cold shower, so I would probably wait until Day 2. He looked up at me with a defeated look and said "I think showering is going to be a waste of time on this trip." I don't know why but for some reason that cracked me up. He was totally right and, although he didn't see the humor in it right away, we'd both have a good, long laugh over it in a few days.
Yeah, we weren't exactly sure what we'd gotten ourselves into, but it's funny how your perspective changes when you realize people live all kinds of conditions. Our standard of living is a little ridiculous in comparison.
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