I Had No Idea The Power of Immersing Myself Into Another Culture (Its just the start)

Today was, believe it or not, an even more exciting day! We began bright and 
early. Breakfast was an amazing omelette with ham and cheese, but just to 
clarify, everything is a little different here. I had a unique juice, I think it 
was called guapo or something. We started our day in the rain. It rains on and 
off all the time. This morning I worked with the Montessori preschool. The 
children are so tame and diligent. My little Haitian three year old was able to 
do some fun block pattern games that some volunteers couldn't figure out. Some 
people helped build houses. I contributed the beautification process by

 painting the entrance to the community. While in the community, I have periodically

 seen my friend who is deaf and mute. I began to make attempt at signing to her. 

We took pictures today on my camera.I was able to communicate with her through sign a little bit 
during that interaction. After working with the preschoolers, we had lunch, which was
food from a new catering business within the barrio, a mother and daughter pair. It was SO 
delicious. But we were back to work right away, our group is so productive that 
we keep running out of supplies. 
That's not all, in the evening we went on a trip with some of the Dominican 
leaders to this jungle tour where I met some lovely animals. 
Friends and family would be proud of the way I faced my fears to touch some interesting little 
guys. After that we took a boat ride, similar to air boat rides in Florida.  
This was amazing because there were so many farm animals along side the water 
that you would never have seen in the US. Pigs and cows were roaming free. After 
the boat ride we learned some more salsa and meringue dance. We drank 
"coco-locos" from fresh coconuts and had an amazing fresh Dominican dinner. 
I was able to watch them cook it. It is lovely how close the Dominicans and 
Haitians are in the communities we are visiting. They share a small island and 
often that brings conflict. The dinner was way more than we could have asked for 
and the family that made it seemed to be made up of a mix of both cultures.  
Following the dinner was a bonfire and dance performance. The acrobatics were 
similar to street performances with the addition of the children breathing fire 
and standing on their uncle's legs and jumping through his legs while he was in 
handstand position. 
After all of the activities for the day are over we have a daily reflection and 
including very  informative and sometimes political discussions/activities. 
Today we defined service, helping, and fixing. We also discovered more 
commonalities.  The reflection actives are fun but sometimes extensive. I am 
learning a lot about everyone's personality, and about many political issues. 
Luckily they give us luxurious down time to enjoy ourselves for 45 minutes after 
each meal. 
This has really been an experience that has already opened my mind and made me 
more grateful for what I have and what I can give back. Two men who lead the 
program retired and chose to do something life changing instead of vacationing 
once they turned 55 or 60 years old.  These are our guides at the project. They 
impress me each day. These people are truly inspirational.