Arrival and Introduction to Life in Santiago, DR

Our first days in Santiago, Dominican Republic were filled with Jugo de Chinola  (passion fruit juice), get to know you games, and adjusting to our homestays.

Homestays

Participants arrived Sunday in Santiago after a long travel day to welcome balloons and the open arms of the local CIEE staff. They were then taken to meet their host moms and get settled in their homestays. Host moms prepared meals with foods like concón (crispy rice with beans), fresh mangos that are in season here, and many fresh fruit juices such as cherry, lemon, strawberry, and the fan favorite chinola. Participants are served three meals a day at their homestays, where they get to practice their Spanish skills by having conversations with their host parents.

Get To Know You Games

In the morning of the first full day, everyone participated in a series of get to know you games and ice breakers. Lucía Agüero, CIEE’s center director, led an activity using a ball of yarn. Participants stood in a circle, stated their name, hometown, their hobbies, and then did a victory dance. They then threw their ball of yarn to someone across from them in the circle. After everyone went, the yarn made a web, connecting the participants all around the circle. We then went backwards and undid the web, having each person repeat what their peer said who threw them the yarn until we were back at the beginning.

Welcome Dinner

On Monday, June 17th, participants got to explore Downtown Santiago in the afternoon ending at El Tablón Latino, a restaurant across from El Monumento de Santiago for our group dinner.

Students submit daily journal entries on canvas answering reflective prompts. America Serrano Ochoa from Irving, Texas wrote about their experience at the welcome dinner. “The best moment from today was when we had dinner together at El Tablón Latino because it gave me a chance to really step out of my comfort zone by having me interact with my peers. I enjoyed forming so many new friendships and really felt safe being in such a welcoming space.”
 

We look forward to continuing building friendships, learning about Dominican Culture, and starting our service learning!