Indeed, each member of the newly formed organization Intercambio ¡YA! who organized the 11-day Interterm service trip to the Yabacao region, had already had countless conversations about those experiences in the Dominican Republic. That Friday, however, these private conversations were transformed into a formal-but by no means less animated-presentation about the conception, execution and development of a service project that was partly inspired by the Committee on Academic Priorities' goal to expand and deepen learning opportunities beyond the classroom.
The Amherst-Yabacao trip (from which the ¡YA! in the organization's name comes from) that took place this January was actually the second trip of its kind. During the spring of 2006, Oscar Baez '08 and Hyowoun Jyoung '08 created an alternative spring break to Cruz Verde, the same little Dominican town that the Interterm 2006 participants went to. Upon returning to the College, Anaid Reyes '08 and Margaret Mattaini '09 decided to start planning for a second one.
"This time, we would have three months, not just for fundraising purposes, but also to plan the trip more thoroughly," commented Reyes. However, they soon realized there would be obstacles to overcome.
"A big problem that we had was that most of our time before leaving was spent trying to gather money in order to actually go. That time would have been better spent raising money for donations and supplies for the community and planning out our workshops," commented first-time volunteer Victoria Rduch '09.
To prepare for this trip, they sought the advice of the 2006 delegation that, much like the Interterm participants on stage in the Friedmann Room, had a lot to say about their trip upon their return. "We carried out two workshops on campus, one before and one after the trip, that helped us ground our expectations and experiences," stated Reyes.
During the first workshop students who had been to Cruz Verde before talked about their experiences, and discussed certain things of which the new group might not have been aware. This ranged from trivial issues of convenience, to more serious matters, such as race relations between the Dominicans and the nearby Haitian community of Mata Indios. Despite these preparatory talks, there was much the students had to learn on their own.
"I didn't have any concrete expectations about what I would encounter. I mean, I knew what we would be doing but I hadn't formed any distinct images about what the place would be like, the kind of poverty we would see, or how the people of Cruz Verde would receive us. All of that came as a sort of beautiful surprise when we got there," said Interterm participant Isabel Duarte-Gray '09.
After the first trip, students could determine what did and did not work well based on what they learned about the local people of the Yabacao community and the Sister Island Project (the local nonprofit with in which they worked). The second group could then plan accordingly.
After much planning, the Intercambio ¡YA! delegation left to Santo Domingo on Monday, Jan. 15. Once in Cruz Verde, they were introduced to their host families and the town children.
"The kids get really excited. Most of the time we were surrounded by them," commented Reyes, while the pictures of the slideshow on the wall behind her fully corroborated her story.
Each speaker in the Friedmann room tried to articulate their experiences. Anne-France Pierre '10 talked about her dental hygiene workshop. Hannah Winnick '09 discussed her West African Dance workshop, which was inspired by a class she took at the College last semester. These narratives were accompanied by a colorful set of pictures that were projected onto the wall.
Victoria Rduch '09 ran a theater workshop for the children, which volunteers seemed to enjoy equally.
"I did theater and improvisation games," explained Rduch. "I thought that it would be nice to give the group an opportunity to learn something new and refresh the skills that Jaime [a previous volunteer and Fulbright scholar] taught them. The group really seemed to enjoy it."
In addition to organizing these and other language, reading and arts and crafts workshops, students spent their time working on construction projects that the Sister Island Project ran in the community in collaboration with a local youth group called Nueva Generación.
Jeamir Diaz '10, a Dominican herself, explained during her presentation that the idea of cultural exchange had been a crucial component of the trip. She continued to describe their interaction with and immersion into the community.
Duarte-Gray noted that it was the children who instigated the process of cultural exchange. Remembering the rhymes, poetry and songs they learned from the children, she said, "those kids were by far the strongest push toward cultural exchange that we had; one look at them, and you're immediately invested in that community."
On Jan. 26 the volunteers left Cruz Verde to return to the College. Once settled in the bubble, they were intent on sharing their experiences with their fellow students. Their excitement and enthusiasm at the prospect of Intercambio ¡YA! becoming an established Outreach program was not dampened by the modest number of attendees.
On the eve of the inauguration of the Center for Community Engagement, and in a campus where students and some faculty members criticize the student body's indifference to issues beyond the trivial, the empty chairs in the Friedmann room suggest that perhaps these critics simply do not know where to look for the conversations they crave.