Keep up with the Phoenix during their global experience in the Dominican Republic. Freshman Trevor Kirk reflects on Monday's community service project in the city of Gautier and the team's visit to the Kansas City Royals Academy.
Upon the completion of our full first day in the Dominican Republic, our team enjoyed a night’s rest in preparation for an equally enriching second day. With breakfast in our system, we embarked upon our day’s itinerary, which consisted of a community service opportunity, practice and tour of the Kansas City Royals’ Dominican Academy, and reflective journaling.
After a short thirty-minute bus ride west, we reached Gautier, our destination for the community service opportunity. As an impoverished city just outside of Santo Domingo, Gautier boasts a large population of lower-class families in the sugar cane harvesting industry. Tasked with painting two newly constructed houses in the town, we were guided through the town towards what was going to become a very eye-opening experience for our whole team.
Walking through the town to reach the two houses, we witnessed the squalid conditions of the overwhelming majority of the community. For yet another time on the trip, we met a distinct cultural difference upon reaching the houses. The two houses resembled that of what we would typically call a “shack,” but to these people, even having a living space meant the world. As we painted the houses blue and white, the local children even offered to help out. While we were able to paint two houses, this opportunity transcended that of a simple service event. Common takeaways for myself and the team were a realization of the extreme economic privilege we have and of the joy that the people, especially the children, of Gautier possessed.
After a short return for lunch and some downtime, we left on the bus for the Kansas City Royals’ Academy, where we’d hold a practice, take a tour of the facility, and take part in a cultural event. The bus ride towards Boca Chica and Santo Domingo was interesting, because we ended up winding through a few of the other Major League academies. Compared to the field that we held our youth clinic at, all of these facilities were in pristine condition for the best prospects in all of the country. As we pulled up to the Royals’ first-class facility, it was much of the same.
Before practice began, we received a briefing as to the operational aspects of the academy system in the Dominican Republic from Jeff Diskin, the head of the Royals’ operations at the academy. As for our practice, it was a great chance for our team to get some work in at such a gorgeous complex in preparation for our games later in the week. Our pitchers were able to throw off their bullpen mounds, while our hitters took batting practice in their cages and on one of the fields.
After our short practice we had genuine a cultural experience, as we were able to receive a tour of the Royals’ facility from their English-proficient prospects and engage in conversation with the other not-so-proficient prospects. As we broke off into smaller groups with individual players from the Royals’ organization, we were shown the entirety of the academy's operation. My group’s leader, Onliber, a twenty-one year old pitcher that spoke perfect English, showed us everything from their bunk-style rooms, to the weight room and classrooms, to their cafeteria.
When all the groups came back together, we were able to converse with the other players in order to encourage a cross-cultural experience for both parties. While the language barrier proved to be difficult, most of us were able to hold a general conversation with the assistance of the Royals’ staff members and some of the better Spanish-speakers on the team. From the conversations we were involved in, our team was able to connect and bond with an entirely different cultural group of baseball players. The Royals’ staff emphasized the importance of this cultural exchange, as the ability to use English once reaching the minor leagues in the States is a tremendous part of their acclimation to the U.S. On our end, the exchange taught us the importance of language proficiency and the cultural impact of baseball among other things.
Finally, after bussing back to our resort, we spent the night winding down with dinner, a time for reflective journaling, and rest after such a long day. By journaling and responding to specific prompts, we recalled the events of the day while formulating thoughts and conclusions about our cultural immersion from the day. Overall, it was an enlightening experience that furthered the perspective we’ve been developing in our class about Dominican culture and over the course of the trip so far. I can speak for the whole team by saying that we’re genuinely excited for the rest of this week and the many cultural experiences that we will gain!
Trevor Kirk