Day Five: There is One Rule in La Romana…

So today was a realll game changer. Instead of going to Orfanato Ninos de Cristo, we planned to go with PB (PB is Maile’s second cousin, at whose house we’ve been staying) and Jeanie to Santo Domingo. They had a graduation ceremony for the orphanage they work with on that part of the island, so we tagged along. The great part about driving to Santo Domingo with PB and Jeanie was that one: we didn’t have to drive, and two: there were enough seats for all of us to fit. Luxurious.

So far, I don’t think we’ve mentioned how treacherous it is to try to drive in the DR. Stop signs are mere suggestions, there’s no such things as DUIs, and driving in the opposing direction of traffic is a common theme. Needless to say, we are usually terrified to get on the road everyday. So considering we were looking at a 2-hour drive to Santo Domingo, we were already anticipating drama along the way. And drama we did find. Amusing parts of our ride: learning that road lanes are suggestions and there is no such thing as “sharing the road.” Also, it is possible to drink and drive and no one would think twice about it (in fact, yesterday on our field trip, the car next to our bus tried to offer the kids hard alcohol and pass it to them through the bus window- yes they were drinking and driving and no we didn’t let the kids have the alcohol). Today, we were even stopped by the police, but got away unharmed and un-fined (Surprising, considering how corrupt the police force is here- 200 pesos gets you a long way). There are also no enforced speed limits and as PB jokingly mentioned, “There is only one driving rule in the DR, pass anyone who is in front of you.” This usually means speeding by and making sketchy maneuvers at any possible opportunity. Hey, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, you just gotta survive sometimes…But, thankfully we arrived at the graduation ceremony unscathed and the night went along as planned…or so we thought.

The other thing we have been learning about the Dominicans is that they are a people who live very much in the present. Which is a great thing, unless you are hoping to plan appointments or events. In that case, forget about it- no one adheres to appointments or times, it’s just a casual “when you show up, it starts”-type mentality. Which explains why we arrived at 4:20pm for the 5:00pm graduation, only to find it didn’t actually start until 6:30pm. This was because they wouldn’t start the ceremony without the whole group ready, and conveniently there were two key members who were missing. So we waited. It’s casual.

Once we finally started the ceremony, we were already anticipating a long night. Yet, despite our setback with the timing, it ended up being a really interesting graduation ceremony- small and intimate and we were glad to have been apart of such a special evening. Watching those 21 students graduate was a really incredible experience. It reminded us to truly appreciate all of the opportunities we have been given and the education we have been blessed to receive. There are so many individuals who would fight and beg for an American education, or any education for that matter, and we are grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to pursue these dreams at USC, and beyond in our graduate educations. Listening to the students speak about the obstacles and struggles they went through to finish and graduate high school was really inspiring and wonderful to see. Those kids will be the future of the DR and a positive impact in Dominican society and it was great to be apart of that evening.

The drive back from Santo Domingo was less eventful, which is a great thing, trust me. We’d rather be alive, than have any stories to tell. We made a quick pit stop at Pizza Del Rio for a late night dinner and then came back to our compound. And now it’s off to bed. Tomorrow we officially have the day off and we’re looking forward to having some down time to catch up on sleep and explore the island a little more. Until then…

Besos,

Las Chicas