Day 3 - Sorting & day of play at Joe Hartman School!

Hi everyone its Autumn W. and Judy Q.! Today we got to have the luxury of waking up late (between 7:30 & 8) and came down to Tata's delicious signature pancakes, fruit, bacon, and sausage!! After breakfast we got right to work on separating shoes, making hygiene kits, sorting and counting meds, and packing food.

Our sorting entailed: separating Womans, Mens, and kids shoes. Separating and counting out medications. Packing toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, body wash & other hygiene products into bags to make hygiene kits, and making bags full of rice, cornmeal, beans, sardines, pasta, and oil to make food bags.

After sorting everything we had lunch which was burgers (sooo delicious) and had about an hour to get ready before we made our way to the Joe Hartman School for our day of play!! Below is both of our reflections of our experiences at the school:)

Autumn:

We rode the bus into Kilometer Six, one of the barrios in La Romana with high spirits! Before we had arrived we had planned lots of games for this kids such as: basketball, baseball, a huge rainbow parachute, face paint and so much more. Once we got to the school the kids greeted us with hugs! For the first hour or so we brought out all of the games however at first it was a hit we all ended up doing games and dances the kids taught us. Gaby R., Darren G., Pia S., Maria A, and I were able to serve lunch to the kids which was a really cool experience! We learned later that the kids don't normally have lunch at school, so it was amazing that we were able to serve them today! After serving lunch some of the

kids pulled me aside (and many others) to paint my face with the face paint we brought along. With our new stylish look we took to the dance floor. The kids loved to dance and get piggy back rides from all of us so for the majority thats what we did:) I met a some girls that taught me some new hand games to play and Gaby and I taught them how to play concentration! My favorite part of the day however had to be meeting this girl named Tatiana. She keep stealing my sunglasses and doing the most sassy poses with them it made my day! Overall the experience today was one I will never forget! meeting and playing with all the kids was the best experience and just made me feel like a kid again!

                                                                                                

 

Judy: 

Starting from this morning, me and the team are sorting meds and shoes, the process is long and hard but with joy. The team that I’m with was organizing and labeling ibuprofen. Soon the label runs out, me and Autumn start to write on the 200 bags that’s left on the table . I feel overwhelmed by writing “ ibuprofen 200mg 15 counts” with different expiration days. By writing labels overtime, I could clearly see the results within full bag of ibuprofen. “No pain No gain”

When we played with those kids at school.I really like the energy and enthusiasm within the kid and see the smile on theirs face. During the activity, I was in charge of frisbee game. At first, I wasn't convinced that any kids wanted to get involved in a game of frisbee. Until one kid pointed to my Frisbee and asked me to throw it to him, which really surprised me. Until I played with them before lunch and gave them stickers.

I think the most touching part was when one of Joe Hartman's students wrote "Love" on my arm. I had tears in my eyes. As the only Chinese student, I often feel like I don't belong in this group, and the kids were not very positive about me during today's activities. This really made me feel happy and that all the effort I put in today and on this trip was worth it.

I really feel that this trip will be memorable for the rest of my life and will allow me to learn about different cultures.

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And now for the cake of the day:

Overall we had a great day and can't wait for a fun work day tomorrow!! 

buenas noches!