This Summer, 14 students and three faculty members are traveling to the Dominican Republic to build a house for a family with the organization Cambiando Vidas. Please enjoy the blog posts below from JT ’26, Blythe ’27, and Annie ’27 as they share about their final day in San Juan, where students completed and celebrated the transformation of a house into a home, sharing heartfelt goodbyes with the local community as they reflected on the deep bonds, gratitude, and personal growth forged through a week of hard work, learning, and joy.
By JT ‘26:
Rejuvenated by a slightly later wake-up, we arrived at the worksite today to finish out the house. The house’s concrete floors had dried, along with the cement patio outside. The electrician had started wiring the outlets in and other workers had begun to install the windows. But first we needed to paint the concrete walls. We started with a white primer followed by the final, beige coat. As we put these finishing touches on the walls around us, it felt hard to believe that what had been a short stack of bricks had turned into an almost complete home.
After we finished the paint job and left the construction site—now house—for the penultimate time, we went over to José’s house for some pizza, followed by a relaxing few hours in the hotel, in addition to packing.
Afterwards, we headed out in the Tenguerengue to the house for the last time. There, we presented Orvi with the keys to the house, before dancing in front of a live band. It felt strange to see what had been a mere construction site turn into a home—an almost living, breathing part of the community—but felt so satisfying. We ate the first meal served in the house—a delicious stew, with a side of chicken—and my joy at finishing the house was diluted with the disappointment that we would be leaving so soon. As we mounted the bus steps to leave the home for the last time we waved goodbye to Dani, Orvi, Kathrine and the countless other friends we had made in such a short time. Since these sudden, tight connections had enveloped us like a tight, warm blanket, it pained me to see them go.
As I sit here, amid packing to head back to Santo Domingo, I feel that this trip will always hold a special place in my heart. The food, the people, the place—something here is so intangible yet so special. It exists in the connections we’ve made, the joy we’ve shared, and the lessons we’ve learned on the way. As the Tenguerengue awaits us outside for one last trip, I feel an overwhelming gratitude for this experience—and will hold it in my heart forever.
By Blythe ’27:
Hello all, Blythe here. Today was a “sleep-in,” so an extra 30 minutes of rest…an exciting 7:00 wake up! My roommates and I scrambled to apply our last day of sunscreen and final coat of bug spray. For breakfast, we ate in the common room, and I had lots of toast with peanut butter. After breakfast, we hopped on the Tenguerengue and arrived at the worksite at around 8:30. When we got to the house, we were greeted with hugs and a warm embrace from our team and family. Today was all about finishing touches, as it was our last (half) day of construction. We were all super excited because today, Sunday, meant paint day! Jose picked a sand color for the exterior of the house, with white finishes on the windows. We all grabbed some paint brushes and began swiping the paint from edge to edge. We worked together filling in the cracks, refilling paint buckets, and reaching the highest points of the ceiling. At around 10, we had finished the priming layer and waited for the color to dry. We hung out in one of the bedrooms, enjoying the shade, talking with one another, and celebrating the culmination of our hard work. We talked with some of the girls from around the neighborhood and even got to play some volleyball with them! We left the worksite at around 12:30 and drove to Jose’s house to eat some pizza for lunch. We were all so excited to see the final reveal at night!
We got back to the hotel, took our overalls off for the last time, and hopped in the shower. We met at 3 to hear the final two presentations. Jarron and Emma taught us about the healthcare systems in the DR, including the differences between private and public healthcare, and the importance of access to medical assistance. Then, Zara and Katherine taught us about education within the Dominican Republic, and we completed an engaging journal entry and participated in a compelling discussion. After the presentations, we finished up packing and met downstairs for a celebratory treat—FROYO!! We went to the same place we did earlier in the week so we were all pros with our orders.
After froyo, we went back to the hotel and got ready for the celebration. We arrived back at the house at around 6:30, and were so happy to see the family enjoying their new home. We were welcomed into the backyard where there was a surprise live band! A lot of families were there to celebrate, and we had a great time on the dance floor. Before the night ended, Cole and I gave speeches, and mine was as follows: “Coming here I was prepared to build a house. A place with four walls, a ground, and a roof. But starting on the first day, when we as a collective, began stacking bricks, I realized this process would result in so much more than just the construction of a place. I noticed that as the walls got higher, the holes got filled, and the floor got paved, we weren’t just making a house, but rather, we were being welcomed into a home. The way everyone encourages each other, lifts each other up, and greeted us with hugs is the foundation of this home. The strong relationships we built, and share is what forms the walls of this place. A couple nights ago, Jose told us that, “when you touch something with your hands, you also touch them with your heart.” Everyone here constructed this house with their hands, and through doing so, will walk away with a new feeling, a new meaning of home in our hearts. This family, all of us together, will endure and connect forever. I walk away from this week with so much gratitude—for the friendships, the warmth, the laughs, and above all else, a key that unlocked a room with these people and this place.” Thank you for an incredible trip, and to my fam—I’ll see you soon!
By Annie ’27:
Hello Deerfield Families. Today was our last day of building the house, and it was a shorter day than usual because of our fiesta in the evening, so we got to work early in the morning. We woke up as usual at the hotel and had breakfast in the sunlit dining room as a group. By today we had gotten into a routine with our rides in the Tenguerengue (the perfectly named bus), and I enjoyed the beautiful Dominican countryside, with its large mountains and plentiful rice fields, on the ride over to the worksite. At the worksite there was a sense of excitement among the group and the other volunteers, because we were finally seeing our work come to fruition. The house was really coming together, and all that was left for today was painting and cleaning up the surrounding area for our celebration later that night. Blythe, Zara, Katherine, Ms. Boudway and I got put on loading the wood duty, so we took the large pieces of wood that had been used for molding the cement on the house into Jose’s truck to be taken up to his house. The loading process was difficult, but we worked well as a team because we all are used to each other’s work style and mannerisms by now. The entire team was working much better together than how we started on Wednesday. Once the wood had been loaded into the truck, rode to jose’s house, and got to see the Dominican countryside, with the wind on our faces. We unloaded the wood at Jose’s house and rode back to the worksite, to help with the painting. Throughout the shorter workday there was so much love given to us by the people of the house, and I always felt welcomed into their family. Katherine, the mom of the family, helped us paint the house, and I was able to talk to her more – with some help from Emma because of my lack of Spanish – which was super interesting, because I was able to learn more about her life. Her husband and her have been very inspiring to me because of their persistence through life, and the work that both commit to their house. Back at the work site, we worked on getting the second coat of paint on the house, as the primer had been laid down while we were gone. While I worked, I talked with plenty of my Deerfield friends but also made connections with the workers on the site, including finding another person who spoke French, which was exciting. Jarron and I talked to him for a little while were painting the windows, and I was relieved about the fact that I had finally found someone who I could learn from without needing the aid of Emma or the other Spanish speakers, because of the language barrier. When we finished painting, we gave big hugs to the family and promised to come to the fiesta, which was nice because it was a more private, special goodbye before the whole community one later that night. Next, we drove to Jose’s house to eat some pizza! I was so excited to have pizza, because while the rice and beans have been delicious, it was super comforting to get some food that I knew from back home. The pizza was top tier, and I don’t know if it was out of desperation or just because of the yummy spices Dominicans use, but it was one of the best pepperoni pizzas I have had. After we ate lunch with Jose we went back to the hotel and had time to get ready and pack up before we heard from the Education and Healthcare groups on their presentations. I have enjoyed getting to hear my peers talk about what they have learned because it feels more personal, and interesting than just hearing from adults all the time. After the presentations we went out to Fro-Yo and got to walk around the city of San Juan more, which was intriguing because we have only seen it from the Tenguerengue. Then it was time for the party, so we all got dressed up and headed over to the worksite for the final time. The atmosphere entering the party was a little bittersweet because we were both so proud of the work we had done, but also super sad about having to leave behind the connections we had made. We heard from multiple speakers, including Blythe, Cole, Mr. Graves, and Ms. Boudway, who all talked about the connections they had made and what this trip meant for them. Then we ate dinner and started celebrating. There was a live band and everyone was dancing together. It was truly special to see the full mix of cultures and people, and I loved that people were dancing with everyone in the community. The live band was so fun, and I have never been in that lively an atmosphere before. It felt so full of love and joy, and I was so happy to get to celebrate the start of a new chapter in Orvi and Katherine’s life. Soon, it was time to leave so we all piled onto the bus after lots of hugs and many goodbyes. It was so sad to have to leave them, but at the same time I am so grateful for the connections I was able to make across this week. It truly feels like I was welcomed into a family, and I am so happy that my small amount of effort was able to impact a community. As Jose has been saying throughout the week, when you touch something with your hand, you also touch it with your heart. Now it is time to go to Santo Domingo and then wrap up our trip, but I will always carry the people I have met and the experiences I have had with me. Mom and Dad, I love you so much and can’t wait to see you soon.
