IMG_0518

Global business day started with breakfast, which is always amazing. Breakfast was then followed by a academic seminar on the dynamics of Constanza’s economy. Most of Constanza’s business comes from exporting agricultural goods to other countries. In order to truly understand how local farmers are affected by in this situation we headed to a small farm owned by Juan Suriel. Juan explained to us the process of farming and what methods he uses in order to export his products. He first took us to see potatoes, celery and chayote. Chayote was a fruit that I have never seen before so it was cool discovering a new food that was key to the Latin American culture. We then went to a greenhouse to see little seedlings. There, Juan told us the process of how he grows and tends for his crops. Towards the end of the tour we took a picture with Juan and he told us how thankful he was for our group to see and understand how local farmers in Constanza have a love for what they do.

IMG_0523

After the farm tour with Juan, we went to the Multiuso building in Constanza to have lunch with the Bonao delegation since they were visiting Constanza’s dump for their Poverty day. It was fun getting to interact with new people and also learn some Chicago slang. Once we were all full with Dilenia’s amazing paella we traveled to World Agro Marketing where we got to see the processing of many mini Persian cucumbers. Luis, manager of World Agro Marketing and our tour guide, showed us the process of how the cucumbers are processed.  Luis also explained how their factory ships and supplies cucumbers to their headquarters in the US. On the tour we also learned how different seasons affected the workers hours and wages. In the winter, they typically produce 20 thousand boxes of mini cucumbers per week but during the summer, the factory only processes 7 thousand boxes per week. This can have an affect on the local worker´s wages.

IMG_0524

Before dinner, we started our first English tutoring lesson at a school right around the corner from our hotel. Almost everyone said it was the highlight of their day. It was both challenging and rewarding to teach students a new language. Challenging in the sense that everyone felt under prepared but rewarding because we enjoyed getting to know our students.

P.S. Yajaira would like to wish her parents a happy wedding anniversary!