Day 7

This morning we were awoken by chickens and hens at 7am. We began to pack to leave our Dominican domiciles. We made our way down to breakfast and proceeded to chow down. Breakfast consisted of the following: fried cheese, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and world-renowned Dominican coffee. After stuffing our gullets and filling our stomachs, bracelets and hugs were exchanged with our new friends. The guagua was packed to the brim and we finalized our goodbyes with our hospitable hosts. Once on the guagua, we marinated in the beauty of our surroundings and appreciated the campo in all its glory for the last time. Then, we had reflection and sat in silence pondering our experience. Due to the inconsistent weather, we were invited to the mayor’s house for lunch, dancing, and a word of gratitude. The seafood provided by the mayor was promptly devoured. After, the mayor gave us kind words of affirmation and reaffirmed that her house would always be open to us. Later on, after the formal speech from the mayor, we boogied the excess calories away. We replenished with starfruit and found ourselves on the guagua. Upon arriving in Santiago, a scavenger hunt was provided for us. This is what we realized from participating in the scavenger hunt: Dominican pigeons are feisty, the city of Santiago is beautiful, and the people like catcalling. We overcame the catcalls and finished the scavenger hunt. The crescendo of the scavenger hunt were the breathtaking views at the top of the Monument. We took one last photo at the Monument and boarded the guagua in record time, as ice cream was on the agenda. However, we were tricked by our guide, Marie. To our surprise, we ended up at Nanga to meet Marie’s hubby and receive a tour from him. He was dope, or whatever the cool kids say nowadays. Sweaty, disgusting, exhausted, stinky, revolting, and drained, we arrived at the ILAC center. The long awaited was liberating for us. Dinner was served at 6pm sharp and reflection commenced soon after. Now we sit in the cafeteria playing games like dominos and 7up. We currently sit here listening to Bad Bunny. The writer, who has been revealed as the one and only Seth, now sits icing his wrists from the undiagnosed carpal tunnel from finishing this blog.
 
(As dictated to ILAC Volunteer Seth.)