Across the Border to the Dominican Republic

    Global Builders covered my transportation to the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti where I took a 6-hour bus ride toward my destination across the border, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I couldn't wait for this part of my trip because I knew the winter baseball league in the Dominican Republic was starting soon. Ultimately, one of my main goals on this trip was to watch some good baseball when I could, and that's exactly what I did. In Santo Domingo, I was able to watch home games of the Leones del Escogido and the Tigres del Licey at Quisqueya Stadium Juan Marichal.

Quisqueya Stadium Juan Marichal empty before a baseball game

    The first game I went to was Opening Day on October 11 between the Leones del Escogido and the Tigres del Licey. It was an exciting 7-3 victory for the Leones to start the season off. The starting pitcher for Licey was none other than Ubaldo Jiménez, a former MLB pitcher and probably the best to ever wear a Rockies uniform. On the other side of the diamond, Frankie Montas, a highly-touted young pitcher for the Oakland Athletics got the win against Jiménez for Escogido. After getting out to an early 1-0 lead, Escogido piled on an additional 6 runs during the 6th and 7th innings to earn the win. The best batting performance came from second baseman Otto Lopez who had 3 hits in 5 at bats, scoring 2 runs and knocking in 2 more. I was so excited to be actually watching Dominican baseball and it was definitely one of my favorite times in the entire trip.

    I went to two other games during my time in the Dominican Republic and thoroughly enjoyed both of them as well. On October 15, I went to a Tigres home game in which they were beat by the Gigantes del Cibao 5-1 with 5 of those 6 runs coming in the 5th inning alone. The last game I went to, I got to see Escogido pummel the Toros del Este 8-4. They were down 4-2 until they surged back with a 6-run 7th inning thanks in part to a game-tying 2-run home run hit by Nellie Rodriguez. After all the games I had watched, I just couldn't leave without buying a baseball cap proving my newfound fandom for the Leones del Escogido.

A beam of light from above illuminates one of the lakes at 3 Eyes National Park

    I was very excited about the baseball, but I did visit some other places in the D.R. To list them, I visited the National Botanical Gardens, the 3 Eyes National Park, Alzacar de Colon, the Museum of the Royal Houses, Plaza de España, Parque Colón, the National Pantheon, and the Catedral Primada de América. Out of these the 3 Eyes National Park obviously stood out because I love exploring nature and the 4 lakes within the limestone rock created such a beautiful atmosphere. I also greatly enjoyed learning about the history and architecture of the Dominican Republic in the Museum of the Royal Houses. My time in the Dominican Republic was busy and exciting, and it may have been the favorite destination of mine throughout the entire trip.

Building Houses in Haiti

    After Jamaica, I set myself up with a very unique opportunity to head out on a two-week trip to Haiti and help build houses for the people living there through a program called Global Builders. Quite frankly, it was pretty amazing that I was able to have such a great experience in the middle of my trip. I had an overall great time working with the program building houses and rejuvenating my soul.

A picture of two smiling Haitian children I met

    A typical day had me waking up around 6 to eat breakfast at 7 AM. Work started at 8:00 and lasted until lunch, which we ate on site between 12 and 1 o'clock. After lunch, we got right back to work up until 4:00 PM. Dinner was then served around 6 once we got back from the worksite. We had pretty nice weather for most of the days I was there so there weren't too many issues with the rain preventing us from working. The cost of the trip covered all the food, lodging, and transportation expenses for me so I didn't have to worry about it.

    As for the actual work I was doing, it certainly wasn't a cakewalk. Some examples of tasks I had to do while there included laying blocks, clearing rubble, applying stucco, cutting rebar, mixing concrete, and more. The work wasn't easy by any means, but after being on vacation for months, it felt pretty good to be productive in some way. The one thing I will say is that the heat was pretty ridiculous. I had to constantly drink water to stay hydrated and protect myself from the heat.

A big, beautiful waterfall at Bassin Zim

    We had work on all days except Sundays, which were our time to rest, relax, and go sightseeing through opportunities set up by the organization. The first Sunday I was there, we visited a local school to spend time with the children. It was so heartwarming to see all their little smiles when we played games and sports with them. The other Sunday I was there, the group visited Bassin Zim, a beautiful treasure of nature filled with waterfalls, coves, and caves. The views were absolutely breathtaking. The experience of building houses in Haiti as a whole was one of the best things I've done in my life so far.