Immigration Day / Beach Day

Hello everyone! It’s Cassandra and Lauren and we were the leaders for Day 5 (Immigration Day!) We started our day earlier than usual by waking up at 6am to depart to Puerto Plata and visit a Batey called “Villa Asencion.”

We were welcomed warmly by the residents with a lovely song sung by the young girls. To get to connect with the neighborhood, we engaged with the locals by playing games such as “Papa se Quema” (Hot Potato), basketball, and learning about how the kids socialize with one another. We learned how they used their materials to entertain themselves and how it shapes their community.

Nearing the end of our time there, we purchased some handmade merchandise which were made by the women who sew for a living. We made the most memories by interacting with the locals and learning how various families were affected by the rise of aggressive immigration laws towards Haitian Dominican people.

After this interaction, we enjoyed some Dominican food made by locals including rice, beans, pasta, potato salad, and chicken. Our group even had an unexpected visitor (a cow) who just happened to be strolling around the neighborhood. Following that, we made a short ride to the hotel in the Gua Gua (bus) to visit the beach “Playa Alicia” in Sosua.

At the beach, we all enjoyed the beautiful clear waters, sharing games like volleyball in the water and creating endless memories. Despite the salty waters and the long day, we all made the most of it. The weather was humid with some clouds, so it was very refreshing and relaxing overall. To end the day, we had dinner at 8pm, followed by a student-led karaoke!

BIG LOVE – LAUREN AND CASS!!!!