Bienvenidos a Republicana Dominicana!

6/26 Wednesday

Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo

After a relatively short flight from Baltimore Washington International (BWI) to Atlanta and then to Santo Domingo, Jillian and I finally landed at Las Americas International Airport.  The many months of anticipation led us to the beautifully picturesque Dominican Republic.  From BWI, our total flight time was 4 and half hours.

The transition and movement through the airports was seamless. Delta has an app for smartphone users that allows you to check in 24 hours before departure. I'm fairly certain there’s nothing my iPhone can't do at this point. I might just wait until the iPhone 10 comes to the market for pure shock value.

As our last meal before our depart for the Dominican, we decided to have some McDonalds breakfast in Atlanta. You can’t get any more American than that, I thought. In the Dominican, I'd prefer to only experience the local food and try to become fully immersed in the culture.  Perhaps I'll get the chance to show off my very average dance moves as well.

My food was not harmed but stolen for the purpose of taking this photo 

Much of our encounters at the airport were with people inquiring about Project Hope.  We took the time to talk a little about Project Hope and their mission of providing medical care to many underserved regions around the world.  At Las Americas International Airport, we were lucky to find a church group on a mission trip from the Washington D.C who were able to help us through acquiring a tourist visa and getting through customs.  The only drama we encountered at any of the airports was verifying we had our passport and boarding pass. I'm fairly certain that I broke my personal record by rechecking about 92 times.  I had read earlier that it was a custom in the Dominican to clap every time a plane lands safely. This was confirmed when a small cheer with applause began as the wheels of the plane struck the ground.

After clearing customs at Las Americas, we were greeted by Project Hope volunteers Emil and Abdias.  We all then hopped aboard a pickup truck for about an hour ride to the guest house.  Our ride back along the coast of Santo Domingo was incredibly scenic with calm clear waters and numerous palms trees. It began to rain heavily as we departed Santo Domingo and drifted inland towards Monte Plata.

Beautiful coastline waters within close proximity to Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo

Considering my Spanish is very limited, I’m glad I was able to converse with Abdias in English and more so in French.  He also speaks Spanish and Haitian Creole.  Abdias is a Medical Student from Haiti who is currently studying in the Dominican Republic.  He will be guiding us and assisting us for the duration of our time at the maternal and pediatric family clinic in Monte Plata. Clinica de Salud Materno Infantil Y Familiar Orden de Malta is our clinic assignment.  We might also spend some time in another clinic in Santo Domingo.  

Chief complaints seen here include tropical diseases (such as dengue fever and parasites), diarrhea, and ear/throat infections.

We'll be discussing health literacy with Dr. Dana Fitzsimmons, a pharmacist and a Medical Outcomes Specialist based in Washington D.C from Pfizer presumably next week. He has taken vacation time to spend a week with us in the Dominican. I can't wait to visit the clinic tomorrow and see what challenges lay ahead. Unlike our friends, Arsen and Tom who visited India, we will fortunately not be experiencing much jet lag.  Same day arrival and no time zone difference! Perhaps Jillian will have to do more internal clock adjustments than me since she recently returned from her first rotation in Arizona. The clinic in Monte Plata is situated on the same grounds where we are staying and we are only a 5-10 minute walk from the town.  It’s an 8 to 5 day work day.

Before signing off for today, I want to thank all involved getting our trip together and the Shenandoah University staff for giving me the opportunity to provide service abroad.  It’s an honor to be able to represent ideals of Project Hope and Shenandoah University in this manner. Lastly, I’d also be remiss if I didn't thank the Sweeney family for letting stay the night due to its close proximity to BWI.  They were kind enough to offer me Maryland style crabs as a farewell meal.  In my almost 3 decades of existence, I can say finally that I finally had crab too. Shocking I know. Thanks.

Jillian and I will try to keep everyone informed of experiences here in Monte Plata and elsewhere. Adios for now.