UCS SENIOR TRIP -- Days 3 & 4

Day Three -- Tuesday

Tuesday was beach day! There was no specified time to get up, but almost everyone was on the beach by mid-morning. The Lord gave us an absolutely perfect day -- not a cloud in the sky!

The water of the Caribbean is as blue as the photos look, but somebody forgot to tell us what was under the water -- very rocky and full of painful sea urchins! Fortunately most people brought water shoes, which made wading and swimming much easier, although not before Christian Voytko and a couple others got a foot full of sea urchin spines!

Some people just relaxed in the beach chairs, some snorkeled among the colorful fish, some played volleyball (ask Libi and Lauren about their very "European" teammates!), and some relaxed around the pool. Even Taylor Topper made it out to the beach -- in jeans and tennis shoes, of course!

One of the (ahem) unique features of the resort is an endless parade of peddlers, walking the beach, selling everything from hats and necklaces to sunglasses and sarongs to 3x5 foot paintings!  Many of the women offered quick massages as well. (Although the LAST thing I want when I am out in the hot sun is to have someone put her hands on me!)  Maybe it's my age,  but I found myself getting annoyed with the same people asking me every five minutes if I wanted to buy something. But several of us did buy some things. One guy was making really cool personalized bracelets, and Frank got some sunglasses on credit! The peddlers were funny that way. Many of them offered to let you have an item and pay them later. Wonder how honest people are?


Those peddlers were just a warmup for our trip into the capital city of Santo Domingo. Jen, one of the teachers at the school, served as our tour guide, and took us to the touristy areas to shop for souvenirs. It was funny that we went into a building that reminded  me of a flea market, and every booth had almost the exact same junk, I mean, stuff.  And it was all about the negotiations -- trying to finagle the best deal. The guys headed straight for the knives and machetes, but don't worry, parents! The machetes are sold dull, so they won't be able to chop their arms off until they get home and get them sharpened!

Then we went to another street of shops, and found a larger variety of things, including a great cheap jewelry store. It was a lot like Forever 21 stuff, but even cheaper, if you can believe that. I got three pairs of earrings and a hair clip for just $7!  Jimmy and Dillon took the opportunity for some home cookin' -- at Pizza Hut!  

Santo Domingo is one of the oldest cities in the New World, and Jen gave us a quick historical tour. First stop was Christopher Columbus plaza, which is in front of the oldest church in the western hemisphere. There were at least a gazillion pigeons in the plaza because there were guys selling birdseed. Of course the kids had to get in on that, and several even had pigeons eating out of their hands! Somebody put some of the corn in Brandon Meyers' hair, and the rest of us were treated to a dance show when the birds landed on his head!

We continued our walk around to the old jail, then  to a place sacred to the Dominicans. For many years, the DR had been under the rule of the dictator Trujillo, who had been a friend and ally of Hitler, who even sent him some iron grates decorated with swastikas that were  designed to adorn his burial vault. However, when Trujillo was overthrown and killed, he was buried in some secret location, and his vault was then turned into a place of honor for the heroes killed in the revolution. As a reminder of the evil past, the swastika grates have been left in place. We finished the tour (in the rain) walking down the hill by the original city walls across from the house/palace that once was the home of Christopher Columbus' brother.

We returned to the resort for dinner and an early devotion, as the morning call for white water rafting was on the bus at 5:45 AM!

DAY FOUR -- Wednesday 

Holy moly, 5:45 is too early to be up! But the kids are such troopers, they were... well, can't really call it bright-eyed or bushy-tailed, but they were at least up and moving. It was a long bus ride, about 3 1/2 hours through the capital and up into the mountains to get to Rancho Baiguate for white water rafting. When we got there, a hot breakfast was waiting for us. That was nice, but I must admit, I was terrified, almost to the point of backing out. It was cold, for one thing, as it was overcast and the clouds looked ominous. Then getting outfitted with wetsuit, life vest and helmet was pretty embarrassing. The guides loaded us up into trucks and we had to ride about 15 minutes farther to the headwaters of the river. I found out later that I wasn't the only one panicking, but my fear kicked into overdrive when Frank said the water was much higher than it had been two years ago. As we began the safety lesson on shore, I just started praying. I was terrified of falling out of the boat or the whole boat flipping, but I didn't want to be a wimp. It was funny -- as soon as I got in that icy cold water, I was ok. (thank you, Lord!)

Well, "ok" may be stretching it, but I wasn't freaking out anymore. The scariest rapids were at the beginning of the run, with names like "Mike Tyson Jr. 1 & 2" and "Mike Tyson, Sr.," and "The Valley of Death." Frank and Cissy, who have rafted this river before, kept saying how the water was much higher and the rapids much faster than before. Oh yeah, THAT helped calm the nerves!

The first casualty out of the boat was Kyle Blanton on the  first set of rapids, but he was quickly pulled back in. Soon thereafter, Victoria and Angie Pittman we're bounced out of their boat. Angie was closest to us, so we pulled her in with us until the rescue boat could get her. As soon as she was in the rescue boat, she pulled out her waterproof camera and started snapping pictures! Now that's dedication! Angie has been our intrepid photographer for the whole trip.

The first flipped boat was the one with Jessyca Hayward and Tiffany Jackson (who was as scared as I was!) The guide tossed Jessyca on top of the flipped boat, while Tiffany was hanging out underneath! Amazingly, Tiff said she didn't feel so scared anymore, and they were soon back in the boat and on their way.

Taylor Topper and several in his boat got bounced out too, and just before the halfway mark, I sustained the most serious injury of the day. In the safety lesson, they tell you that before you get down in the boat to ride the rapids, you need to pull your foot out of the foothold. Well, in a rush to get down in the boat before we went over a huge drop, I forgot to pull my foot out, and now I know why they tell you to do that. I sprained my ankle. Fortunately, it happened just as we were stopping at the halfway point, so our guide, Misael,  was able to check it out to make sure it wasn't broken. Keeping my foot in the icy water at least kept the swelling down!

The second half was much less eventful, well, except for the part called "The Cemetery." Our guide wanted Frank and Heath, who were seated in the front, to come to the back to hold the boat while he went to the front. Frank thought he meant jump out, so he did! Unfortunately, it was just as we headed into the rapids, so Misael flew to the front to help Heath pull Frank back in, and we went through "The Cemetery" by the seat of our wetsuits!

Several other students took a splash, including Christian Voytko, Kayla Soucy, Kindal Terry, and  Jessie Jones. But all finished the trip safe and sound.

The guys who lead those rafting excursions are CRAZY. At one point, they climbed a rock about 25 feet in the air and proceeded to do back flips and full gainers into the water! We talked to them on the trip back, and most of them grew up on that river, swimming and tubing those rapids for years. Their exuberance was infectious! You can tell they love their jobs. We didn't realize all their shenanigans until we watched the video. While we were trying to make it to through the rapids (and I had my eyes closed every time!) they were mugging for the camera!

We returned to the ranch for lunch and a viewing of the video, which was good for a lot of laughs. It was fun to see what happened to the other boats, and get a good laugh at ourselves.

It was a l-o-n-g bus ride back through Santo Domingo at rush hour. Driving down here is an adventure, to say the least! Cars just go every which way, and there are zillions of scooters and motorcycles whizzing in and out between the lanes. But both of our bus drivers this week have been amazing. They know just how to drive without scaring us to death! Everybody uses the horn a lot too, but I haven't seen any accidents or road rage!

At devotions tonight, we talked about facing our fears. Frank asked how many were scared at any point, and we all raised our hands. Then he asked if any were scared so bad they almost backed out, and several kids and I raised our hands. Then he asked if we would go again, and most of the hands shot up. He then reminded us that the Bible tells us 365 times not to be afraid. He told the students that they were about to be faced with a whole new set of fears as they graduate from high school and go out into the next phase of their lives. He reminded us of Joshua, who had to take over leading the Israelites after the death of Moses, and the first thing God said to him was "fear not," and that they had nothing to fear if they cast their cares on God because He cares for us.

Tomorrow is our last full day on the island, and in the morning we will do some painting at the orphanage and visit with the people in a sugar cane village.  In the afternoon, it's back to the beach for more fun in the sun!  I hope that tomorrow I will have some more photos to post as well.

Vaya con Dios!

Leisha Cowart
For the Class of 2012