Big Papa's and wrapping up projects

During the week the group had a night out on the town in Portsmouth. After a hard day's work, we headed to a popular beach just outside of town where we bathed, waded around in the warm, calm waters, and had a go on the makeshift rope swings attached to the palm trees lining the water. After we'd worked up an appetite in the hot sun we headed to Big Papa's restaurant for a fantastic meal. Big Papa was kind enough to close the restaurant just for us and brought in his regular reggae deejays early so we could get some dancing in before the late night regulars took over the dance floor. Inevitably, the dancing moved its way outside the restaurant onto the beach.

On Friday we reached some important milestones. First, we finished the Summer Enrichment Program. To celebrate, we brought in juice and cookies for the kids and everyone received an official handmade Certificate of Completion. We also finished painting the inside of the primary school. Next year's school kids ought to enjoy the livelier classrooms, complete with multiplication tables, the alphabet, hopscotch squares, and murals of SpongeBob, Dora, and others.

Over the weekend we headed to the Carib territory in the west of the island. The caribs are an indigenous people who migrated to the island from South America by way of Trinidad. They are fairer skinned than the typical Dominican, with straight black hair. Our explorations of the Carib villages were hampered a bit by persistently rainy weather, but most of us picked up a memento from the trip. We stayed at a lodge run by a former chief of the territory where we had a nice dinner and breakfast.

Sunday was Sports Day for Putney! Again, the rainy weather tried to slow us down, but we could not be stopped from learning cricket, playing soccer, throwing the frisbee, and playing a little yoga ball soccer.

Now it's back to work for our group. The chicken coop is coming along nicely. The finishing touches on the mural have been slowed down by the rain, but our students have been resilient in their efforts to finish it. There's a lot to finish up this week... wish us luck!

Russell and Eliza

Rainy weather made for a slippery and muddy game of soccer (er, uh football)

The group had a night out at Big Papa's restaurant in Portsmouth. The day
started at the beach down the street, followed by a lovey meal, then
dancing to reggae music on the beach outside the restaurant.

The last day of the Summer Enrichment Program! Each student of the
program was given an official Putney Certificate of Completion.

Next year's pre-schoolers will be in for a surprise when they
discover a super spiffy sand box to play in!

Yoga ball soccer!!!

Dinner at Big Papa's: Chicken, fish, plantains, kale,
eggplant, salad, and fresh local juice.

Everyone's always all smiles at Glenda's place.

Peaks and Valleys

Over the weekend the Putney Dominica group had quite an achievement. All 17 of us, along with our new friend (and favorite cook!) Glenda and an amazing guide, hiked to the boiling lake. It was an epic hike of 11 miles in 8 hours and we all made it!

Our journey began at 4:00am (not an easy feat in itself) and we reached the trailhead at 9:30am, making it back to our mountain lodge by 6:00pm. The hike was a series of ups and downs, peaks and valleys, climbing and sliding, hot sun and pouring rain. It is fair to say that these highs and lows of our hike were not only present in the landscape -- the group's morale followed suit. One moment we heard a group of students trekking up a steep incline listing all the places they would rather be. . . a few ups and downs later, the same trio would be singing and laughing. In fact, a few said they'd love to do it all over again!!

The boiling lake itself was less spectacular than was anticipated but still interesting to see. The true 'view' worth hiking for was the overwhelming sense of confidence and pride in each student's face.

For the record. . . these girls did say that they want to hike again!

Face painting with boiling lake mud!!

On Sunday, after a delicious sleep (in beds!) and an even more delicious breakfast, we dragged our tired muscles to Scott's Head for a swim. From this spot you can swim in both the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. We also stopped by a spot called Champagne for some snorkeling and sunbathing. We finished this fantastic weekend with exactly what the students had been begging for...Kentucky Fried Chicken.

This week has already been very productive. We're making good progress on the mural and the summer enrichment program at the school is now running like a well oiled machine. Tonight the group is heading to Portsmouth for a nice dinner on the beach and some reggae music to celebrate our work thus far.

Here are a few more pictures from this week!

A few of the students decided to learn some traditional Dominican dances

Taking a dip at Chaudiere Pool.

Here's a shot of a new project we started. The preschool was in
need of a new sandbox so our group used their new cementing skills to do the job.

An update in photos

These ladies would be proud to tell you they carried 43 buckets of dirt EACH up and down a steep hill in addition to mixing and smoothing cement on the road.

Two Putney students help a group of 3rd graders understand the finer details of Math Bingo.

Awwww. Chelsea is Emma Charles' daughter and a Putney favorite.

By popular demand, the "prom" photo. The group decided to dress up for a Saturday night out on the town.

It's always hard work at the mural wall, but not so hard that they can't smile for a photo.