DRST 2025 - Day 1 - Traveling to the Dominican Republic!

Hey Everyone! It's Leila & Maddie, and it's DRST 2025 day 1!

Leila here - After finishing up our last day in the US packing bags, we woke bright and early (it was still dark outside - 3:45 a.m.) and drove our DATTCO bus to JFK! After dragging 2,900 lbs (58, 50 pound bags) of luggage through the airport (and getting plenty of stares) we all safely made it past the drug sniffing dogs, and into the terminal. We got NYC bagels, Starbucks, & sandwiches for the journey and met some birds flying around our gate. Finally, we all crammed into a very full plane (I personally was in the very back — my last name starts with a Z — and sitting next to a very cute and very well behaved baby) and took off for an easy, three-hour plane ride. 

(NYC is so pretty in the dark)

(The bird in JFK)

Maddie here! 

As our plane descended and we made it into Santo Domingo, we flew into a beautiful rainbow overlooking the luscious green terrain. 

The landing was pleasantly smooth and we made it off the plane, to customs, and eventually to our 50+ bags! We hauled all of our luggage out of the airport, feeling the intense heat change (going from 20℉ to 87℉), and met our hosts who helped us load up the school bus and began our 2-hour drive to La Romana! We were incredibly hot and sweaty, however the sudden rainstorm cooled us down! 

After our exciting drive, we officially made it to Casa Pastorale (where we will be staying)! We got settled, returning students reunited with our beloved translators and hosts, and we gathered for our first dinner! 

We enjoyed homemade pasta, chicken, bread, and plantains, and for dessert we had a scrumptious tiramisu cake! 

After our incredible meal, we gathered the medication we collected throughout the past few months, and began counting all of it into small, accessible bags to give out at our first med clinic tomorrow!  It was so much fun! 

After sorting, labeling, and counting thousands of different medications, we completed our goal and got ready for bed for our first night in the Dominican Republic! Overall, we had a very successful travel day, full of new sights and new memories! Tomorrow we will be heading out onto the bateys for our first official day of work! We are so excited! 

Fourteenth DRST departs in one month!

Watkinson's fourteenth team of students, alumni, parents, and faculty will head to La Romana on November 21! Efforts are currently underway to collect all the shoes, meds, hygiene items, and money gifts needed to do the medical clinics and construction projects we have planned.  This year's team of 30 travelers is the largest since the pandemic! Like last year, we will also visit the Joe Hartman School (where previous teams have done many construction projects) for a fun-filled day of play.  You can support the DRST here: https://watkinson.org/drst.

2024 DRST Shares at All-School Meeting

 

Day 8 - Traveling back to Connecticut

 
Hi everyone, it's Will W!

Today was sadly our last day in the DR. We started off with sleeping in until 8 and going down to breakfast with our bags ready to go and all of the items we were donating to the hotel in a pile. Ms. French had us go up to the rooftop to take some pictures with a beautiful view behind us! 

By then it was time to say our final goodbyes to the kitchen staff and time to board the bus that we ended up just fitting on. We take a drive to the airport with some cool views of the ocean on the way

When we arrive at the airport, we say more goodbyes to Cafe. I ended up getting randomly selected to have my bag searched by a dog who was in training which was pretty cool but delayed us a bit. After a stop at Carl Jr's, everyone stocks up on food for the plane.

When I tried to board the plane, for some reason they didn't stamp my boarding pass at customs. Hayden offered to come with me and we ran through the airport all the way back to customs which then I had to have my bag sniffed by a dog again. Meanwhile mostly everyone is on the plane already so we end up making it back just in time.

Even though we had an extremely turbulent 3 and a half hour flight to 43 degree JFK, there were beautiful views landing!

When I think about reflecting on this experience, I would have never expected to go into any community for the first time and immediately feel at home. As I stepped off the bus for the first time into Batey 50 and the Joe Hartman school, the first thing I saw were kids coming over to everyone and hugging them like they have been waiting for this moment forever. I immediately felt this overwhelmingly warm, unexplainable, special feeling that I never knew existed. This trip proved to me that it truly isn't about wealth, it's about the people that make a community what it is. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this and be able to think about and use this experience to guide me throughout life. 

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Hey everyone, its Gaby:)

While I feel very odd coming back to 30 degree weather after living in 80 degrees for a week, it feels good to be back!

This was my third year traveling to the Dominican Republic and while many things have changed throughout these three years, the sense of home I feel there has always stayed the same. The love we receive as a team from everyone we meet is indescribable. The people who I have met and worked with in the Dominican Republic are truly the happiest and most beautiful people on the planet, and their love has drawn me back every year.

I couldn’t have asked to spend these past three years any other way. For me, and for the entire DR service team, Thanksgiving has gained a new meaning. 

The holiday should not only be a reflection of what you have in your life, it should be a reflection of what you can give to others. 
On behalf of all the travelers, I want to thank everyone who has supported the team and our work, we could not have done this without you! Most importantly, I want to thank Jenni French, Rick Gemme, and Danielle Ness for leading our trip with such passion, drive, and strength! 

Day 7 - The Last Work Day

 

Hello everyone, my name is Chebly, one of the doctors on the team currently in the Dominican Republic. Today marks the last day of our service trip, and we are all determined to make the most of it—providing the best care possible and helping as many people as we can.

We started our day as usual, waking up around 7:00 AM, sharing breakfast, and packing food boxes. By 8:30 AM, we were on the bus outside the dormitory, ready to head to the clinic. The mood was bittersweet—it was our last day here, but we were determined to make a lasting impact.

Then, the unexpected happened. Midway through the journey, our bus broke down. The driver tried his best to fix it, but it just wasn’t working. Under the hot sun, we waited for nearly two hours until another bus arrived. Thankfully, the replacement bus had air conditioning—a small but much-appreciated relief after the delay.

As we sat there waiting, my mind kept wandering to the patients who were likely waiting for us at the clinic. I hoped they wouldn’t lose patience and leave before we arrived. When we finally reached the clinic at around 11:30 AM, my heart lifted at the sight of a crowd still waiting outside.

Every day, I find myself looking forward to this moment—the smile on the patients’ faces as we arrive. It’s the best reward I could ask for, fueling my motivation to give them the best care and support, both medically and emotionally.

Despite starting late, our team worked tirelessly, seeing and treating around 120 patients by the end of the day. It was non-stop work until 3:00 PM, but the teamwork and dedication made it possible.

On the way back, the familiar rhythms of bachata music filled the bus, lifting our spirits as we reflected on the day and shared our favorite moments. 

We reached the dormitory around 4:00 PM, quickly changed, and headed to the beach to unwind under perfect weather. 

By 6:30 PM, we returned to find dinner with the usual amazing cake waiting for us—exactly what we needed after such a long day. 

While everyone enjoyed the meal, you could feel a hint of bittersweetness—it was our last night and final dinner together, wrapping up an unforgettable journey.

As per the tradition of this yearly trip, the last night featured an award ceremony. Everyone had a randomly picked name and was tasked with choosing an award for that person. The awards were distributed amidst laughter and cheers, as we took a moment to admire each other's excellent work and dedication throughout the trip.

Until next time, 

Chebly

Hey Wat,

Caleb Gottesmann - Class of 2027: 

Today was an eventful day. With it being the last day of our service trip, emotions were high and were so high that in the heat of the moment a member of our team journey onto the wrong bus in the morning (Culprit pictured asleep). Ms. French commented that this was the first time in 13 years of Watkinson DR Trips that somebody got on the wrong bus but another way of looking at this was that this was the first time in 13 years of Watkinson DR Trips that somebody got on the wrong bus and we as a team overcame it.

Once we arrived at Batey 50 a few members of our team sifted sand for rocks, while others got to work digging ditches and laying blocks around one of the houses. During this time a number split off from the concrete and began to finish the painting we had been working on throughout the week. While the painting started, a few wheelbarrows of rocks were sifted out of the sand we began manually mixing concrete before bringing the concrete to the ditch where we began to lay it. Our professional masons of Watkinson began laying concrete while others filled in the space between the new foundation and the home with dirt as the sun began to scorch. We finished post haste with the sun beating on our backs and headed for lunch.

picture to be added in the morning (sorry)

After a scrumptious lunch in the sugarcane fields we headed back to work. We set off to distribute food with the assistance of Yolanda who worked with Hayden in organizing which houses we needed to deliver to before we headed off to the school. Once we got to the school we delivered a bag of toys and sweets for later and gathered all the kids for some paricute shenanigans. We played for a few minutes bringing the parichute up and down, kids running in and out before we got back to work. We finished the work day concluding the painting and doing all we could with the new foundations but were unable to lay the final piece of it as a tree was in the way and was to be cut down at a later time.

Once the work was done for the day we said our goodbyes, gave any equipments like boots and gloves out, and left with many of our number crying as we drove away. Afterwards we headed to the beach for quick hour for some fun before returning to home base around 6:30. After we returned we immediately had dinner and one last cake!!! before being given some time to finish packing for our departure tomorrow. After many of our troop most surely did not finish packing we met up for Paper Plate Awards with some of the highlights being Will the Wanderer, The León, and the Big Gun Award which was given to two people, Julia Schoenfeld '25 and myself. Now with the hardest past us we all head off to bed at a reasonable hour* and prepare ourselves for our trip home tomorrow.

Day 6 - Med Clinic, Construction & early Thanksgiving dinner!

Hello Everyone, this blog post is being brought to you by Pia Squatrito and Jack Mazlish! 

Aurelia (Pia) Squatrito - Class of 2025: 

    Hello from the med clinic! Our team started with another early wakeup of around 7:00 am. With sunscreen, bug spray and our team "La fuerza azul" (meaning the blue force) shirts on we headed downstairs for breakfast and "Squinters" which is an electrolyte drink. Today our breakfast consisted of: scrambled eggs, bacon & sausages, assorted fruits, bread. Shortly after the construction bus arrived so we helped ensure that they were all set to go, then it was our turn. We were told that the bus had arrived so we loaded up all of our medical supplies and donations. We were off! 

    We arrived to a Batey located in "San Rafael Del Yuma" and were directed to their quaint church where our pop-up medical clinic would be located. Today my role was BP (blood pressure) / Pharmacy "switch". I started off the day working blood pressure, and when I realized that there wasn't as much as a need for 3 BP students I transferred to sitting in with a doctor providing care for our patients. This was a super amazing opportunity for me, especially since I am heading into the medical field, specifically nursing next year! Maria Akiki, a second year UConn internal medicine intern, has been such an amazing mentor, and teacher for me. We took a break for lunch and afterwards we saw the rest of our patients. We then headed home for our "thanksgiving dinner" at 'Casa De Campo' a day early. For me this years trip has been so surreal because it is my third consecutive DR volunteer trip, and I am graduating this coming spring. Now onto Jack sharing about construction!

 

Jack Mazlish - Class of 2025: 

Hello everyone it’s Jack M. I’m talking about construction today.

Today when we got to Batey 50 we got to work on shoveling sand onto a truck. This was when we noticed that a certain member of our work crew had forgotten their work shoes. I won’t reveal who that was but you know who you are. The sand was then driven over to a concrete mixer so we could make concrete. Once we had some concrete we started using wheelbarrows to dump the concrete into a mold. Which we finished filling up by the end of the day.

While some people worked on concrete the entire time or painting the entire time. I was asked to move over to painting halfway through filling up the concrete mold. Unfortunately a few minutes after I started painting it started raining. Since it was raining we got on the bus and ate lunch and by the time we were done with lunch the rain has stopped.

After getting off the bus we found out that because of the rain the kids had gotten out of school early. This was because there are a few rivers that have to cross to get back that overflow when it rains. I was one of the people who went to play with the kids.

First, the kids learned some English with Cafe (one of the people who is helping us with this trip) taught the kids some English. After learning some English the kids played with the parachute until we had to leave.

After getting back, we packed some rice into ziplock bags, showered, and get into nice clothes. Then we got onto the bus to dinner.

When we got there we all sat with our feet in the pool while we were waiting for the food to be ready. Then food was ready and we all ate. After we were done eating, most of us swam for a while and then we ate some cake. Then we drove home and went to bed.

Day 5 - Work Day at Batay 50 & the Med Clinic

 

Hey everyone, it's Abi! I woke up at 6:40 in the morning and had a breakfast of french toast with bacon and fruit. We got to Batay 50 around 9:45am and immediately got to work. I went to paint the rest of the houses while the other group started laying cement. It was fun painting and practicing my spanish with the guys who came to help us. I was also the one who got up on the tall ladder to paint the top of the window/door frames. After a little while I switched over to cement and practiced my wheelbarrow skills while transporting the wet cement. I might have stumbled on a hose and spilled some...

Julia also got the privilege of being the one to work the concrete mixer and pour it into our wheelbarrows. This was quite a feat because many of the older men at the Batay didn't like the girls doing too much physical labour around them. Several even tried to take the wheelbarrows out of my and Autumn's hands. By the end of the day, several of them acknowledged us as "chicas fuertes" which means "strong girls". 

After lunch we visited the Batay's school and handed out some notebooks and comic books for the children. They were all very sweet and followed us down back to the worksite since their school session had just ended.

We continued to cement and then cleaned everything up a little after 1:00. We took a rainbow parachute that we'd brought and played a fun game with the kids who followed us down. They laughed and danced as we dropped the big rainbow bubble down around them, it was so cute! 

After construction and med got back from work we all went to the beach for some well deserved relaxation! I spent the whole day in the ocean with my friends, the water was so warm and the sun felt amazing! A lot of people also shopped around and got some super cute things.

Hello from med team, it's Olivia! Today was a short day since we took our first trip to the beach!! During our work day, I was on bug juice with my new friend witgi who helped me translate. We passed out doses of albendazole, an anti parasite medication. While doing bug juice, I was able to play and pass out stickers to the kids who came in,  which was a huge highlight.

We wrapped up at around 12(with a total of 123 patients!) and had lunch that consisted of rice with pork and sandwiches. With our burst of energy from lunch, we packed up the clinic and headed back to casa pastorale to get ready for our much deserved beach day.

The beach was the perfect refresher that the whole team needed; this beach truly had healing powers. We all played in the water together, attempted to body board, and shopped at the beach shops. We headed back to dinner (thankfully) already waiting for us. We had pasta, chicken, plantains, and vegetables. Of course we had our delicious cake of the day which was cut very questionably. We ended our night with med counting and food packing. We are all so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this trip and can’t wait to have another productive day tomorrow.