Marine Life and Coastal Restoration 2021
My name is Matthew Malchiodi. Most people call me Matt. I’m from the state of New Jersey and my friend invited me to go on a community service trip with her to the Dominican Republic in 2020 (Pushed to 2021).
When we got to Miami, we met this really cool guy there and we just chilled together at the airport. This would be only a taste of what was to come.
When we arrived in the D.R., we went to our rooms and we were assigned rooms. I didn’t get a room because there were not enough beds, but when I did, it was Room #3. There were five guys in our room. At first, I felt like I was gonna be the awkward one in the room. That was far from the case.
Every single person in our room was really nice to each other. We met with some kids from Room #2 and #4, and all of us on the bottom floor really bonded well. Room #3 was the worst room in the building, but we lived with it.
Those are some of the most important people to me in my life, without them, I do not know how I would’ve turned out. I matured a lot on that trip and made lifelong friends.
All of us have an Apple Photo Album and group chat on Snap. I keep a RD$100 Peso in my wallet to remember the trip forever.