Alternative Spring Break Dom. Rep., day 2: ‘Experiencing firsthand the everyday lives of the people here’

While other students are looking forward to some rest and relaxation this spring break, close to 250 FIU students will be spending their time helping others. From March 13-22, the students are participating in FIU’s Alternative Spring Break, a program that gives them a chance to volunteer all over the world. One of FIU’s groups is in the Dominican Republic. You can follow their adventures in this blog. Today we hear from Tomas Lopez-Melis, with photos from Valerie Pett.

“Aye estan.” (“There they are.”) The children and their families were saying that as they approached us today in Punta. Their excited faces made us feel like movie stars as the crowd gathered around us. Unlike movie stars, we weren’t signing autographs or posing for a photo opportunity. We were handing out toothbrushes and toothpaste, something that would probably never excite us back in the states.

Hygiene products that we think of as inexpensive and regularly available are of great necessity here in Punta. People gathered around us and found their neighbors to receive free dental hygiene products from us. Anything people here can get donated is a prized treasure. Considering the majority of this town’s streets are unpaved and covered in garbage, the thought of going goggle-eyes over a movie star seems unreal at this time. The experience here is nothing short of completely eye-opening for everyone in our group. Children unclothed hanging around their tin-roof houses are just a few of the poverty conditions we encounter every day.

Yet, despite the standard of living here, the most surprising thing is how happy the locals seem. The locals charmed us today by their facility in making us feel welcome. After just introducing ourselves they invited us to join them in a game of dominoes. While getting to know some of them, we realized that it doesn’t have to cost us much to have fun. Simple conversation, a game, exchanged smiles and laughter are enough to bring enjoyment to everyday life. The concept of not having to spend much money every day is so foreign to us that it would seem to shock us and shake up our existence.

Back in the states we take many things for granted, overwhelming ourselves with consumerism. We fill days and nights with mall shopping and eating out. Seeing the local reaction to us today fills a void faster than meeting Lady Gaga, buying the latest sneakers on the rack or going to the move theatre to watch Alice in Wonderland. Experiencing firsthand the everyday lives of the people here inspires us to search further in our souls for fulfillment, to keep working for humanitarian causes, and to enrich our lives filling it with simple moments of happiness. — Tomas Lopez-Melis.