CIE

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Fall 2013, Issue 1

Service-Learning, DR

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What is Service-Learning?

Welcome to the CIEE Service-Learning Program in Santiago, Dominican Republic!

This program provides students with the analytical tools to engage in participatory

service, and the skills to process and reflect upon their experiences and actions.

Through a combination of coursework, field work, internships, and a variety of

cultural activities and excursions, studying abroad with this program offers a

uniquely challenging, immersive, and rewarding intercultural experience.

In this first newsletter of the Fall 2013 semester, we asked students to write about

their reasons for participating in the Service-Learning program. Read on to learn

about their life paths that brought them here and what they hope to gain

throughout their experiences here this semester.

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contents

From Indecision to Pinocchio: My Journey with Service-Learning

-Kate Shafer, Elon University

The Golden Combination -Eve Hansen, University of Washington

Staff Updates

A Search for More How a Mission Trip Initiated a Quest for

Service-Learning

-April Hooper, Clark University

Just what I was Looking for -Darla Wynn. George Washington University

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6

8

10

12

14

To Fit in or Stand Out: Observing and Participating in New

Communities

-Jasmine Eshkar, Oberlin College

Unexpected Lessons -Kenny Strauss, University of Missouri

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Remembering Mike Gerson -Julia Rubin, Alumni Intern

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4

While a plethora of academic, professional, and personal op-

portunities has made it increasingly evident that the CIEE Ser-

vice-Learning program is beneficial to us as students, the pro-

gram also offers incredible experience, insight, and guidance

for our futures. As an International Studies major who is poten-

tially interested in living and working overseas after graduation,

the opportunity to live abroad and experience life in a wide vari-

ety of communities is incredibly useful. Additionally, the re-

search component is both wonderful practice and potentially

applicable to my honors thesis that I will begin immediately up-

on returning to my home university of Elon. Furthermore, spe-

cific aspects of our program are helping me to ascertain the

kind of position I would most like to pursue once I graduate. It

is this combination of extraordinary attributes that makes me so

appreciative of this all-encompassing program.

CIEE Santiago Service-Learning is helping me prepare for

things that will occur both during the remainder of my under-

graduate career and after college. As an honors fellow, I am

required to write a 75 to 150-page publishable honors thesis on

a topic specific to the country in which I studied abroad. My

CIEE Service-Learning research project provides both useful

practice and potential inspiration for my honors thesis. After

graduation, I plan to begin the application process to work for

the United States Department of State as a Foreign Service

Officer. I have been torn between the Political and Public Diplo-

macy tracks, but my experiences working in a local NGO called

MANIDI have made me consider Public Diplomacy more strong-

ly. In this position, I would be working hands-on with communi-

ty members in a service-based, cultural immersion position. My

experience in a similar environment with CIEE has reassured

me that this is a position I would be interested in assuming.

Kate Shafer

International Studies

5

On my second full day of work at La Asociación de Madres de

Niños/as con Discapacidades (The Association of Mothers of

Children with Disabilities or MANIDI), I had the opportunity to be

part of a three-hour social therapy session with a group of five

young people ages 16-22. They taught me how to make brace-

lets in their favorite design patterns, explained their individual

interests and talents, told me stories of past MANIDI events,

and asked me when they would see me again. I listened to

their stories and told them that I would be at their Wednesday

meetings every week for the entire semester. I returned the

next week for a day focused on both art and literacy. As I

helped a sixteen-year-old girl to her seat, admired an eighteen-

year-old boy’s new self-made bracelets, and helped a twenty-

year-old girl sound out words in Pinocchio ranging from “que” to

“comunicación,” I recognized that they had already completely

accepted me as a regular within their group. They accepted my

help with a smile, gave me regular life updates, and always

invited me to join in their games. It was what happened shortly

before they left, though, that truly left me speechless and with a

lot to think about.

Everyone was packing up their supplies after a busy day of

basket making and reading when two of the girls pulled me

aside. Katherine took out her backpack, explaining that she

had spent her morning gathering things that she wanted to

show me. I beamed with excitement as she proceeded to show

me seven cards that she had crafted from supplies that she

bought herself, a pink house that she had drawn with crayons, a

“1st Place” ribbon that she had earned for good behavior in

class in 2009, and a good conduct graduation certificate from

2011. She told me the stories associated with each object (at

least twice) and promised to bring her cell phone with music on

it the next week so that she could sing for me. As she started

to walk away, I turned to Estefani. Estefani, a sixteen-year-old

girl with Cerebral Palsy who has difficulties walking, was sitting

in a chair next to me with her arms wrapped around my legs.

“Kate,” she explained in Spanish, “I don’t want you to leave!

Will I see you tomorrow? Promise me that at least I’ll see you

next week? Kate!!!” With a smile, I assured her that she would

be seeing a lot more of me. My heart full, I helped her to the

door, where, to my surprise, one of the boys from the program

had been waiting to help her down the two stairs to the side-

walk. Instead of simply lending an arm or picking her up by her

waist and placing her back on the sidewalk, he scooped her into

his arms and carried her all the way the waiting car, carefully

placing her onto the seat of the car. Finally assured that she

would be okay, he turned and proceeded to walk to his own car

stop.

Heartwarming experiences like this are teaching me not only

that I can happily live abroad, but also that I want a job where I

can work in a service-oriented position. Although I still have

three more months to explore precisely what I want to do, I am

currently leaning toward the Public Diplomacy track within the

Foreign Service as a result of the positive experiences that I

have had working with MANIDI.

These positive experiences will likely inspire me as I choose a

topic for my honors thesis and conduct research, as MANIDI

will serve as an excellent model for my thesis. Additionally, the

experience of assimilating into a new culture, living abroad,

becoming fluent In another language, and doing service in new

communities is wonderful experience for my future career.

Thanks to CIEE Santiago Service-Learning, I feel much more

prepared for both my honors thesis and potential future working

abroad as a Foreign Service Officer.

“I recognized that they had

already completely accepted me

as a regular within their group.”

6

When I began my search of potential study abroad programs

during the fall of my sophomore year, the thought of study-

ing in the Dominican Republic did not occur to me. I thought

I wanted a program where I would attend a local university

for a couple hours a day and the rest of the time would be

free time, spent simply traveling with my friends. The Uni-

versity of Washington offers faculty-led study abroad pro-

grams to Spain, and if I hadn’t already traveled there four

years earlier I would’ve selected that route. I am grateful

that I continued my search, which led to my discovery of the

CIEE Service-Learning Program, which couples work in a

local community with traditional classroom time.

To be honest, deciding between the Liberal Arts program

and the Service-Learning program was difficult. I was nerv-

ous that I wouldn’t have the gumption or skill set to success-

fully complete a research investigation— in Spanish none-

theless! After talking with a friend who had just completed

the very same program, I realized that if I were going to

study abroad, I wanted to gain as much cultural and social

knowledge of my host country as possible. I knew I had a

big challenge ahead of me, but I have found out that when I

do things that scare me, they turn out to be my most prized

experiences.

During my freshman and sophomore year of college, I took

classes that required me to participate in community service.

With that prior knowledge, I was intrigued when I found a

Service-Learning study abroad program. I never knew such

a thing existed. The attraction of a complete immersion ex-

perience where the students would be not only attending a

local university, but also would have an internship with a

community organization, was compelling. Like most stu-

dents who study abroad, my goal was to improve my lan-

guage skills, in my case, Spanish. I believed that working

alongside local Dominicans would heighten my level of com-

prehension and conversational skills because I would be

forced to struggle through my confusion. When talking with

my supervisor at the organization where I work, Acción

Callejera (“Street Action,” an organization that educates

children and youth living/working in vulnerable conditions), I

constantly have to think of different ways to structure my

question or thought so I can effectively communicate it in

Spanish. I knew that while trying to learn another language ,

The Golden

Combination

Eve Hansen

Public Health

7

the potential for making a multitude of mistakes is inevitable

and not something that should scare me off.

I firmly believe that coupling traditional classroom-based edu-

cation with fieldwork is the most beneficial form of learning. It

is difficult for me to have a complete understanding of a sub-

ject solely by reading an article or a textbook. In addition, it is

rare for me to be able to remember what I read after I have

been tested on it, but my experiences stick with me. Experi-

encing the facts rather than reading them ensures comprehen-

sion. After I apply book-based knowledge to real life work, all

the puzzle pieces to a particular topic that I am taught in the

classroom begin falling into place, and I can see the overall

picture. For example, in class I have learned about the social

disadvantages of Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Repub-

lic. At Acción Callejera I see first-hand those difficulties and

the consequences they have on their lives. The golden combi-

nation of classroom time and fieldwork is what compelled me

to apply for the CIEE Service-Learning Santiago, Dominican

Republic program.

Every other program I looked into was what I consider a tradi-

tional study abroad program: live with a host family and go to

school. I decided that when my semester abroad comes to an

end, I wanted to leave the country with more than just

knowledge of the language. Working alongside a local organi-

zation, I knew that I would learn more about the community

and its citizens than I could ever learn from a book.

Upon entering this Service-Learning program, I hoped that I

would be able to make an impact of some degree on the com-

munity that I would be serving. This is a unique study abroad

program that invites the students into the daily struggles of

equality, and the daily joys of inclusion and conversation, of

community members in the Dominican Republic.

“I knew I had a big challenge

ahead of me, but I have found out

that when I do things that scare

me, they turn out to be my most

prized experiences”

8

When Rafaela, my host mom, noticed the carpet of mosquito

bites peppering my legs, she was shocked, and instantly called

over her husband Victor. Since dengue fever (a virus obtained

from mosquitos) has been a high-frequency problem in our area,

he showered me with questions about whether I knew what bug

spray was and where I thought I got the bites. When I suggest-

ed that I had interacted with a fair number of mosquitos in my

bedroom and the rest of the house, he was taken aback, insist-

ing that if I slept with the fan on there was no way I could be

bitten at night. Knowing that we live adjacent to a stagnant

stream and that Victor watches TV with an electric matamosqui-

tos (mosquito-killer, and a play on the word for fly-swatter) within

arm’s reach, I suggested one more time that home was the most

likely place I could think of, although it is really impossible to tell

where the bug bites come from and which ones carry the virus

that I ultimately endured. He concluded that I probably was bit-

ten in my community work, conceded to check the screens of

my windows, and abruptly ended the conversation. Although I

was initially frustrated by my interaction with Victor, I have since

realized that our difficulties communicating have a lot to do with

why I chose to study abroad, and rather than seeing our interac-

tion as a flop, I can see it for the perspective shift it enabled me

to make.

In addition to some expected reasons for studying abroad—

language acquisition, exposure to new people and a new

place—when I chose a service-learning program, I was hoping

for the opportunity to become a sincere part of a new communi-

ty. Getting to know new communities involves familiarizing one-

self with new standards of communication, and I was concerned

that miscommunications like the one described above would set

me back. Progarms abroad have been talked about as voyeuris-

tic; they have reputations of turning communities into fascinating

playgrounds that students traipse through without reaching any

significantly new levels of understanding. I worried about being

an ignorant tourist with good intensions, unintentionally offend-

ing people around me with cultural insensitivity and idealistic

naivety. In his article, “Avoiding the Missionary Tendency,” Mi-

chael Woolf states that:

“Given notions of manifest destiny in the United States and the uncritical (but deeply suspect) sense that the United States is the repository of democratic ideals, the potential for unwelcome intrusion into host communities (the mis-

sionary tendency) is apparent” (63).

Woolf was wary of the dangers of bad communication during

study abroad trips, and he was not alone in this line of thought.

Grusky, in his article, “International Service Learning: A Critical

Guide From an Impassioned Advocate,” warned readers that:

“Without thoughtful preparation, orientation, program devel-opment and the encouragement of study, and critical anal-ysis and reflection, the [service-learning] programs can easily become small theaters that recreate historic cultural misunderstandings and simplistic stereotypes and replay, on a more intimate scale, the huge disparities in income and opportunity that characterize North-South relations

today” (858).

Before my arrival in the Dominican Republic, I had hoped that

my upcoming service-learning experience would not only allow

me to insert myself into the real work of a community organiza-

tion, but would also allow me to participate in a genuine ex-

change by responding to specific needs that community mem-

bers expressed directly to me. I would naturally learn a lot

throughout that intercambio (exchange). But once I experienced

the difficulties of communicating because of misunderstandings

on a cultural (rather than linguistic) level, I was not sure if I was

sufficiently prepared.

To Fit in or Stand Out:

Observing and Participating

in New Communities

Jasmine Eshkar

Psychology

9

Since my arrival in the Dominican Republic, I’ve started think-

ing more about what it means to be part of a community. What

communities are join-able, and at what point is one officially a

“community member”? Does one get to join the ranks of Do-

minican students after the mixer where Dominican support stu-

dents share what they know of local slang and la cultura de

tigueraje (Dominican street smarts)? What about after the

fourth merengue class, when numbers are exchanged with

some new potential friends (who are could be interested in the

swap specifically because of the exoticism of “the exchange

student”)? The frequent piropos (street cat-calls) that usually

include the word gringa (white female) are reminders that every

aspect of my physical appearance, from my skin color to my

haircut, to the clothes I own, is a sign of my outsider status.

Before I even get the chance to give myself away with my for-

eign accent, it is obvious that I come from elsewhere.

I have come to wonder whether or not my goal of smoothly

integrating myself into a community here was justified in the

first place. I quickly realized blending in is not an option for me,

and although it is not a requirement of joining a community, it

certainly helps. In addition to the realization of my outsider sta-

tus, I started feeling foolish that I had left my town, state, and

country, full of countless unknown-to-me communities in order

to try and join one far from home. How can I justify my decision

to travel? There are service programs in the United States that

could have helped me learn, and which I could have helped

with the time and effort I am spending here in Santiago. There

are communities in the United States that would surround me

with just as much Spanish as I currently encounter on a daily

basis. I could even get a healthy dose of Dominican culture in

the New York metropolitan area; it seems that half the people

in La Zurza (my neighborhood here) lived in or have relatives in

Patterson, NJ, and Washington Heights, Queens, both of which

are easily accessible from my home in Essex County, New

Jersey. Am I here with the abstract goal of “promot[ing] mutual

understanding among cultures,” which Woolf points out as a

vaguely accepted goal of international education, or can I find a

more concrete objective for my presence?

The answer I have started examining most recently is that be-

ing an outsider with the sometimes-inside-perspective that I

gain through my community work, allows me to reflect and ob-

serve in a new way. As an obvious outsider for both physical

and linguistic reasons, I can ask questions and receive cultural

explanations that may have been harder to approach as a

member of a more familiar community. Maybe that is also the

reason our classes are limited to members of our program only,

where we are separated from Dominican students; not because

we wouldn’t understand the other students’ fast-paced com-

ments (although that may also be true), but in order to give us

a space to be outsiders, commenting and reflecting on what we

see here.

In this way, I have come to see my challenging communica-

tions with my host family as opportunities to learn more about

my new communities rather than as failures to fit in. Although I

initially read my exchange with Victor as a defensive reaction, it

actually showed me that he put a lot of weight on his ability to

provide me with a safe and comfortable host family experience.

It also helped me realize that I was reading his tone as more

abrupt than it was meant to be. There are very different stand-

ards for speech here that I am only starting to learn about. (For

example, when one interaction with Rafaela initially seemed

like she had just bluntly informed that I gained two pounds, I

had to learn that she was essentially confirming that I had fit in

well to her life by liking her food and eating in sufficient quanti-

ties.) It has been occasionally tricky to figure out when I need

to adjust my expectations surrounding communication, but this

has shown me that when living in a completely new community,

there are bound to be discrepancies between our cultural be-

liefs and practices.

The question is not whether the conflict of beliefs will arise, but

how to address it when it does, in a way that will bring people

together rather than offending them. The strategy I have adopt-

ed for now is to work on being more accepting of comments

that initially seem strange to me. When I ended up in the hospi-

tal with dengue, Victor went out of his way to make sure I was

comfortable and cared for, demonstrating that he hadn’t been

dismissing me earlier, but was rather responding to my com-

ments with the reassurance that he was already doing every-

thing in his power to give me a comfortable experience. The

mental adjustments I ultimately made in order to understand

where he was coming from did more to bring me into a commu-

nity here than my other, more superficial efforts to fit in.

“The question is not whether the con-

flict of beliefs will arise but how to ad-

dress it when it does, in a way that

will bring people together rather than

offending them. “

10

ServiceService--Learning TrackLearning Track

Advanced Spanish:

Students are immersed in Spanish throughout every aspect of their experience! The

Spanish course is "the glue" of all the classes, designed to be conversation-focused to

complement the community aspect of the program.

Development and Globalization: DR Case Study:

This experiential learning course uses the Dominican Republic as a lens to explore

issues of human, economic, social, and political development with a focus on issues

of sustainability. Students are provided a better understanding of theories of poverty

and underdevelopment in both national and international contexts.

Social Research Methods:

This course introduces students to methods social scientists use in their research. Students conduct participatory commu-

nity-based social research under the guidance of a research committee comprised of university professors, the Resident

Director, and NGO site supervisor. At the end of the semester, the results of the research are presented to important con-

stituents in the community and partner organization.

Community Advocacy Internship:

This course offers an introduction to different schools of thought regarding leadership in community empowerment and sus-

tainable development. The practical portion of the course provides students the opportunity to work with a community-based

organization or NGO in an already existing program or project related to individual students’ academic interests.

Directed Independent Field Research and Capstone Project

This course is a compilation of semester’s work divided into two parts: the written compo-

nent of the student’s field research and a tangible Capstone project. Students learn to

demonstrate and apply what they have learned throughout the program; and to collabo-

rate with the organization in which their service was performed.

11

Staff UpdatesStaff Updates

Goodbye to the CIEE Service-Learning Program Founders, Elaine Acacio and Marcos Polo

Our program’s Resident Director Elaine has accepted a new position as the Director of Civic and Community Engagement at the

University of Oregon. Her husband Marcos, our program’s Resident Coordinator, and their kids are moving with Elaine to Eugene,

Oregon where they look forward to starting a new chapter of their lives in the U.S.

Thank you Marcos and Elaine for your hard work and dedication to the program since its creation in 2007. Your lives and inspiring

personalities have served as examples of community leadership for all past students, organizations, and communities. Your pres-

ence will be missed greatly, but know that you will always have a place in our hearts.

Welcome to our new Alumni Intern, Julia Rubin

Since her time as a student in our program in the fall of 2010, Julia received a B.A. in psychology from Clark University and worked

for a year as an After School Inclusion Facilitator for the Cambridge, Massachusetts, Department of Human Services. This semes-

ter Julia has returned to the DR to join the CIEE team as Alumni Intern.

Congratulations Julia— we are excited to have you back! Your bubbly personality, positive attitude, strong work ethic, and photo/

writing skills are great additions to our team!

Other Staff Changes

As a result of Elaine and Marco’s departure, the following changes will ensue:

Dr. Lynne Guitar (former Resident Director of the CIEE Liberal Arts, Gap Year Abroad, and CIEE Teach Abroad programs) will now

take on the position of Center Director, with responsibility for all CIEE programs in Santiago, D.R. With a Ph. D. in Anthropology

and Colonial Latin American History and substantial directorial experience in CIEE, she will bring insight and strong leadership to

our Service-Learning team!

Tommy DeMarco (current Alumni Intern Coordinator) will fulfill the role of Resident Coordinator along with coordinating the Alumni

Internship Program. He brings to the new position an embodiment of the Service-Learning approach and cultural understanding,

both from his perspective as an alumni of the program and his experience working directly with students and community organiza-

tions as an Intern and Intern Coordinator.

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A Search for More: How a Mission Trip Initiated a Quest for Service-Learning

April Hooper, Clark University

International Development

The first time I experienced service in conjunction with learn-

ing was on a mission trip in 2010 when I visited the Oglala-

Lakota tribe of Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota with a

small group from my local church. There I spent eight days

learning about the history and culture of the tribe while also

working on house and trailer reparations. Re-Member, the

organization with which our group worked, sandwiched the

workday with talks on history and identity as well as included

trips to sites of significance on the reservation, truly working

on exposing us to the Lakota way. When I left, I felt inspired

but also felt I did not have enough time on “the rez” to fully

comprehend the implications and identity of being Oglala

Lakota.

Since that trip, I have wanted to participate in a service-

learning program, which unlike a mission trip is formally struc-

tured to incorporate longer-term service and learning . Howev-

er, I did not want to study in just any service-learning program.

I desired a program that struck a balance between learning

and service, where each informed the other, as Andrew Furco

writes in his article “Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to

Experiential Learning.” He declares that any program that

does not find the two components equal in focus nor benefits

both the recipient and provider equally is not in fact a service-

learning program but volunteerism, community service, intern-

ship, or field education. I firmly agree with this assessment. I

also wished for a curriculum that realized its impacts in the

community and in service as a cultural entity, recognized the

13

role the student’s identity plays within cultural interactions,

and provided space for reflection.

Sara Grusky discusses these three important topics in her

work “International Service Learning: A Critical Guide from

an Impassioned Advocate,” where she states that reflection,

critical analysis and preparation are imperative to a well-

functioning service-learning experience. Grusky also insists

students acknowledge their identity as an “other” in the con-

text of Latin America and encourages them to look beyond

their treatment to the source of the differences. I hoped to

discover a program where reflection, critical analysis, and

preparation were all integrated into the program. I feel that

these are all essential to finding a comprehension of culture

and the greater motivations behind culture.

I felt that the CIEE Service-Learning Santiago Program could

offer me this opportunity; to find a deeper and more mean-

ingful understanding of the culture and its history of develop-

ment, while also gaining skills to help me in my future, espe-

cially my studies as an International Development student

with an Education major. I wanted all of this while the pro-

gram also maintained a service-learning plan where the aca-

demics and service components are integrated with one

another and creating times for reflection within the structure

of the program. .

While I still do not know if I will be able to achieve all my

goals, what I have experienced so far indicates that this pro-

gram teaches new skills and understanding, challenges old

ideas, and introduces many new concepts. For example,

reflection is actually a required part of our curriculum for two

of our classes, where we have to write papers and have dis-

cussions on our experiences thus far. Even though required

reflection may seem like a strange concept, it is very helpful

in a program that is so full of activity. We also have had nu-

merous discussions and readings since our first week here

about our identity and how we are experiencing Dominican

culture. Our motivations and interpretations get challenged.

For instance, our first full day in the country, we read an arti-

cle about whether service-learning actually benefits anyone

or if it only harms. This led to us conversing about our moti-

vations in studying abroad and whether we believed we

could benefit and the communities could benefit in our time

here. Though these are just a few examples, I have had

many other program experiences where I felt I was receiving

the characteristics I desired. I am excited to continue learn-

ing and expanding as my semester continues.

“Our motivations and

interpretations get

challenged.”

14

For as long as I can remember, studying abroad is something

that I have wanted to do. When I was younger, however, the

idea seemed like a distant fantasy that I would actualize. Lat-

er, between the end of my freshman and sophomore years of

college, the possibility became more realistic as upperclass-

men, peers of mine, began to take off for and return from their

study abroad experiences. Realizing that the opportunity to

study abroad was finally within my reach was very exciting.

However, I was slightly worried about finding a program that

would line up well with my academic and professional inter-

ests; one that would provide me the opportunity to do some-

thing that felt meaningful to me. Luckily, one day after work, I

stopped at the Study Abroad Office and came across infor-

mation about CIEE Service-Learning in Santiago, Dominican

Republic. As a Human Services major at the George

Washington University, I feel extremely lucky to have been

enrolled in wonderful service-learning courses. I chose the

CIEE Service-Learning program in Santiago, not only because

it would allow me to build on the service-learning experiences I

have had thus far, but because it would also allow me to push

myself further as a scholar through the research and Capstone

project. Overall, I chose this program to spend a sufficient

amount of time with a community organization, take classes

that compliment both the fieldwork and each other, improve

my Spanish, immerse myself in Dominican culture, and chal-

lenge myself academically.

The classes we take this semester are “Social Research Meth-

ods and Investigation,” “Poverty and Development: Dominican

Republic Case Study,” “Spanish,” “Community Advocacy In-

ternship, and Independent Research Capstone.” We attend

classes for the entirety of two days a week and work at various

local community-based organizations for the entirety of two

days as well. During my time in this country, I will be working

at una escuela comunitaria (community school), managed by

an organization called Oné Respe, where I will primarily be

teaching English to 3rd and 4th graders. Oné Respe is a non-

profit organization that serves marginalized Dominican and

Haitian neighborhoods, striving to create stronger communi-

ties, promote race and gender equality, and foster a better

understanding of human rights.

Just What I Was Looking For

Darla Wynn

International Studies

15

Throughout the semester, I will be working on social research

and a Capstone project specific to the organization and the

community to which the school belongs. Toward the end of

the semester, I will have the chance to present my project to

Oné Respe and the community in hopes that my research will

be useful to them. Although this is a bit intimidating, especially

with everything in Spanish, this process fits perfectly into

CIEE’s four core principles of service-learning: 1) Engage-

ment 2.) Reflection 3.) Reciprocity and 4.) Public Dissemina-

tion.

I get to engage with a very special organization, reflect on my

learning through my classes as well as my projects, aim to be

as helpful as the people in my organization are with me, and

share my findings with the community that helped me attain

them, hoping they find my research useful after my departure.

I am very grateful to be here in the Dominican Republic partic-

ipating in what will be a very challenging and fulfilling semes-

ter. Furthermore, I am excited to expand and improve my way

of thinking and to attain more skills that will serve me well for

the rest of my life.

“I am very grateful to be here

in the Dominican Republic

participating in what will be a very

challenging and fulfilling semester.”

16

Unexpected Lessons

Before going into my sophomore year of college, I did not

think studying abroad was for me. It had been a joke be-

tween one of my best friends and I that we were going to

go to Spain and study together for a semester. It was only

a dream. Then one day I walked in to the International

Center at University of Missouri, and the advisor informed

me that dream could become a reality and he had the

perfect program for me that would fit my major and per-

sonality impeccably. I told him about my academic inter-

ests, my community service, and basically my life story.

Hearing all of this had reaffirmed his program of choice

for me. He concluded by saying I might have the oppor-

tunity to work in a local hospital.

The program he spoke of was Service-Learning. I had nev-

er heard of Service-Learning before, so it had caught my

interest. He told me it would be in the Dominican Repub-

lic, and I was unsure if that was my ideal destination. I

had my mind set on Spain and I was not sure if I would

change that. After a couple days of thinking, the idea of

Service-Learning intrigued me more and more. I knew

that the Dominican Republic was one of the less economi-

cally advanced countries of the Western Hemisphere. I

thought I would be able to work together with and help

the local community and have the opportunity to learn

the language I need to improve my future career in Nurs-

ing. It was exactly what I wanted to do.

There have been several events that have reaffirmed my

decision to come here, but there is one that has stood

above all the others. We took a trip to a small community

of about 150 people, called Rio Grande Abajo. At this

community we were to help them paint tanques (tanks),

which are old oil tanks that will be used as trash cans

throughout the community. The purpose of this was to

negotiate with the local government to provide trash ser-

vices to people who previously threw trash in the woods

or burned it. So far it has been the most enlightening and

“I think about how for a child he knows so much, and I, a young

adult, have yet to barely skim the surface of my community”

Kenny Strauss

Pre-nursing

17

fun that I have had since I have been here. There was one

little boy whom I worked with painting a tanque together.

He was about seven or eight years old. We talked about

what he likes to do, what sports he likes to play, and how

school is going for him. It may have not meant much to him,

but talking with him really touched me. He taught me things

that I didn’t know about his community, such as the prob-

lems they have with trash and his education program. It was

amazing to see how knowledgeable he was about his com-

munity for his age. Talking to him has made me think about

how hard I need to work to better know my community and

how I want to make a difference.

I work in Pekín Abajo, which is a subdivision of an area called

La Zona Sur (Southern Zone). Here, I work at an UNAP (first

level of medical attention). I help treat small wounds, give

vaccinations, and make house calls. I plan on doing an investi-

gation on how exercise can change the lives of people with

diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Every day that I

am in the community, I think of that little boy and how I need

to push myself every day to make a difference. I think about

how for a child he knows so much, and I, a young adult, have

yet to skim the surface of my community understanding.

When I first got to the Dominican Republic, I was not entirely

sure what I wanted to accomplish here. I knew I wanted to

improve my Spanish and have the opportunity to advance my

knowledge around a medical setting. Since being here, I have

expanded this list. I want to learn to merengue (traditional

dance in the DR) and make life-long friends outside of the

program. Most importantly I want to make a difference in

the lives of the people involved in my investigation and I look

forward to the change they can make in my life through

teaching me about their community.

18

This past month, beloved CIEE Service-Learning alumni, Mike

Gerson passed away. Mike was an adventurous, exuberant,

vivacious young man with a natural ability to make everyone

around him laugh to the point of tears. Mike arrived in Santiago

in Fall of 2010, a psychology major at Dickinson College. In his

time in the Service-Learning program, he worked side-by-side

with health promoters at Juan XXIII, a community health clinic,

to visit homes and complete medical check-ups. He researched

the levels and lifestyles leading to hypertension in the communi-

ty. For his project, he successfully created a club for healthy

lifestyle and hypertension prevention for those at risk.

The club is still up and running today, with members engaging in

regular walks for exercise and coming together to support each

other in preventative health pursuits.

Mike will be deeply missed by his student cohorts, CIEE staff,

and community members. In his four months in the country, he

touched so many lives, not only those who are still reaping the

benefits of his community project today, but also the many indi-

viduals who were lucky enough to interact with him on a daily

basis. We send our most sincere condolences to Mike’s family

in this difficult time. We hope the memories of Mike’s experience

in the Dominican Republic serve as a reminder of the beautiful

life he led.

Mike prepares to play baseball at Rio Grande Abajo

CIEE Remembers Mike Gerson

Alumni Fall 2010

Mike leads an impromptu rap battle with Rio Grande Community members

19

Mike’s natural ability to make people laugh was key to his suc-

cess on the program. He could connect with anyone: his fellow

students and staff, his supervisors at his community organiza-

tion, Juan XXIII, and the local people we met during excur-

sions. During the program, he was learning to play the guitar.

When I say “learning,” I mean he barely knew one song, "What

I Got,” by Sublime. On our rural stay at Rio Limpio, we found

ourselves at somebody’s house, drinking hot chocolate with

several Dominican community members. Mike spied a guitar in

the corner of the room, and without hesitation, picked it up and

began playing the one song he knew. He must have stopped

and started twenty times, each time, saying to his audience

“un minuto,” (one minute). Eventually, “un minuto” became

part of the song, and everyone in the room was chuckling into

their mugs of hot chocolate. It was Mike’s willingness to let go

of embarrassment and live in the present that allowed him

soak up his experience here in every possible way. He taught

me and everyone around him to do the same.

Three years after my study abroad experience, I decided to

take on an alumni internship with CIEE Service-Learning. At

my goodbye party, Mike and I joked about stowing him away in

my suitcase and having him jump out and surprise the direc-

tors upon our arrival. Though I decided packing Mike would

put me past the 50-pound limit, I resolved to bring his spirit of

adventure, his sense of humor, and his ability to relate to all

sorts of people with me on the trip.

After being back in the DR for two months, I found out that my

friend Mike had passed away. It was impossible for me to di-

gest that the world had lost such a vibrant spirit. My inclination

was to hide, to sit in silence, to cry. In truth, I did all those

things for a while, but then I remembered a quote from a book

I had read recently:

“You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell

sad stories, and we made the funny choice,” (John Green, The

Fault in our Stars). I realized that when I truly started to re-

member Mike again, and our time in the Dominican Republic, I

could not help but laugh. I thought about his fake marriage

proposal to my host mom, Rafaela, his brown-smudged face

after our mud fight in Rio Limpio, and his insistence that the

buildings at our university shifted overnight just to confuse us. I

remembered these stories, trying to make the funny choice.

I try to keep Mike alive in my mind and in my work with the

students, other staff, and community members every day. I try

to relinquish embarrassment, to say yes to adventure, to make

constant human connections, but most of all, to laugh, loudly,

and deeply, without holding back.

Choosing Laughter

Julia Rubin, Alumni Intern

20

For more information, contact:

CIEE Advisor: Jensine Fraser, jfraser@ciee.org

Center Director: Lynne Guitar, lguitar@ciee.org

Resident Coordinator: Tommy DeMarco, tdemarco@ciee.org

Program Assistant: Dorka Tejada, dtejada@ ciee.org

Alumni Intern: Julia Rubin, slintern@ciee.org

Website: www.ciee.org

Blog: http://study-abroad-blog-santiago-dr-sl.ciee.org/

Facebook: cieesldr

Visit CIEE Service-Learning to

begin changing the world.

"Never doubt that a small group "Never doubt that a small group "Never doubt that a small group

of thoughtful , committed citizens of thoughtful , committed citizens of thoughtful , committed citizens

can change the world; indeed, can change the world; indeed, can change the world; indeed,

it's the only thing that ever has."it's the only thing that ever has."it's the only thing that ever has."

--- Margaret Mead Margaret Mead Margaret Mead