At times, among stray dogs, dance music down the street, and strangers walking in the middle of the night, the house really did seem like a fortress. This was an area of town that wasn’t great, but was part of an emerging middle class in the Dominican Republic. These people were mostly small business owners and semi-skilled workers, although we didn’t get to meet any of neighbors. That night, a nice surprise, was food from a local pizza shop. As the next week started, I was initially nervous about working in the new country. Far out of the city, everyday we visited first a work site, soon to be a water treatment plant, and a vacation bible school. This was the second time I had been shocked by the landscape in the Dominican Republic. First
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Almost every child we spoke to in some way aspired to be a professional baseball player in America, some out of amazement, and some out of necessity. They just don’t dream about baseball though, they play it, constantly. They are extremely good at it, and are constantly being scouted by American teams, both in the minor and major leagues. When we decided to play baseball with them, many laughs were had, but you could tell sometimes they’d have to bite their lip considering how bad we all were.
The players who make it to the minor or major leagues, besides being held in the regard of heros in their own country, often make a lot of money to support their family back home in the Dominican Republic. The locals take an amazing amount of pride in their home country, shown by everyone we spoke to, and by the professional players who call the Dominican Republic their home, although residing in …show more content…
Quite obviously and briefly mentioned, the people of the Dominican Republic speak Spanish, and we don’t know Spanish, or very little. Therefore, for the week we had a personal translator named Saoul, who was studying at the college in Santiago. Saoul, more so than a translator, was an amazing personality and great person. In both the children we came in contact with, and with us, he was able to bring out an excitement that ultimately got us through the week. Doesn’t matter if it was jokingly pronouncing sheet like a common word for excrement, adding to the mayhem and fun at the cancer hospital, or simply being present, Saoul was an amazing
Almost every child we spoke to in some way aspired to be a professional baseball player in America, some out of amazement, and some out of necessity. They just don’t dream about baseball though, they play it, constantly. They are extremely good at it, and are constantly being scouted by American teams, both in the minor and major leagues. When we decided to play baseball with them, many laughs were had, but you could tell sometimes they’d have to bite their lip considering how bad we all were.
The players who make it to the minor or major leagues, besides being held in the regard of heros in their own country, often make a lot of money to support their family back home in the Dominican Republic. The locals take an amazing amount of pride in their home country, shown by everyone we spoke to, and by the professional players who call the Dominican Republic their home, although residing in …show more content…
Quite obviously and briefly mentioned, the people of the Dominican Republic speak Spanish, and we don’t know Spanish, or very little. Therefore, for the week we had a personal translator named Saoul, who was studying at the college in Santiago. Saoul, more so than a translator, was an amazing personality and great person. In both the children we came in contact with, and with us, he was able to bring out an excitement that ultimately got us through the week. Doesn’t matter if it was jokingly pronouncing sheet like a common word for excrement, adding to the mayhem and fun at the cancer hospital, or simply being present, Saoul was an amazing