Last Day at School, Celebration, and Baseball

 Our last day in Cotui was our last day at the Centro Educativo Altagracia.  The morning opemig ceremony was quite special.  After the national anthems, two gorups of students - one of ours and one of theirs- joined together to since a song that both had been practicing on their own all week.  The joint effort was pretty special. The School Director then presented gifts to everyone in the DR Projecets group and then gave us each wonderful, customized certificates of commendation.  Absolutely frame-worthy.  Then the students presented a series of really well-done dance and drill performances, all in costume.  One of the sixth graders then gave a speech thanking us, in clear, perfect English.  There were so many times that we were moved by the ceremony, and the bond that has formed.

We had missed the first teaching period, but had time before a special Math Olympiad to teach a fifth  grade class.  Finn later commented in a de-briefing: "That's it. We can't do any more. They know every vegetable by heart, and know which ones they like, and have no problem telling us."  After recess, the entire schooll gathereed back in the courtyard for the Math Olympics.  There were a number of contests and relay races, and the DR Projects crew got to take part. Of note was Finn's triumph in musical chairs. Music was playing, and everyone was feelling festive. Once the contests were over, everyone mingled, and lots of sidewalk chalk appeared (wonder wheere that came from?). Soon the whole surface of the courtyear was covered in hopscotch grids, drawings, and graffiti. The occasion gave us a great chance to say goodbye individually to so many of the students we had come to know.

After lunch at the hotel, we retured to teach our finall two classes, while also rotating into the two preeschool rooms to visit with the youngest students.  OMG adorable.  One of the classes was listeninh and singing/moving to "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Spanish.  Naturally, we retaliated with a robust English version. Before we left school for the final time, we went to the large space between the to large classroom wings, and did some measuring for our dreea, project, a dedicated arts room.  We had just found out that the Ministry of Education had approved the project, a vital first step.  Now all we need to do is raise the money to build it.  Stay tuned to more about this long-standing dream. We said a few more goodbyes, have a few more gifts, and headed back to the hotel.

Soon after our return, a small contingent of eight DRP folk got back onto the bus and traveled to another part of Cotui where two large baseball stadiums flank a small, dusty practice field.  The was a practice that afternoon for the Chico Rodriguez U12 baseball club, a Cotui team that has enjoyed a lot of regional success. One of the man coaches of the team is the Physical Education teacher at Altagracia.  We had arranged with him to go to the field that afternoon and present three dozen baseballs.  It doesn't sound like much, but to them it was like we brought gold bars.  We were reminded my when we saw the bin full of tattered, careworn balls that they were using. This gift, not our first over the years, meant a lot to them. Thre were about 50 boys there, all decked out in colorful tee shirts and hats of their favorite teams. We quickly realized to our deight that 8-10 of the boys were students that we had been teaching all week.  They rushed up to us and we immediately greeted each other like old friends.  After a short presentation, our hope was realized:  some of us would get to hit during batting practice.  We watched a couple of 9-10 year old spray frozen ropes all over the field, and then we  took some cuts.  Finn mashed the ball, and noth Ian and Sam weere pretty impressive for out-practice little leaguers.  Lily took some cuts and surprised herself.  Even Chris Maute,  a bit over the age limit, got her bat on the ball.

Back at the hotel, we had supper and a meeting that featured a pretty heartfelt de-brief.  We're tired, we're sad that we're leaving, but we are basking in the glow of a job superbly done.  Thee high school students were praised again and again by their adult peers for their flexibility, stamina, and dedication to the work. There were planty of shout-outs, including more than one for Rita Severinghaus, who has said several times it's hard to believe how much we have accomplished, this week and through the years. We then headed to a new local restaurant on the edge of town that has a slick Karaoke setup, and many of us tried their hand.  The performance of the night went to School Director Maria Del Carmen, who has hiung out with us all week and has an amazing set of pipes.  We got back to the hotel and went right to bed (expect for the blogger). Tomorrow we go to Santo Domingo, the capital, to enjoy the historic Colonial Zone, and then later the beach at Boca Chica. Then on Sunday we'll head home.  There might not be wifi to post a blog tomorrow, but it's definitely not the last entry.  Please keep checking, and send the link to your frieneds. The trip has been everything for which we had hoped.


















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