Dominican Republic
March 2003

:: Day One :: Day Two :: Day Three :: Day Four :: Day Five :: Day Six :: Day Seven ::

Welcome to our site! We consist of fourteen students and one professor from Ohio University. This project consists of two years of planning, one full quarter of preparation, and another research project where we are using the newly defined method of research known as Folknography. I am pleased to report that all in the research team are safe, healthy, and ready to go to work. We spent all day (Friday, March 21, 2003) traveling from the United States to our airport here in the Dominican Republic. We landed in Punta Cana because the arrangements could not be made to La Ramona or Santo Domingo because of the time constraints we face (spring break, resumption of classes, etc).

After landing, we rode a bus to our final destination in San Pedro de Marcorís. The city rests on the oceanfront and the students feel content and excited to be so close to the ocean. We settled in our quarters, set up our writing lab, held an organizational meeting, and then walked down to the Malacón (the strip along the ocean front). We enjoyed the local culture. Reading the various narratives from the students should be enlightening.

This project stands somewhat unique because our research team is not only using the qualitative technique of Folknography, but we are also using the quantitative technique of the demographic survey. We will post the survey so you can see what our client, the medical clinic, wants needs out of this work. They hope for enough of a sample for a solid base line for future study. The students are ready for such a challenge.

Project Leader,
David M. Lucas.