Renee Edwards
March 24, 2003
DAY FOUR

As I approach this morning I admit I am a little nervous. Nervous about the translators, and whether or not the people will do the survey. As our group meets our translators I realize that we are going to be in good shape today, one of our translators speaks English. Yeah....lucky us!!!!! One of my worries gone, now the moment of truth comes....time for the first survey. My Spanish is a little rusty but Miguel, the translator, jumps right in with help. He explains to the people who we are and what we want and I am in shock when the first person invites us into their home. I think, well lucky break it’s the first one. As the morning progresses I am baffled by the hospitality of the people here in the village. They all invite us in either to sit on the porch or to come into their homes. They go out of their way to make us feel welcome. When there isn’t a enough chairs they go into the house and bring them out. I am in shock. I thought that they would be afraid to let us into their homes and just want to do the survey’s out by the bars across the front of their homes. Boy was I wrong. One of the first houses I go into has two chickens tied up with string, I wonder why they are tied up, is it to keep them from running away or are they going to be dinner tonight? I ask the translator when we leave the home and he says it’s both. Maybe I’ll go back tomorrow and see if they’re still there. I am also surprised when we go inside the homes and they are so clean, the outside of the house is a mess and the inside is neat and organized. The people here are so receptive to us, they laugh when I ask some questions, I think they are laughing at my inability to speak Spanish very well. But that’s ok. After our lunch break we head back out. One of the first homes we go into the lady takes the cushion out of the chair, fluffs it, and puts it back down for me to sit down on. I am blown away. As we continue down one street we come upon a house where a little boy is standing out on the porch and Miguel, the translator, asks him if his mom or dad are home and he says yes and runs to get his mother. She comes out and I begin the survey. Kelli comes up from behind me and points out that the little boy is chewing on a syringe, not the needle just the syringe. The first question that comes into my mind is that are his parents drug users? I don’t know where he got it but he was just chewing away on it.

Today I just keep wondering, what would happen if 3 Dominican Republic students came to our front door asking if we would answer some question. What would our reaction be? Would we be as open and hospitable to them as they have been to me today or would we slam the door in their faces saying we are to busy to be bothered? My hope is that we are open and welcoming the next time someone asks us for help or to fill out a survey. I am completely blown away by how warm and welcoming the people in the villages have been. Never in a million years would I have imagined that they would be so nice. I didn’t think they would be rude or mean, I just had no idea that they would be this friendly. I am humbled by this experience. Dr. Lucas said in the blessing at lunch that it is better to give that to receive and what we get in return comes back to us tenfold. To see the looks on the faces of the children in the villages when we pull our cameras out to take a picture of them is just priceless. Their smiles could light up the night sky. If only everybody had the opportunity have an experience like this. How lucky I am that I do have this opportunity.