Day 5: Global Business

So today was an EARLY wake up day since we were about to embark on an eventful and long day since it was Global Business day and we were heading to Barahona to go visit the sugar mill/plantation.  We woke up early and found out that the breakfast was running a bit behind and therefore weren’t able to conduct our academic seminar but as a team decided that we would conduct it tomorrow on poverty day.  

After our breakfast we had to load the bus to Barahona where we went to the sugar mill/plantation.  Once we arrived at the sugar cane mill we were all escorted to the meeting room where we had introductions by Carlos an engineer that worked in the mill.  It was very informative but at the same time for me it also meant that I had to work…since I was the one translating everything that Carlos said to the group and vice versa…yeah I did get to practice my Spanish speaking as well as translating skills…totally brought back memories of me working at SCU’s law center again.

After the introductions were over we all got into the guagua and head to the living quarters were the sugar can cutter live during the time that they are working in the fields (November to May).  While at the living quarters we learned about the tool that they use…the Australian Machete and that each room can hold up to 10 Haitian sugar cane cutters.  We were also told that the sugar cane cutters were paid but what they produced and were paid every two weeks.  After the tour of the living quarters we boarded the guagua again and head to the sugar mill machine where we learned of the process the sugar cane goes through after it has been cut.

After the sugar cane mill plantation we head over to a project that is part of the Barahona Community Outreach Center.  There we learned as to how that community raises goats and sells goat milk, cheese, and yogurt!  And yes, if you are guessing we were allowed to taste their products and I can attest first hand that goat yogurt is not that bad!  Once we were done trying their products and petting the goats we were on our way to board the bus, until one of students got stuck in the out house…he couldn’t open the door…yeah it was funny, but we eventually got him out with the spare key that the owner had!

We then headed out to lunch at the Community Outreach Center and were able to finally use our Republican money to purchase soda…yahoo! J We ate a great lunch and I got a chance to talk to some of the students that I had not had the privilege of speaking too earlier.  After lunch we boarded the guagua and headed our way back home to San Juan.  The trip back home was interesting as most of us were tired—myself included and I fell asleep.  Yeah, I fell asleep for how long, I don’t know…but what woke me up was the thunder!  As I woke up I looked out the window and couldn’t believe how dark and windy it was outside and how hard it was raining along with the lightning.  It was raining so hard that our bus driver slowed down quite a bit even having the wipers going full blast which meant that it was going to take us way more than the 1 to 1.5 hour bus ride.  It took us more like 2.5 hours to get back.  

Once we got back to the hostel we had a bit of down time before the students got into the teaching groups and prepped for their English classes.  Day two of teaching was just as great as the first day with the students making connections with their pupils.  During that time I was able to converse with one of the students about many topics and found out that he was working as a translator and was studying languages at the local university…I totally commended him for all his hard work and accomplishments.  Just talking to him I found out so much as to how the university and higher education works here in the Dominican Republic…he had to leave and I totally had to make the reference too him, “Elvis has left the building.”

We went to dinner and then came back to the hostel for the nightly meeting which indeed was a treat within itself! During the Roses and thorn part it was brought up that that there were photos of us Global Glimpse leaders sleeping…which apparently for the students have seen like a form of blackmail! Yeah, real nice kids, real nice!

They have also donned upon us nick names like grandma, cousin, mama and sister bear…it’s an inside joke but we’re like really?!?!

Well time for bed got to get some R & R if I have to be up by 6:30 yet again!

Buenas noches!