NC State University

by senior Jo Vargas

In reflection of my time here in the Dominican Republic - now that it is about that time to leave and return to the routine American life I have set for myself as a student - I have begun to understand the depth to service, in its verb format. I have always been one to serve and make sure others felt comfortable around me while doing various service projects and in different areas of service. What I have discovered during my week in the Dominican Republic is that service doesn’t always involve sacrifice. One tends to group these two words together, especially in the United States, where being available for service involves sacrificing your time, resources and money. Continue Reading »

by NC State’s Pre-Health team

Of course, the most important aspect of ASB is SERVING the local people of wherever your destination is. Ours was the Dominican Republic, where we provided health education to residents of some of the poorest villages there and taught students about anatomy, nutrition and hygiene at local schools surrounding Monte Cristi. In addition to serving, the one thing that stood out during our service trip was the connections that were formed between each member of our group - they were effortless. From day one, we acted like we all had known each other since high school, but the truth is that no one really knew anyone. The connections just seemed to be innately there, which is very rare and hard to find. Continue Reading »

by senior Jonathan Scott

I’ll skip straight to the point - working in a foreign culture is a wonderful and invigorating experience. The typical expectation is that such an experience would drive someone to keep working abroad, but it is in fact fueling my desire to serve in the United States. Not because I don’t want to be here and serve the people here - life here is a blast and the people are wonderful - but because I want to serve the values of America that I hold so dear: the respect for individuality, the rewards for drive and the limitless potential for success. These ideals are what I want to serve and to protect, for I believe the U.S. can still lead the world.

In contrast to the Dominican Republic, the main issue within the U.S. is not educating the public about health and hygiene - which is the service I’m doing here - the issue is instilling in Americans a thirst for life, a thirst that is available in great abundance here in the Dominican. The tough question is: What is easier? Instilling a thirst for life or educating about health? Is it easier for us to advocate healthy practices because we think we already know it all? Is it easier to show a man how to wash his hands to kill germs or to show a man how to live his dreams? As it always ends with me, what takes away more life: malaria, tuberculosis or television?

by senior Christina Cox

It definitely happened again today. I was walking through the dirt in the patey of Los Aguas and an older gentleman looked at my nametag and called my name. “Christina,” he called across the lawn as he motioned for me to come over. As he attempted to speak to me, I pieced together with my limited knowledge of Spanish that he thought that I was a native of the Dominican Republic. My basic background in the Spanish language served as a barrier to our conversation. I wanted so badly to explain to him that there are many people in ‘Estados Unidos,’ who look like both of us. How selfish have I been? How selfish have I been to think that just because I speak English the rest of the world should too? The people of the Dominican Republic have so very little in terms of money and educational opportunities, but almost everyone here knows at least a little bit of English and many are conversational. Serving in the Dominican Republic during this past week has definitely opened my eyes to the rest of the world, and language is only one aspect of the ways in which my eyes have been opened.
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by senior Veera Motashaw

I have been more than blessed the past 21 years of my life and the last seven days in Monte Cristi have truly allowed me to share my passion of showing unconditional love with others. The people here have been so hospitable and generous in opening their homes to us that I just I wish I had more time to stay and love everyone a little longer. I have learned more than I could read in any book or learn from any teacher, and more importantly, my ability to serve (versus help) has truly been honed through my connections to the people of the Dominican Republic.

Children as young as Jose Miguel, a 3rd grader at Laguna Verde, taught me about serving, persistence, and patience. Jose barely comprehended directions to our classroom activity, but he was still more than determined to complete his activity successfully. The first part of our activity had such an impact on me because after observing a few of the children struggling to open something so simple as a zip lock bag, it took a moment for me to reflect on just how many things we take for granted in the US. For our team, we thought, “Lets buy zip lock baggies, they will be the cheapest thing to bring to these children.” But the children had never seen something so magical! When they figured out they did not have to bite the bags open to use them, they opened and closed them with each paper they took out or put in the bags. It is just so amazing to think that these children are going to cherish these bags. They are really going to go home and hold on to this bag for as long as possible, because when is the next time that they will be able to have something so special?
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by freshman John Campbell, Jr.

Spring break-a time characteristic of parties, picturesque beaches, and a carefree lifestyle. However, in reflection over the past four days of my spring break, I am forced to recognize and appreciate the contrast between what most college freshmen are doing with their break from classes and what I am doing here in the Dominican Republic.

At first glance, my spring break seems to be ideal-Caribbean beaches, cool breezes and lots of sun. However, these very general things only touch the surface of why my spring break is ideal. Over the course of these last four days, I have had the opportunity to interact with and immerse myself in the culture of Monte Cristi. Every morning I get up with an innate desire to serve the children of this place. It is my passion that fuels the thirty-minute walks to and from the school where I teach. It is the smiles of every child in my classroom that makes the intense heat a little more bearable. It is the look of amazement and relief on the faces of struggling fourth graders when they finally understand the vocabulary word that I have been drilling for the last five minutes that makes having a hoarse voice worthwhile. Continue Reading »

by junior Anna Patton

It actually all started before we arrived in country at the airport. The group began to enjoy picking on me for my constant counting and recounting to check for all of our group members, so now my team calls me Mother Goose. I would say that nickname best describes my leadership role here in the Dominican Republic. Pretty much my main responsibility here has been making sure we have everyone when we need everyone. Well, that and reflection.

I must admit Jessica, Myra, and I have had it easy because we have such an amazing team! Our group members really hold each other accountable; we, as a leadership team, barely have to say anything about time or lessons plans or anything really. We cannot be more proud. Our team has made management of this trip an absolute breeze.
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by junior Jessica Gil

Being flexible was my advice for anyone planning to participate on an Alternative Service Break trip—that is certainly what we have had to do here on Day two at the orphanage. We have been able to have time to plan lessons for the classes, from kindergarten to fifth grade. Each day has a designated topic; animals, colors, face parts, and many other basic English words that may be essential for communicating to Americans that frequently visit the island.

Although we walk into the classrooms with an immense amount of plans, they are quickly changed with the lack of education. It is not that the students are not interested in learning—it’s simply that the schools haven’t had the structure required to implement the quality of learning to which we, in the United States, are privileged to have. It can be frustrating to walk into the classroom and see all these children eager to learn, but then having to spend twenty minutes of class continuously reminding them to sit in their seats, or to calm down and stop fighting. Still, I am very excited to be in the classroom, and have the opportunity to try and impact these children’s lives for the better. Continue Reading »

By Mike Giancola, director, Center for Student Leadership, Ethics & Public Service

Nine years ago, in the early days of the Alternative Service Break (ASB) program, we traveled to Barahona to partner with Habitat for Humanity. Our team served in a very poor rural community on top of a hill…Alfa la Montaña. The view was unlike anything most of us had seen before—beautiful blue water and mountains in the distance, poverty and despair at our feet. The contrast was striking and hard to process in seven days. The days were long, filled with moving concrete blocks, mixing “mezcla”, and drinking more water than we could have previously imagined. But the highlight for many of the students, myself included, was spending time with the kids on the worksite. We practiced our Spanish with a forgiving audience, sang songs, taught them English and just had fun.
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Upon arrival and safe, uneventful passage through customs, the Dominican Republic Alternative Service Break teams traveled to their respective sites. Most took the advice of CSLEPS leaders and used the travel time to say little and take in a lot.

A few pictures from the first day, captured by NC State photographer Roger Winstead, can be viewed here.