Day 3: First work day!

 Today we have students that are going to take over the blog to share their experiences!

 Medical Clinic brought to you by Rory B. '24

Today we started off by waking up at 6:50 am for breakfast. After we fueled up, we loaded the bus with medicine, MannaPack, and shoes. We got our rest on the bus ride to the batey near Papita! When we got there we were greeted by happy faces and we made an assembly line to deliver the supplies from the bus to the church the med clinic was held in.  After we got everything in order and students set up at their job stations, we were ready to go to start seeing patients! I was set up at the blood pressure station, and read about 60 people's blood pressure. It was split up between two waves of people and I was accompanied by my fellow classmates, Sadie and Moo Paw. We finished before everyone else as blood pressure and temperature were the first things taken as patients walked into the clinic.  So after we finished, we went to help the people working in pharmacy. After that Moo Paw and I went outside to connect with the children and talk about soccer. My biggest takeaway from today was that I am very grateful for how fortunate I am and opening myself up to this new opportunity showed me how I shouldn't take what I have for granted. Spirits were high today and I can't wait to have a great day tomorrow!

Construction Site brought to you by Gabriela R.-L. '25

I woke up, got ready, and had a very nutritional breakfast of oatmeal and fresh fruit. After I finished I helped bring boxes of MannaPack to the med bus. We took a short ride to the school we are going to be working at for the rest of the week. Our plans got derailed, we originally hoped to work at Batey Papita, the construction site we worked at last year. Due to the weather conditions here, the storms were so bad that the road leading to Papita, wasn't safe to drive on. But despite this unexpected change of plans, we had a great day painting fences and walls in preparation for our team mural coming later this week! After a delicious lunch and some more painting, we drove into the city to tour the hospital that was built with the support of service teams just like ours! The rest of our day was spent bonding, assembling food packs, and sorting medication. The biggest lesson I learned was how to become more adaptive and flexible with what's brought to us. In our short time in the Dominican Republic this year we have learned to expect the unexpected with many delays and changes in plans, however, along with my wonderful team I am very excited for the week to come!