Watkinson in the Dominican Republic: DRST 2025 - Day 3 - Workday Preparation & Joe Hartman School!

Buenos dias from Talia H. and Autumn W.!

We started the day off our day with Tata's amazing breakfast consisting of french toast, sausage, bacon, and fruit! Then quickly moved into preparation for the weeks med clinics and construction work. Specifically, sorting an array of medication, shoes, toys, and hygiene products till 11:30 until lunch at 12!

After lunch, we had some free time before getting all packed and ready for our visit to Joe Hartman School in Kilometer six. Once we arrived, the kids greeted us with warm smiles and hugs, making us feel so welcomed!

Below we will share both of our reflections from the day!

Talia:

I learned many new dances moves, and despite not understanding the music I had a great time. After dancing with the kids, I moved into the courtyard to play basketball with William H., Mr. Bro and 5 other boys. We had a great time and were all exhausted by the end of our game. But then, we decided to switch up the teams and play 2 more games. After finishing, we began playing a game of wiffleball and one of the boys hit a game winning home run! To wrap up our day the kids enjoyed some cotton candy, stickers, bubbles, and more music. Overall, it was such a great experience playing with the kids today, it made me feel like I was a kid again! I cannot wait for the week ahead and really enjoyed the day at Joe Hartman School!

Autumn:

Upon arrival at Joe Hartman, we began gathering our games and toys we sorted earlier in the day! The kids came up to us eager to play with the assortment of stickers, bubbles, soccer balls, balloons, etc! I specifically met three little girls: two three year olds and one two year old girl who made my experience today so special. One of the three year old girls and her two year old sister came up to us repeatedly dancing, playing games or picking out more stickers from our ever-growing collection! While most of the group was handing out food for the kids the two year old girls mother came up to me and asked if I could get her daughter a plate of food. I happily agreed, and fed the little girl the delicious food being served by our team! I felt so honored that this mother felt comfortable enough for me to go off with her child and help her eat! After this experience the girls and I swung on the swings for a bit and played some games before wrapping up the day with some cotton candy! The second three year old girl came up to me later on while I was blowing bubbles for the other two girls. I asked for her name and age and after she replied she asked for mine. When I told her my aged she made a shocked face and started to laugh. She continued to come up to us blowing bubbles and hitting us with her balloon sword! Using the lollipop in her mouth she would make lipstick and go around to each of us asking how it looked (and of course we said amazing!) I am so grateful for these experiences I had today at Joe Hartman and cannot wait to experience more special moments like these throughout the trip!