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8B Wednesday, February 17, 2011 // The Statement
PERSONALSTATEMENT

'UN CHIN IN THE DOMII
A SP R ING B RE AK O F BU IL
LATRINES AND EATING T(
BY ANDREW KOO

hen I signed up for Pre-
Med Club's Alternative
Spring Break, I never
imagined that I could change, but
from day one in the Dominican
Republic, I knew that I had been
completely wrong. When some-
one told me this trip was going to
change my life, I did not anticipate
what was going to happen.
By the time we made it to Neyba,
a community on the west side of the
country, it was pitch black outside
and you could see every single star
in the sky. We had been crammed
into a small bus-van for four hours,
and we came to a stop. Eventually,
our directors told us that the bus
would not make it up the moun-
tain where our living complex was
because there was no real road. So
instead, we had to sit in pick-up
truck beds, with six or seven to a
bed. The ride was an hour long. As
we rode, feeling every rock, pebble
and boulder on our butts, we had no
idea what was beyond the blackness
that surrounded us.
The next morning, all of us were
in complete awe. The complex we
were staying at was the most beau-
GRADES
From Page 5B
125 but be able, to skip every Econ
102 lecture and pass the final while
barely studying, it may be opposite
for his or her roommate.
But grades aren't always an indi-
cator of the ease or difficulty of a
class, as there are exceptions and
special cases.
The Museum Studies Program -
in which 92 percent of the students
received an A - was in its first
year as an undergraduate program
in the 2009-2010 academic year.
Duane Carl, an intermittent math
lecturer, teaches a Summer Bridge
class for the Comprehensive Stud-
ies Program, which is a transition-
al learningcommunity for students
who come from less academically-
rigorous backgrounds. He gave out
four As, six Bs, six Cs and four Ds
in the fall 2009 semester.

tiful place. We were literally staying
on a mountainside, surrounded by
forests, small makeshift homes and
a breathtaking view. After having a
meal that was prepared by Domini-
can women, we were divided into
three groups, two of which would
build latrines in the community.
The third would stay in the com-
munity and talk to residents about
sexual health and teen pregnancy.
On the ride down the mountain, we
finally found out where we were,
how amazingly beautiful the area
was and how we were in paradise.
We could see off the side of the
mountain three feet to our left, and
with the wind in our faces sitting in
those trucks, we all just smiled as
we bumped down the road.
We worked all day in 90-degree
weather; we were always dusty,
dirty, sweaty and warm; we dug
holes for trash; we mixed and
laid cement; we built latrines; we
worked with people who lived on
$350 a month. That's what we did,
and it isn't. As we arrived at each
worksite, we were always swarmed
with kids who wanted to see and
meet the "Americanos." We always
Though the majority of students
in the Michigan Marching Band
walk away with an A, band member
and LSA junior Jenny Barger says no
one signs up for five-days-a-week,
hour-and-a-half-long practices and
Football Saturday commitment to
boost their GPA.
"The minimum amount of time
that you're required to spend on
the field is 15 hours each week,"
she said. "Given the fact that its
a two-credit class, it's way, more
work than a regular class."
Many factors beyond grades
determine whether a class is dif-
ficult or hard. There were positive
evaluations among the "toughest"
graders at the University and nega-
tive ones among the "easiest."
"No grading system is perfect or
free from error," Perron said. "But
it is important that we continu-
ally strive to improve our system
of evaluation to ensure it's reliable
and valid."

N IC A N tthings were covered in ice and snow
in Michigan. People asked me if all
the water was frozen solid, if we
D)IN G could wash our clothes and asked
how we bathed. Something so sim-
) R 0 N JA 5 ple seemed so foreign to them. Even
being Asian was a foreign concept.
The other students in our group
were called "Americanos," but not
me. I was "un chino" or "Jackie
had toys and candy to share. That Chan," one that could speak Span-
meant that our work was always ish nonetheless. They were so sur-
mixed with playing catch, photo prised.
shoots, jumping rope and eating On one of the days, I had the
candy. Once, a little girl came up to opportunity to go to the schools
us wantingto play, and we noticed a and talk about teen pregnancy. In
this school, we had
"I changed in a way that I around 70 kids,
ranging from ages
couldn't even explain, that I still of I to 18. As we
talked with the

and it's glory. As we hiked, Rafelito
disappeared, and then it started to
rain toronjas (grapefruits in Span-
ish). Carlos began picking them up
one by one and started to peel them
with his machete. I just about died
of happiness. And then, it started
to rain oranges and when I thought
it couldn't get any better, we were
hiking down the side of a moun-
tain chomping on fresh-off-the-tree
fruit.
So on my spring break, I went to
different bars and built latrines. I
went swimming in the most beau-
tiful beach, played catch with little
kids, I kicked it on a catamaran and
learned how to speak Spanish like
a Dominican. I hiked a mountain
and talked about condoms and saw
some of the most resilient people, all
while meeting and getting to know
incredible students from the Uni-
versity. Contrary to my prior beliefs,
I changed. I changed in a way that
I couldn't even explain, that I still
can't explain. But most importantly,
I want to go back. I want to be like
the people we met in the Domini-
can Republic, people who love the
people of their country, who give
up everything to better other's
lives, who dedicate their lives to a
seemingly impossible cause, who
are making a difference. For them,
what they do is little and small, but
for us, for the people they help, they
are a blessing. They are role models.
They are who we aspire to be.
- Andrew Koo is an LSA Junior

can't explain."
large burn about the size of a post-it
on her leg. Her mother told us that
it was a motorcycle burn, a bunch
of pre-med kids jumped into action,
patching her up and helping her. All
the time, she was smiling, saying it
didn't hurt and thanking us. It was
moments like these that reaffirmed
why we were there.
As a Spanish-speaker, my expe-
rience was different, and I had
the opportunity to talk with the
families about things that seem so
simple to us in the U.S. - things
like washing their hands before and
after preparing food, after using
the bathroom and before eating a
meal. I got to share with people that

students, I trans-
lated for the others
with me. At one point, a girl stood
up and spoke. She was 28 years old,
had her first child at 13, had three
other kids, and more amazingly,
she was in school with her eldest
son. She wanted to share with the
other kids about how it changed her
life and what she had to sacrifice in
order to be a mom at 13. As heavy as
that was, as emotionally draining
as every day seemed to be, each day
seemed better than the last.
The best day of the week involved
a random hike through the woods
with three incredible people in
my group, one of our facilitators,
Raudo, and two local kids, Rafelito
and Carlos, who knew the mountain

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