A Trip to the Clinic and a Soccer Surprise

 As we get toward the end of the week, our days get busier and the time for blogging may get a bit shorter.  But I’ll do my best to characterize another full, productive and entertaining day.  We have been operating very smoothly as a group, and this morning cruised into the Altagracia school right on time for the regular morning team.  We joined with the Director and some of the staff in the corridor outside her office.  She read from the Bible, and they sang a spiritual, and one of the teachers offered a prayer. Then I was asked to offer a blessing.  We went outside for the flag raising and national anthem, followed by the Star Spangled Banner.  Then Mari and some of her students presented a brief tribute in honor of National English Speaking Day.  Very appropriate!  We started our teaching day with a very responsive 6th grade class.  Several of the students were very adept with conversational English. That was pretty inspiring!  Recess was a wonderful blur of interactions with students of all ages.  The young ones were fearless at approaching us for handshakes, hugs and brief conversations. Some of our students were handed a lot of fan mail.  Charlie, Benson and Gunnar were very active on the basketball court.  The Altagracia students were impressed that all three could dunk. We then taught a fifth grade class, went back to the hotel for lunch, and then returned for a 4th grade class that was challenging. Our teaching spot on the gravel playground, happily shaded by trees, was also occupied by 20 students from a PE class that were basically at recess. That was a pretty significant source of distraction, but we persisted until it was time to leave at 2:30 for an afternoon field trip.

 

We drove north out of Cotui and through a beautiful agricultural region with citrus groves, passion fruit vineyards, and many fields full of pineapple plants.  Cotui is the center of pineapple production in the DR, and they are shipped all over the country.  We climbed further into the rural hills, passing a number of hilly pastures full of grazing cattle. We eventually reached the little of El Limon, site of a primary care medical clinic that Rita and DR Projects had founded 15 years ago, constructed with the help of the Peace Corps.  It is staffed by young doctor straight out of medical school and several burses, and serves as the hub for as many as ten very rural villages. One of the medical facilitators there is a woman who has been a local ally of DR Projects for years, and we brought her two suitcases filled with medical supplies, toothbrushes, and clothing that she will distribute to needy local families.  We stopped by her house on the way home to pick up two very fresh pineapples and a container of freshly-cut pineapple pieces. Perhaps you think you have tasted verry fresh pineapple. But this was out of this world. It was worth the stickiness!

 

On our return to the hotel, Rita told us that we were going to take a surprise trip.  Accompanied by one of the hotel owners, we drove to the large local baseball stadium. We got out and followed by the others, the hotel owner led me into the stadium. It turned out that the surprise was on me.  A local youth soccer club was there practicing, almost 50 players and coaches, wonderfully turned out in their uniforms. They introduced me, and told me that I would be running practice for one of the three teams.  Yikes.  I quickly started a couple of passing drills, and began assessing the skill level, which was quite good.  Like any standard practice, we started with simple passing, moved to a keep-away drill, and then small-sided games. They then pulled all of the students and coaches together and asked me to speak to them.  With the help of Sydney Johnstone (daughter and sister to two of my favorite Lebanon soccer folks), who translated rapidly and flawlessly, I laid some knowledge on them. I am well aware that soccer in the DR is growing rapidly.  Some of their youth teams have been very successful in regional competitions. So it was not surprising that the youngest players were eager and skilled.  I gave them several pieces of advice (like always be a two-footed player), and told them to dream big dreams. This was an amazing occasion for me.  I love the children of the DR, and am devoted to their development.  I have coached and loved soccer for more than 55 years.  Here in one place were my two great loves.  I can promise you that this will not be a one-off. This club will get a lot of my attention and support going forward, and I’ll be back to teach them again. I am so grateful to Rita for arranging this, and surprising me completely.

 

Friday is our last day at the Altagracia school, which we will visit for goodbye ceremonies in the morning, and then we will go back to Hernando Alonso to visit the school there and show everyone the completed playground. When we return to Cotui, it will be Karaoke night!  I hope I have the time to report on our final day in Cotui before we head to Santo Domingo for our last day in the DR.  What a week it’s been!


















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