Thursday was a very busy day. The med clinic was at Batey Plumita and we saw 146 patients. We visited this same batey on Wednesday of last year's trip. The construction team returned to Batey 50 to do food distribution in the morning and then fill the floor of the house we are finishing with loose dirt one feet deep. It was a huge job they completed so they will be ready to pour the cement floor on Friday. After this the entire team visited the orphanage in La Romana which was very emotional. Many team members from 2010 reunited with children they had met and connected with a year ago. Our day ended at Altos de Chavon for Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and mashed potatoes; a gift afforded to us by alumni parents who have a vacation home in the region.

Here, Ms. Garcia gets a refresher course on taking blood pressures from Gary Pelletier.

Our med clinic at Batey Plumita in full swing.

Mrs. French and Mason B. staffed the parasite med station today, after which Mrs. French got to sing and dance with the kids.

Greg V. tackled one of the hardest jobs today; he got to work with an interpreter and control the chaos at the entrance to the clinic. He put his excellent Spanish skills to good use.

Ms. Boyle, Jess Pelletier and Connor L.'s little sister did shoe and food distribution out of the back of the bus.

Mr. Bracker immediately lapses into teacher mode with some teenage girls at the orphanage, doing Spanish and English flash cards.

Mrs. French's son Turner makes a new friend.

Ian and Emma Adomeit's mom gets her "hair did" by one of the young girls.

The kids gather after Thanksgiving dinner at Altos de Chavon.

A Great Day at Batey 50, the happiest place on Earth

On our third work day, all thirty of us went to Batey 50. It was really fun to all be together. Mr. Crosson has given our team a nickname: the Blue Force! The med team treated 140 patients and we distributed five duffel bags of shoes. One of the highlights of the day was distributing 14 baseball gloves and 18 baseballs to the boys of Batey 50. At the end of our day we got a big game going with both the residents of the Batey and our Dominican doctor, named Denny, was the pitcher!

Lauren Freisinger makes a special friend.

Drew P and Greg V play with some of the kids. Drew gave so many piggy backs that the kids nicknamed him "horse."

This is the house that is near completion. Today we will pour the cement floor.

Connor L makes a friend!

Ms. Boyle toasts the day with a cup of parasite med! (She didn't drink it!)

The construction team hauled cinder block to the new house we started to have the blocks ready for the mason.

Mr. Linskey kept the construction team productive today since the bus bringing the skilled laborers got stuck and was detained.

A good view of the new house we are starting.

We ended a hot and sweaty work day with a brief frolic at the beach. We all agreed that after swimming it was the cleanest we have felt all week!

Day 2 Medical Clinic

Today the Med Team was at Batey Guazabal. It was fun to be here because this is one of the batey's we visited last year and many repeat team members found old friends. It was another big clinic; we saw 138 patients. Already this year we have seen almost as many patients as we saw in four days last year.

Mason and Emma's mom, Rachel Countryman, has a great snuggle with one of the babies.

Ian and Connor got a wiffle ball game going.

Hayden French and Emma Linskey got a Spanish lesson from one of our translators over lunch.

Mason and Hayden work with Ms. Garcia distributing parasite medicine.

The line at today's medical clinic.

At the end of our first work day...

Today we did our first medical clinic at Batey Pinita. We treated 138 patients (the largest clinic we did last year was 115 patients). Here are some photos from the day:

Alumni Parent Ron Freisinger joins two alums, Gary Pelletier and Lauren Freisinger, in the blood pressure station.

Michael Kamradt works on his senior project. He used the Pronto which reads iron levels in the blood.

Ms. Garcia, Ms. French, and Mr. Crosson hand out shoes and food to people who have already seen the doctor.

Ms. Garcia enjoys a moment of quiet conversation with one of our translators as the children of Batey Pinita crowd around.

Will passed out parasite medicine today, along with Connor L and Mrs. Pelletier. Once Will was done, this child found will and would not let go of him. Will got lots and lots of love from this little one.

The construction team also had a great day on Batey 50. Jess P, Alannah B and Emma A were absolutely exhausted from playing with and corralling the kids of Batey 50. Greg, Drew, Turner, Ian, Mr. French, Mr. Bracker and Mason sifted sand for concrete and painted the tin roof panels that will be attached to the roof tomorrow.

We are here and we are happy!

We had a long travel day on Saturday, but everything went smoothly.  The highlight was when JetBlue let us check all 60 of our duffel bags full of meds, comfort dolls and shoes for free!  We had a sweet reunion with our Dominican hosts at the airport and arrived at Casa Pastorale, our dorm for the week, by 8p.m.  After dinner, we spent our evening unpacking and organizing all our supplies and then turned in for a good night's sleep.  Sunday will be our first trip to a batey, an afternoon of food kit packing and visiting the founder of the project's church.

Shoe Collection Tally

Thanks to all the Watkinson students and families who collected and donated shoes for us to take to the DR with us.  With one week before we depart, we have packed up twenty duffel bags full of shoes!  In addition, we have another ten duffel bags full of meds, comfort dolls and toys. Thanks for support everyone!

Hopes and Fears for 2011

Our Hopes:

• that we will see and recognize some of the people we met last year.

• that I'll be able to help the people there have a better life, and that I will have a fun experience.

• to connect meaningfully with the men, women and children on the bateys; and to make a positive impact.

• that the group comes together as well as we did last year.

• that the trip is everything I hope it to be: rewarding, fun, motivational, humbling.

• to feel like I have made a substantial contribution to the health and well-being of the DR children.

• that we can reach as many people as possible with health care and meds and that we don't run out!

• to touch the lives of people who might not otherwise receive the emotional and physical care they need.

• to use my nursing skills in a challenging environment.

• to learn more about cultures in countries other than the US.

• to learn how fortunate we are.

• to foster the seed of service in my daughter.

• to share my medical skills in a productive way.

• to have fun!

• to raise enough money to do all that we want.

• to be comfortable in an unfamiliar place and to help as many people as possible.

• that my family will end up going on this trip.

• that we have enough food to feed anyone.

• to save some people/babies like we did last year.

• to increase my son's appreciation and awareness of other cultures.

• to have a team building experience.

• that we are better organized ahead of time.

Our Fears:

• missing home/family a lot

• getting sick

• lack of Spanish will hamper my ability to communicate with people and/or to be helpful.

• that I won't have the energy to keep up.

• how people there will react to our presence.

• parasites.

• encephalitis.

• violence.

• anxiety of being out of the USA.

• that my sensitive daughter will have a difficult time.

• that we will get lost.

• airport troubles.

• that it will be weird to return to US after having been away.

• not having enough food to distribute again.

General Housekeeping

Get to Jenni Immediately
• copy of your passport
• participant's health info form (everyone needs to complete one)
• emergency medical release form (everyone needs to complete one)
• release and waiver of liability (everyone needs to complete one)
• minor's permission for international travel (only needs to be completed by the parents of participants under the age of 18 who are traveling without a parent)

Items to Work On
• finding a t-shirt printer
• finding a bus company to take us to/from airport at cost
• selling coffee
• collecting meds: Tums, multi vitamins for adults and kids (not the gummy ones because they melt), Lotrimin, hand cream, ibuprophen (Advil or the equivalent), acetominophen (Tylenol or the equivalent)
• sending fundraising letters

Important Facts
• 2011 Trip Overview
• 2010 Trip Newsletter
• Packing List

Medical Requirements/Suggestions
• Strongly recommend you see a travel clinic
• Hepatitis vaccine required, Malaria pills (i don't believe these are required, but I STRONGLY recommend), and Cipro (or other antibiotic for younger kids).