University of Texas Athletics and the community of Hoyo de Perez, Dominican Republic
This is Chris and Salma from the University of Texas at Austin. This past week, we had the pleasure of staying and working in Hoyo de Perez. We´re here to give you a taste of the life changing adventure that was made possible by Courts for Kids and Texas Athletics.
Leaving Austin, we flew into Santo Domingo, spent a quick night, then hit the road for our 4 hour trek. To our surprise, there were three locals who had journeyed with us to the community, their names were Darlin, Nancy, and (again) Nancy. We shyly attempted conversing with them, with what felt like a demonstration of our lack of Spanish speaking abilities. Upon our arrival, we enjoyed a traditional home cooked meal. To our surprise, we immediately started on construction. With this, we unknowingly began forming extremely strong relationships with the locals. Speaking on behalf of a few of our team members, we were a little intimidated on where to even start talking to people with our limited vocabularies. However, we soon came to the realization that creating friendships goes well beyond a language barrier. For example, all of our team members began slowly but surely forming a connection with Darlin and Johan, two teenage boys within the village who were willing to jump into the land of curiosity by attempting to get to know all of the athletes who were all around the same age. The first interaction was on the construction site. As we tossed buckets of gravel and sand, our relationships started with a smile and an introduction. The gestures were short and sweet, but the effects were impactful in terms of breaking the ice between American and Dominican. Soon enough, we were sharing both laughs and understanding of each other.
As for the ladies, we wrapped up work on our first day on the site, and a handful of young girls grabbed each of us by the hand and led us around their community. It was a delightful surprise seeing such young girls step up, and portray both their bravery and drive in getting to know a new stranger who they could perhaps look up to. The girl who grabbed me by the hand is named Yacairi. She spoke full sentences beautifully and quickly in Spanish. As someone who hasn't taken a Spanish class since high school, I was very puzzled on how we could come to an understanding of one another. However, we found our own way of talking through hand gestures, body motions, and facial expressions. This led to being invited into her house, meeting her sister Mika, mother Jenny, and their pet sharks! This was only the beginning, as we all ended up going next door to join a birthday party, where we warmed up our dance moves.
As the night approached, our expected first night event turned into a nightly occurrence. Our hosts threw us a fiesta that drew in the whole village. This fiesta resulted in learning traditional dances like Bachata and Merengue which furthered the connection, immersing us in unfamiliar territory. Though we quickly found ourselves having the time of our lives. Something as straightforward as turning on music and dancing had us all elated. This quickly shattered the ice between the locals and us volunteers. We all danced for hours, as the hard work we put in under the blazing sun became trivial. None of us wanted the night to end. An example of this phenomenon was the sheer number of dance partners I engaged with in a singular night. These partners included individuals who were younger, older, male and female. A memorable moment was while I was being instructed on how to effectively dance the Merengue by an elder local, I was surprisingly assigned the title of ¨being Dominican.¨ A small gesture, truly enhanced my experience right from the start more than he could have ever imagined. As I jumped from dance partners throughout the night, my feelings towards the community started to transition from a wonderful night to a deep connection to my heart.
As per Courts for Kids tradition, we completed daily challenges, and their complementary reflections. These challenges were fascinating in that they forced us to step even further out of our comfort zone to learn past surface level of our surrounding scene. For instance, I had a challenge of learning about at least 3 medicinal plants that are native to the area. I asked many people, and although some of them may not have known much beyond the name malamadre, one local, Vanessa, went above and beyond to assist me in my quest. She took me on a walk in her garden to explain different plants and their possible medicinal uses, and even ran back to her house to grab a few leaves of the medicinal malamadre plant. This became a common theme we all experienced, and were able to reflect on in our group talks. Locals jumped through hoops to fulfill what we believed to be miniscule curiosities, and it was treated as of the utmost importance at that moment. Another challenge that followed the same trend was with our fellow member, Vanessa. Vanessa´s challenge was to find a fruit that she had never seen before. As she worked on the court she approached the bus driver, Elvis, asking him to show her a fruit from the community. He told her that he would quickly grab it whilst she was working. He came back with an assorted variety of fruits that included cacao, aji, limoncillo, mangoes, avocado, and other native fruits. The experience showed her that he really cared for something so small as a simple challenge to go as far as sitting her down and writing down a list of these fruits. A quick google search would have been sufficient, but Elvis went above and beyond by showing Vanessa the fruits in person so she could try them herself.
When it came to the work on the court, the combination of our two groups was extremely powerful. The dynamic among us Texans was amazing. Everyone wanted to be there and never complained about it being too hot or too strenuous, but the Dominicans led by wonderful example. The locals were locked in and ready to work, driven by their passion for the end result. They never complained, took less breaks, and were eager to help us every step of the way. The amalgamation of determination and a common goal of working towards something greater than ourselves, made the entirety of the trip less of a construction job and more of a team sport.
Another magical aspect of this trip was the afternoon of day 3, when we played traditional games with the locals like La Plaquita, and sack races. The adult locals went to demonstrate La Plaquita, a game that could be compared to cricket or baseball, and actually got so invested in their demonstration that they ended up playing an entire game with themselves. From our perspective, it brought us great pleasure to see these hard working adults play with childlike joy. From there, a lovely local named Evangelista (or as we called her Eva) invited us for coffee at a nearby house. We sat in their lush garden and drank coffee from our gracious hosts. It soon turned into a deep conversation about what our pull factors were for this trip, which was a conversation between athletes that shifted to include the locals. The result was Eva inviting us to her home in a nearby village, Bahrero. The hike through the jungle was an eye opening experience as we realized the trek that most of the nearby locals had to take to participate in the construction. Not only was it grounding to be surrounded by nature but a rainy change in weather began to make the journey surreal. As we arrived at the village, meeting Eva's extended family, we continued our trek to a hidden river, all while she led the way in flip flops.
When we finished the court, the energy was electric, and it only got better as we anticipated the end of the opening ceremony. Several locals were dressed in their jerseys, basketball shorts, and their favorite pair of shoes. When we integrated teams, we continued to deepen the level of connection through games of basketball. The score did not reveal the happiness we enjoyed, in fact there was no score at all. We enjoyed the result of our hard work the only way we could, and that was to embrace every moment with new lifelong bonds we created. Basically, we cannot accurately sum up all the events and detours we have taken on this trip, and our emotions along the way. There is simply too much, especially when you take away our phones, we were forced to live in the presence, and feel everything so deeply. So much spontaneity and laughter, we could write a whole book on our experiences. There is simplicity in feeling joyful in life, and we can safely say that the members of the Hoyo de Perez community have found it. We have all established an appreciation for the little interactions and humility for this village that gave us so much, even though through the capitalist eye, they might not have much.
Words will not do this trip justice. Our unanimous conclusion of this trip is to take a chance, and take the trip. People say this experience is life changing, something we were wary of, until it changed ours. A word of advice from us, take the chance, take the leap and make the change.
From different team members, here is just one favorite memory…
Aishling: ¨Our final night. Everyone coming together to celebrate in the final fiesta.¨
Alexa: ¨When we danced the first night, and no one knew how, or that it would happen every night, but we all went for it.¨
AP: ¨This short term immersion experience creates long term life impact.¨
Caitie: ¨Walking to Bahrero and getting rained on. Instead of running and hiding, we played and swam in the river.¨
Chloe: ¨Seeing constant smiles and laughs. Just joy in everyone.¨
Chris: ¨Dancing to my heart´s content on the first night.¨
Drew: ¨Me and Chris stood at the Planet of the Apes spot, and talked about life for 2 hours.¨
Emalee & Raiza: ¨Even though we built a court, the best part was being a part of the community that comes together.¨
Evan: ¨Young local boy saw me on the side alone, and then invited me to dance.¨
Hudson: ¨Having an inside dance with Yacairi, and it being our thing every time we saw each other.¨
Maddy: ¨Spontaneity of the locals joining us on any adventure, anytime.¨
Meg: ¨Swimming in the river in the rain and having a belly flopping contest.¨
Reagan: ¨Everyone being so welcoming and inviting us in for coffee all the time.¨
Salma: ¨Grating yuka and helping our hosts make arepas.¨
Tony: ¨We weren't just building a court, we were building bonds, and not only in the community, but among each other.¨
Vanessa: ¨Dancing every night.¨
Thank you for joining us. As the University of Texas´motto goes, what starts here changes the world. Also, Hook ´em!
~ Chris and Salma, University of Texas at Austin, Athletics
Volunteer quotes:
“What I learned from this community was unity, kindness and gratitude. The way the community came from far and wide to build the court, people of all ages any way they could.” - Raiza Aguilar
“This trip changed my entire perspective in life. There is so much more to life than the grind or pursuit to a “successful life”. The ongoing theme of “time is money” in America is non existent here. Sometimes you don’t have to be on the go 24/7. It’s ok if you are not where you want to be out in life right now because your situation is probably a lot of better than others. I’m so grateful for where I’m at and where I’m going.” - Vanessa Quiroga
“I feel like this trip has overall changed me for the better. I am more appreciative for a lot of things that I never thought. For example I never knew how reliant I was in my phone for day to day use. I developed the ability to be intent full with my actions and more thoughtful with my time. The lack of resources taught me to be more in the moment with the people who are around me.” - Chris Brinkley
“Returning home, it’s difficult to take everything we’ve learned and bring it into my personal life. It’s also challenging to share my experience here with others who haven’t been on a trip like this, because you really have to be here to understand it.”
- Aishling Callanan
“This trip has opened my eyes to the joys I would feel as a child playing outside. Growing does not necessarily mean I shouldn’t play outside anymore. I found fun in activity away from our phones or distractions. We all turned to journalist, reading, making bracelets, playing sports, dancing or just talking to people. Hobbies I find much more productive for me.”
- Salma Dessouley
“I learned that the world is perceived as something different across the world but really is not all that different. Learning about life has never surprised me. Language, food, dancing, careers, hobbies, families, friends and culture are just a different version than back home.” - Chloe Hensley
“I understand human nature a little more clearly now. When you strip away all the wealth and materials goods I see a lot of at home, you get a better view of what really feeds the soul.” - Evan Jaynes
Community quotes:
“Working hand in hand with the young people of the University of Texas and Courts for Kids was great. It was a pleasure to work together with such wonderful people.” - Miguel Gonell
“One of the things that filled me with satisfaction, from the students of the University of Texas, United States in conjunction with the COURTS FOR KIDS Foundation, was their dedication to the physical work in the construction of the court. They did not faint at any time, under the burning sun, always obedient to what was asked of them, no matter who did it.
With the exchange of cultures, I observed that they learned to speak some Spanish and to dance some merengue and bachata and also that they socialized with all the community members.
Regarding Dominican cuisine, they ate everything that was served to them and at no time did they question it or rejected it. I also like that they are from humble, selfless families, who put their economic and physical resources to visit our Hoyo de Pérez community, to build a court, with people they didn't know, that speaks well of them. Just God repays such gestures.”
- Huascar González
“I liked the experience of living with all of them, it was an unforgettable experience, I liked dancing merengue with them and the teamwork was incredible, everything was excellent.” - Darlin
“For me it was a very nice and learning experience due to the exchange of culture and its simplicity, some came to the kitchen to learn about our Dominican cuisine.” - Maricruz
“Based on my experience I can say that it was something beautiful and unforgettable. I liked how they were interested in learning about our food and culture and how they got involved with people regardless of their social status.” - Zuleika
