O em gee! The 6AM wakeup call was tough. It was a foggy morning and we had to get up early because it was a four-hour guagua ride from Constanza to Juan Dolio. For breakfast, we had ham and cheese sandwiches and some hot chocolate. After packing our stuff, we loaded ourselves into the guagua, and set off to Juan Dolio. During the first two hours, most of us were sleeping and groggy, but then eventually, the music and scenery gave us a burst of energy. Then, after the 4-hour guagua ride, which felt like an eternity, we finally arrived at the dreamiest beach house (A.K.A, the Dojo Mojo Casa House) to drop off our stuff and have lunch. We ate locrio de salami, meatballs, beans, white rice, salad, and fruit punch. Then we headed to ASCALA, we met Eugenia and Abdias who talked about Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. It was a very moving conversation and something we could take back home and share with everyone. After that, we took another guagua to the sugarcane field and even got to taste some! The worker who took us told us a lot about the process of harvesting and social inequality within Batey systems. Later on, we visited a nearby Batey and were welcomed in a resident’s house where the family shared their life stories with us. This experience was eye-opening, as most of us never witnessed such a level of poverty before. Finally, we went back to the beach house to have dinner, unwinded, and have our nightly meeting. Today’s dinner was tacos and orange juice! The night is closing in, we’re relaxing and reflecting on this insightful and amazing day!
