Definitely one of the best valentine’s days I have ever had. Valentine’s Day is a big deal in the Dominican Republic, although it is more of a “friendship day” than a "couples’ day" like in America. A lot of people were wearing pink and red around punta cana village and veron. People were out and about partying and walking around Veron. The kids from the barrio in Veron threw a little dance party and invited us. It was so heart warming, all of the kids came up and hugged us as soon as we got there. One of the girls from the barrio even made Katherine a valentine’s day card in school. They set out little trays of homemade cookies and pieces of ham and cheese. It was a really special occasion for them. They danced on their makeshift basketball court with music from a stereo. There was only one light shinning on the court and when they boys had to turn it off to fix the stereo, they showed us into Colleen’s house for light so we wouldn’t get scared. That made my heart melt; they are so thoughtful. As soon as they got the music working, they brought us back out. They were so excited that we were there with them. They played a lot of reggaeton music, which is very popular in the DR. They also played current popular American hip-hop songs. It is amazing that kids living in extreme poverty in this tiny barrio in the Dominican Republic know what songs American kids are currently listening to…now that’s globalization! They also loved free-styling and a lot of them were amazing dancers. Before we left the kids wanted to perform something for us. They sang a rap song in Spanish about “putting trash it the right place for the future.” That was my favorite part of the night. These people are so genuinely thoughtful, I love hanging out with them. Everyone had so much fun dancing and singing with each other, celebrating friendship in the barrio with a warm night under the stars.
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