This morning we started the day with breakfast at our hotel. Then, we had our Spanish lesson and learned the words necessary for our service today. Our tour director Brayan taught us a new game called “Stop,” which is similar to Scattergories, to help us increase our Spanish vocabulary. We then were surprised with a scavenger hunt where we were split into three teams and given a list of items to take pictures of/with throughout the day.
Afterwards, we journeyed to El Instituto Ambiental and began our service in the pine tree nursery. We were split into three groups. One group helped fill bags with dirt and fertilizer for the green house, another group weeded cartridges of baby pine trees in the nursery to ensure they grow properly, and the last transported soil to the first group. The institute grows 700,000 pine trees a year to help with reforestation across the Dominican Republic.
Halfway through we took a snack break and enjoyed pastelillos (fried turnovers), brownies, fresh fruit, and quipes (a meat and grain fritter). We continued our work for about another two hours. We enjoyed talking to the university students and learning about their families and culture; it was a good opportunity for us to utilize our Spanish fluency.
Today we had a picnic style BBQ lunch; afterwards, we headed to our first of two waterfalls. We hiked from the institute to a trail with a tour guide. We crossed many wooden suspension bridges to get to the waterfall, where we took pictures and waded in the water. Next, we took an off-road vehicle to our next waterfall. We trekked in a forest to the waterfall where we took some more pictures. Afterwards, we bussed to grab our dinner and take it back to the hotel. We ended the day with a reflection on the service we have done so far and how it relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To end our night, we headed back into Jarabacoa to grab some quick bites and then a sweet treat.
By Azaria and Logan
