La Republica Dominicana, pt. 3

After our long week of service and loving the community of Mojarra, we had the opportunity to venture out into the city of Santo Domingo on Saturday to explore more Dominican culture. The best part of the day was bringing two boys from Batey Fao (the original batey mentioned in the Mika's Lunch excerpt in my previous post) that we had all grown very close to with us for the adventure. 

Tony (left) and Neftali (right)

The boys' names were Neftali (15yo) and Tony (14yo). They have been very close to Heather, the wonderful woman who started Mika's Lunch, since she started working with Fao. And they so desired to get to know us during our time there that they skipped school every single day that week and would somehow show up at Mojarra, a mile or two the road from Fao, every afternoon. [Keep in mind that school in the Dominican is not like it is here in America... missing school is much more common there than it is here. The big sacrifice the boys were making was giving up their lunch that school would provide if they didn't make it to us before we had breaked from work to head into the town of Guerra for lunch. But to them, spending the week getting to know us was more important than eating lunch.] 

Neftali and Tony grew on us by teaching us. They understood that we did not speak their language but saw that we were trying. So they did their best to decipher through our broken sentences and hand gestures to communicate with us and expand our vocabulary. Not only did they want to teach us their language, but they wanted to learn ours, giving us the chance to teach them as well. These boys were smart, and they were caring.

So Friday when we left the worksite, we brought Neftali and Tony back to our hotel to spend the night with us and explore Santo Domingo with us the next day. We didn't know what to expect. It was a very real chance that this could be the first time they've ever used a real shower or slept on a bed with a mattress. I couldn't even wrap my head around what this might be like for them. They were excited. Andrew and I had them sleep in our room with us. They started out sharing a bed while Andrew and I shared the other bed in our room. After the giggling had finally come to a stop, Neftali decided that Tony took up more bed than he was comfortable sharing so he threw a towel on the tile floor and went to sleep there like it was nothing. So we decided to change it up and had Tony come over to share a bed with me and Andrew shared with Neftali. I soon realized that Neftali wasn't kidding... Tony may have been small, but he had me limited to the edge of the bed on my side.

Los Tres Ojos Cave

In the morning, we all awoke for our last breakfast together and loaded onto the bus for our first expedition of the day. We visited one of the top sites in Santo Domingo, Los Tres Ojos Cave. Originally one single body of water throughout the cave, it has split into 3 small lakes throughout the years, giving it the name 'The Three Eyes'. The water was crystal clear and cool to the touch. I wanted nothing more than to jump in for a swim, but they don't take to kindly to that there. 

After the cave, we made our way into town for the market where we got to test our international bartering skills. I've never been one much for bartering, but I was definitely enjoying the practice. Kim and I even got our first souvenir for our future home together to start a collection from all the places we visit. But the bartering did not come without its stresses. The shop owners were incredibly pushy to get you to look at their stuff and didn't take 'No' for an answer very well. But if you could get past that, it was a fun experience.

From the market, we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. It felt extremely out of place to be eating there after all of the home grown market food we had been eating all week, but some 'American' food sounded great to me! We got a kick out of our cokes being served in giant plastic guitar cups and obviously had to bring those back home with us.

Once we had finished with lunch, we stopped back at the hotel to change into our swim suits and then went to check out the beach, Boca Chica. The beach there is nothing like we are used to here in Michigan. The water is significantly more beautiful, but most of the ocean shores are comprised of rocks rather than sand. Boca Chica is a sandy beach, but probably only 20 feet of sand between the shop stands and the water, as the sand is likely imported in. And the vendors on the beach might have actually been more pushy than those at the market, with higher prices too. But we got to end our last day relaxing on the beach and playing in the ocean as a team. It was a great way to enjoy our fellowship and catch a little Sabbath before we headed back home.

Neftali thought he could use
some sunscreen at the beach...

On our way back to the hotel, we dropped Neftali and Tony back off at Fao. We wanted to bring them back with us, but we figured that would be looked down upon by customs and immigration... The boys were quiet on the bus. They wanted us to leave as little as we wanted to leave them. As soon as we pulled up to Fao, Neftali had to make his way off the bus before his emotions hit him. I get that; I hate goodbyes too. But I know that won't be the last time we see those two. They are going to grow into amazing leaders in their community, and I cannot wait to return and see their progress.

Up next: our travels home