The 4-H Dominican Republic trip has really taught me a lot. I learned about a different culture, a different language, my friends, and the condition of the country. I came on this trip wanting to learn and I ended up learning a lot more than I thought I was going to from the many places we went. It might just be one of those things that you have to see and experience to truly understand, and I think that’s why it’s important for 4-H teens to keep going on this trip.
I think that this trip helped out the community, especially when we went to pick up trash. To be honest, when I heard Domingo Maiz referred to as a “village” over and over again, I sprang to the very classic image of simple wooden houses and a small population. I was very wrong, and I soon learned that this picture of a village in my mind really needed to be updated for the modern world. It seemed like there were people everywhere watching us when we picked up trash. We even had some of the kids from our camp and from the village just show up to help us. That experience made me think that maybe some of these kids or even some of the adults in this community would follow through with the hour or so of work we did cleaning up their city.
I had already known my fellow Shenandoah counselors when I went on this trip, especially Chandler and Brandon, but rooming with them in another country really changed a lot. There’s just something about being in another country together, I guess. I’d have to say that most people, if not all of the people from the Dominican Republic, were so nice. I know that the people that we had lunch and dinner with were people that were familiar to the trip and it was kind of a tradition to go and visit them, but I was a stranger to them. It’s just so nice to have something like that, a person opening up their home. I feel like there’s something I can take home from that experience.
When I went on this trip, I wasn’t very confident with my language skills. I had taken Spanish classes in school, so I knew the basics of Spanish at least, but I really wanted to learn more. I read a small “Important Spanish Phrases” book before and during the trip, trying to learn so I could communicate effectively. Most of the time I was too nervous, shy, or embarrassed to try and use my Spanish, especially when we had teens from the Dominican Republic around. However, there were other times where I had no translators around and, even though I could only sort of understand what they were saying, I had to try to communicate with the campers. I was very anxious any time this happened, but actually hearing them and what they had to say was way different than being fed it from another person. It is because of my experience here in the Dominican Republic that I am more interested in improving my language skills.
I believe that this program will be beneficial to other 4-H teens because of the many different things that they will get to experience. I had never really haggled, seen a language barrier, or been around the level of poverty that was present in the Dominican Republic. I had also never seen the sheer amount of hope that surrounded the community there, present because of the poor conditions. This was inspiring to me, and I think that it will be inspiring for others that go on this trip as well.
Submitted by James Eaton, Shenandoah County
After this trip I've really looked at people differently because people from America can judge before they know someone. Now that I've been to the Dominican Republic, I've really given more people chances to be around me. You can't judge people by how they are, or how they live. You just have to get to know them. I'm glad I went. I want to keep on going and helping out, until I can't. I had fun with everyone, and I'm going to try to learn more Spanish, so I am able to talk to them without body language.
