Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Session #1 (Promoting Youth and Social Justice) Blog Post #1

Greetings from Paradise!

Despite multiple flight delays, the group finally got to all meet in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by Monday afternoon.  Students met their caring Doñas (or host mothers) and settled into their new rooms to kick off a busy week. 

Next we toured the CIEE student center which will be our home base for the next month; where we’ll learn to cook, speak Spanish, and dance Dominican style! Tian, the CIEE director, gave us a thorough history of the CIEE’s presence here and a brief walk through of the complex history of the DR.  (Everyone agreed the presentation improved once we turned on the air conditioning! Wow, it’s warm here!) 

Luckily we also got to cool off during our walking tour of the Colonial Zone with some ice cream.  Our guide for the tour was both engaging and knowledgeable (and totally impervious to the pigeons using us for target practice under the shady tree), informing us of the controversial people interred in the Principle Catholic Church’s crypts.  “You don’t need to hold a gun to be a hero guys.  You can be a hero in education, art, and equality.”  He struck a balanced mix of facts and free time.   Here are some images from our many photo opportunities.