May 18, 2011

Here you can see the resource shelf in the Kindergarden classroom in Bombita.  Many of the toys and games are broken and filthy, and most of the space is taken up with paperwork.  Clean and complete educational games and toys are desperately needed in both schools.    

May 17, 2011

This is student in second grade at the La Hoya school.  She was working very hard on an exercise at the chalk board.  As you notice, this is a different uniform than the other kids that have been pictured thus far.  This is the physical education uniform  that they wear the entire day on days they are scheduled to have PE class.

May 16, 2011

This is a very fiesty student from the Bombita school.  He was as sweet as could be when someone was speaking to him, but left to devices he was pulling girls’s braids, eating colored paper, and sniffing glue!  A total cutie pie none the less.

May 15, 2011

Here is a very smiley crab vendor on the side of the road from La Hoya to Barahona.  These men go out eraly in the morning to collect te crabs and then spend the rest of the day selling to passerbys.  If you notice, the grabs are held together by long grasses and cane plant leaves.  A group of crabs this size would cost up to 200 pesos, witch is about 5 American dollars.

May 14, 2011

At the beach you can see where the previous night’s high tide hit by following the line of garbage it brought with it.  As I was walking my sandal broke and I actually had quite a few replacements to choose from along the way back.  In this wave of rubbage you can find just about the same things you would find in the market: plastic jewelry, toys and trinkets, second hand clothes and shoes, and any number of plastic containers.

May 13, 2011

This is one of the wall murals at the school in La Hoya.  It is translated to “Protect the environment”.  It is a great message, but somewhat humorous because it is rather ignored.

May 12, 2011

Just outside of La Hoya there is this cemetery with a very stately entrance.  The grounds are well cared for and each resting place is decorated with wrought iron or bright paint.  It was very startling to stumble upon as it is surrounded by cane fields and just sort of pops up out of nowhere.

May 11, 2011

This is one of the La Hoya maintenance men, Manuel.  He is pictured here weaving a fishing net outside of the school library. 

May 10, 2011

During Evaluations the two Education Advisors, and the Principal/Head Teacher from each school meets to discuss the progress of each teacher in each school.  Here you see Olivia, one of COPA's Education Advisors, Maribel, the principal from Bombita, and Ruber, the principal from La Hoya working hard in Ruber’s office.

May 9, 2011

One of the Kindergarten students in Bombita working hard on an art project.

May 8, 2011

This beach is close to the Playa Azul hotel, restaurant, and private beach.  The Playa Azul beach is very rocky, so we decided to walk about 30 minutes further and found a calmer, sandier spot, with some great cliffs in the distance.  Geraldo, a friend of everyone in La Hoya, was especially glad to arrive, as he took the rocky walk barefooted. 

May 7, 2011

This beautiful sunset was photographed from the baseball field in La Hoya.  The coconut trees make striking silhouettes as the sky lights up.

May 6, 2011

This mother and her baby are often led to graze outside the COPA Habitat for Humanity house, and in the baseball field behind the school in La Hoya.  These same horses and a few of their friends often pass by the church during Sunday morning services, along with the 9 year old boy that is in charge of taking them from place to place.  Anywhere else, group of horses passing through the center of town would draw some looks, but here they go unnoticed.

May 5, 2011

This is another group of students from the La Hoya school.  They come in the afternoon session from a small neighboring town called Hato Viejo.  We have found them each day at our gate watching the dogs, waiting patiently for us to get home.  They love saying our names, and practicing their English skills on us.   They especially love it when we give them a ride home in the back of our truck!  Normally they have to walk or wait to ride 4 deep on a motor bike.  They are sure to say in English " thank you and God Bless you and goodbye! "

May 4, 2011

At the school in Bombita they have a wonderfully shaded courtyard where they start each session with announcements and prayer.  I caught this 1st grader watching his country's flag flying in the wind just above the courtyard.  As mentioned before, Dominicans take pride in their country, and it starts from a very young age.

May 3, 2011

In Bombita they have built a small reservoir to use for irrigation purposes.  This boy, however uses it to swim and bathe.  He was more that willing to have his picture taken, and wanted to show off a bit with a back flip. 

May 2, 2011

About 30 minutes from La Hoya is an amazing beach called Quimieto. It is really rocky but there is one path for boats to travel from the shore out into the bay.  All these boats are lined up right in front of it and the beach goers use their shadows to hide from the sun a bit. Each boat is pained a different bight color, and even though Dominicans have a penchant for stealing, these boats and the things in them remain where the owners left them.

May 1, 2011

This is a group of students from the school in La Hoya.  These girls came over to teach me how to make tostones, which are fried plantains.  Afterwards, the boys joined us in a game of tag.  They are a sweet group, willing to bring us mangos on a daily basis in exchange for a game of tag in our yard, or for a chance to toss the ball for our dog.

April 30, 2011

In the market in Barahona you can buy any type of fruit, vegetable, or root!  This man was so friendly and repeated the names of the different roots over and over for us, but I still do not know any of them!  Kids love having their picture taken, but adults always have strange reactions or poses, like this one.  He was not resisting having his picture taken, this is just how he wanted it done.

April 29, 2011

This is the beautiful country side that surrounds La Hoya and Bombita.  The cane fields, palm trees, and the mountains in the distance make for breath taking views, and can make you forget the poverty that lies in the towns.  The people of the DR take such pride in the beauty of their lands, they are sure to point it out to you every chance they get.