Classic Dominican Church painted at the Border Museum

Classic Dominican Church painted at the Border Museum

Learning about Haitian GaGa (carnival) and the masks commonly worn

Learning about Haitian GaGa (carnival) and the masks commonly worn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey guys!! Today we learned about immigration between the Haitians and the Dominicans starting with a 6:00 a.m wake up call. Then, at 7:15 am we headed towards Onaney Gourmet’s restaurant for breakfast where we ate cereal and a banana. When we were finished with breakfast we had a socratic seminar separated into 2 groups discussing our personal perspectives and perceptions on immigration. When finished we took the guagua ( bus ) to the Elias Piña Museum, which took about an hour and fifteen minutes while we were getting pretty lit on the little road trip we had. When we arrived we met Jason whom filled in for Julio as our tour guide. Once we entered the museum we were split into two groups of 10.Throughtout, the tour we saw how both the history and cultures of Haitians and Dominicans. We learned about their relationships, carnivals, rituals, gods, handmade carry ons, and even their lifestyles. Later on, we left towards the Mercado Binacional, where we were able to see what products, food, and clothing the Haitians sell. It was very similar to a flea market. However, since we are foreigners and they were able to notice we were different in the way some of us dressed and spoke, we did received attention because we were all in a line just walking around. It was surprising to see they made profit out of very simple things like rice, beans, fruits, laundry detergent, toilet paper, etc. Next, we took the guagua towards the border. Which took about 10 minutes from the Mercado Binacional. We couldn’t get through in the guagua so we did have to walk past the guards. Which was a made a less complicated due to the captain whom accompanied us throughout the trip. Unfortunately, we could not go through the gate, but we did get a little background of why we weren’t allowed. For or our own safety and to not be in the way of the locals who were trying to get to places. After visiting the border, we had lunch, food provided by Sheila’s at the VIP restaurant. We encountered a few locals and served them the bunch of food we had left over from lunch. Once done eating, we headed back to the hostel to prepare for our English classes at the Liceo ( School ). Two hours later, we made our way to Onaney Gourmet’s for dinner. After a long day, we had our nightly meeting back at the hostel to discuss and wrap up the day. Thankfully, on such a day our group stuck together, showed respect, and followed directions. Being the leader del dia for both Robyn and I (Noemi) was a little stressful, but we relate to the immigrant life and carried on with our day.