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Tuesday July 23, 2019

Hello Everyone!

Today we accomplished many things. It first started when the team headed to La Grua, about a two hour drive from the lodge. It is a community that is shared by both people of Dominican and Haitian decent. We had instructions by Tre, one of the interns at 7 Elements, and they taught us how to mix cement properly. Afterwards, we got into groups and made our own cement piles, we also had locals help us which made it interesting and fun. We learned a lot about their community and had cool conversations with all the locals, from the kids to the elderly.

We did an hour and half of work then headed off to have some lunch in a community center. We went back to work in the afternoon under the sun and worked so hard that we finished our project! The basketball court looks really great, now the locals will have somewhere to play until we completely finish it with paint. We were sure to thank the locals for helping us so much with the project as we were leaving their community.

We drove back to the lodge and then went to the beach that is two minute walking distance. After a long day of work, we were excited to eat some delicious dinner. We ate vegetables in rice called locrio, chicken, vegetables, fresh fruit, passion fruit juice, and salad. To finish the day off, we had a great discussion about the 7 Elements of Human Security (the partnership organization based down here in the DR).
Looking forward to another work day tomorrow!

-Leaders of the Day,
Gina & Evelyn

Wednesday July 24, 2019

Hola Todos,

Today was our third day in the Dominican! We had an extra hour of sleep to prepare us for the day ahead. After some great breakfast, we commuted to Cano Dulce on the guagua (bus). We arrived ready for our new project, which is building a bottle house. While the idea of constructing a bottle house was new to us, we got right to work after being split into our groups. We had three groups: collecting water, mixing cement, and smoothing the cement onto the walls.

The locals assisted us with our project, and we were able to rotate our jobs between groups every 30 minutes. Seeing as the locals were very ahead of us in their construction skills, they were so generous in teaching us their techniques. We came back to the lodge for free time and then had dinner. We had an activity about gender, race, class, etc. and then had a reflection on the beach. We are all very excited to get to know each other this week, we already feel like family J

-Quetzali y Paloma

Thursday July 25, 2019

Hola,

Our fourth day started at 8:30am for breakfast along with another group. We had scrambled eggs, with pepper, cereal, oatmeal, fruit, and a delicious banana smoothie. After breakfast, we made our way to Caño Dulce to continue working on the bottle house. There, we continued the empañado, which is applying the smooth layer of cement to the walls of the house. Some of us got to meet Jonny who plays guitar beautifully and is also the community bee-keeper. Some of us even got to taste a fruit called limoncillo.

After an hour or so of work, we did a community tour. We got to see the building that held the world record built with the most water bottles. Regardless, of the many things the community has to offer, we learned about the difficulties they go through, for example, the drought. We got to see the dry river in which this community strongly depended on for water resources. Other groups in GLA have water tank projects on top of the community hill in order to help resolve the drought issue.

To finish off the day, we had dinner followed by a Ted Talk and our discussion related to the central theme of only knowing someones ‘single story’. Lastly, to celebrate the hard work these past three days, we danced a little bit of bachata and played a fun game together.

-Leaders of the Day
Laura y Saul

Friday July 27, 2019

We woke up to a delicious breakfast of pancakes and oatmeal with fruit along with another group (International Development Initiative). We took the bus to Dudu Lagoon and ventured off into the beautiful caves. We took a dip in one of the lagoons, and some of us even jumped off of a ten-foot rock. The water was cold and refreshing in the hot humid air. It started to pour on us mid-swim, but we didn’t mind. Lunch came sooner than expected, and we had spaghetti, chicken, fresh fruit, and salad. After lunch most of us relaxed in the shade, while a few of us played a couple rounds of volleyball.

We then took a ride to Playa Preciosa, which is a beautiful beach accompanied by many friendly vendors. Some of us bought gifts for our family members and friends back home, such as jewelry and wooden carvings. We took a little dip in the calm ocean waves and had a blast lounging on the beach. Some of us even got our hair braided! Once we returned to the lodge, we were welcomed by wonderful tacos and chinola (passionfruit) juice.

We got to learn from and talk with two members of the community named Maicol and Madelyn. We had the opportunity to ask them about what life is like in the Dominican Republic for them, as well as about their future academic and career goals. After our discussion with Maicol and Madelyn was over, we had a dance session with them. We are looking forward to tomorrow, where we will be returning to work in Cano Dulce!

Saturday July 27, 2019

!!Que lo que muchach@s!!

Today we woke up to a humid, sunny morning around 8 AM. Breakfast was in the back kitchen, where we ate eggs, toast, oatmeal, cereal, and last but not least, fruit. After breakfast we took two buses to Caño Dulce. We continued to work on the bottle house, focusing on leveling the soon-to-be cement floor as well as building window frames. Lunch consisted of chicken, rice and beans, fried eggplants, and fruit along with maduros (fried banana).

Afterwards, Jonny gave us a tour of his bee farm which has been passed down to him through several generations while we snacked on some raw cocoa. We worked for a few more hours before heading to the lodge and spending some time in the big pool. While some of us splashed in the pool, others spent their free time reading by the edge or taking a refreshing shower. As for dinner, we had a traditional Dominican dish: Sancocho, consisting of chicken with potatoes and carrots dipped in a special sauce, accompanied by fresh avocado, fruit, and white rice. For the nightly discussion, we watched a video that covered the history and conflict between Haitians and Dominicans.

Our guest speakers were Junior, Papi Walner, and Loubens. They spoke about their experiences as Haitians residing in the Dominican Republic and answered a few questions in regards to their personal life like their safety, worries, and health. To end the night, we all gathered in the kitchen braiding hair, exchanging social media, chismeando, but most importantly, killing dumb bugs with the chancla.
-Hasta luego, sus lideres: Jonathan y Leslie

Sunday July 28, 2019

Hola amigos,

Today we woke up at 5 am due to a massive thunder/lighting storm. It didn’t end til 6:30. We left the home base at 9 to go to Playa Caletón, where we went on a boat and went on a 20 minute ride to a cave and we are able to jump off the boat and swim by the shore. We then went to another part of the beach where there was plenty of people having fun in the sun. We stayed there for 4 hours as we swam, played, and ate lunch on the beach. We also played with some locals who wanted to join the fun.

At 3:30 we left and came back to swim even more in the big pool with our team. There were also some other of the students from the other groups swimming there too. At 6 we ate dinner at the first kitchen that we started with. We greeted our old cooks with big smiles and they did the same. Later on we went to the nearby beach to do a show and tell activity. During that activity we all shared personal stories and life events. A quick rainstorm started to approach us so we evacuated and made it back to the kitchen that we ate dinner at. We had a quick group discussion and talked about our thoughts on the day. To end the night we listened to music with our AMAZING family. :))))))))

aaaaaRRRRRRRRRRRRRaaaaa and stay tuned for tomorrows posts!

Leaders of the Day- Sky & Elai XD

Monday July 29, 2019

Hey y’all its your girl Nae,

Today we woke and had the usual breakfast, oatmeal, cereal, fruits, bread, milk, etc. We got everything together for the day including the first aid kit and water jugs. We went to Caño Dulce to work on the bottle house, we were hammering the wires together, placing water bottles, and finishing up all the other bits and pieces. For lunch we had really good chicken, rice and beans, and salad. We went back to the bottle house after lunch and we finished up our projects that we had started in the morning.

We all felt really good at the end of the day because we worked so hard on the house. We made a lot of local friends in the community, it felt special to connect with them and practice our Spanish with them while they learned English. We said our goodbyes to everyone and then made our way back home to the lodge. We went to the local campamiento (park/field) that had basketball courts and grassy fields, and it lead to the beach. We met with our friends from the Las Canas community and then we went back to the lodge for dinner. We had a muy bueno cena from our favorite cooks Mari y Beba, and we had pescado y rice y frijoles y frutas.

We then had some free time, and then had a nighttime activity about water security. We then had a send-off for our good friend, Trey, where we threw him in the pool as a surprise. We shared our goodbyes with Trey (he’s a 7 Elements staff member, but he is leaving to go back home to Indiana tomorrow to start school). During our nighttime free time after our discussion, we played games, chatted, and bonded a lot. We then got ready for bed to prepare for the day ahead. Sign out!

Toodles from your girl (de tu chica), Nae.

Tuesday July 30, 2019

In the morning, we went to each room and woke up everyone because we were the leaders of the day. For breakfast, we had mango, eggs, pancakes, and watermelon. Everyone ate, and then we got on the bus with great air conditioning because a girl was hot. We went to Puerto Plata to see the amber museum, and everyone in the group really enjoyed it. Larimar is really special to the Dominican Republic because it is only mined here, and we even had the opportunity to purchase some amber and larimar! After the museum, we got souvenirs and walked down a busy street with lots of restaurants and karaoke places. The street had umbrellas hanging from up high, making for a great photo opportunity. A lot of people got gaspados, which is a cup of shaved ice with fruit flavored syrup poured over the top of it.

After, we did some shopping and explored the rest of the city. We had lunch at a buffet-style restaurant, and then went to San Felipe Fort on the water. We got headsets and the tour guide told us the history of the Spanish ships. The Spanish built San Felipe fort to protect them from pirate invasion. After, we went to get ice cream! Then, we all knocked out on the bus ride back to the lodge. We swam in the pool and had a nacho/taco bar for dinner. After dinner, we watched an interesting documentary about the stories of three athletes, and then danced to Shakira under the pavilion as it stormed outside. #ErnieAndTiffForLife #BugsDontBiteMe #Museum #6DaysLeft

Wednesday July 31, 2019

Today we woke up as normal and had breakfast at 8:15 and at 9 we headed out to Cabarete Caves where we picked up trash. The community is trying to get rid of the overload of trash from the street by making a boat out of recycled bottles and more trash cans for the community to eliminate littering. We also talked to the community members about the project and how they could get rid of the trash off the streets.

Then we explored the deep water caves and rock figures. We went to a cave where we jumped from a 15 foot rock. We swam for a bit and then went to pick up lunch, which was pizza, we than we to Playa Sosuá where we ate and hung out, looked in the stores and went into the water until 3pm. We headed back to the lodge and hung out until dinner. For dinner we had red chicken, rice with habichuelas, platano fritos and salad. We then watched a ted talk about entrapuners and we also read an article about the changes people make to community’s without asking for their opinions.

We are getting ready for Brisón tomorrow!

Your Leaders of the Day,

Sam and Dora

Thursday July 1, 2019

Today we woke up extra early (around 6:45am) and then ate our breakfast. We then rode an hour and a half on the guaugua (bus) to Brison, which is a mountain community. When we got to Brison, we went to the colmado (store) to buy drinks and snacks to have on our way up the mountain. Although the hike was very steep and difficult to walk up, the group made it with encouraging words from Sky.

On the way up Brison, we saw a lot of farm animals and different types of houses. We stopped at Dona Juanita’s house to get chocolate cake, and then explored her backyard which had a bee farm, fruit trees, a fogon (outdoor stove), pigs, and a vegetable garden. After that, we started walking up the hill to Dona Maxima’s house. Due to having a rest stop in the middle of the hike, it was easier to walk up the hill. Something that motivated the group to get up the hill was to get cake at the top, but instead we found ice cream and ice cold water!

At the top, we were able to meet a Dona Maxima (a leader of the community) and a few of her family members and neighbors. We also had lunch there, and were able to ask Dona Maxima questions about her community and her life in Brison. The lunch consisted of chicken, chick peas, rice, salad, and fruit. After that, we walked back down to the guagua and rode back to the lodge.

At the lodge, we took some free time to swim until dinner at 6pm. After dinner, we had a group discussion about the 7 elements of human security (food, environmental, personal, community, political, economic, health) in the different communities that we have visited, and compared the securities and insecurities that we observed to our own home towns in the Bay Area.

After our group discussion, we played a game of charades that got very competitive. Then, it was quiet hours and we went back to our rooms to take a long sleep to prepare for the morning. Peace out!

Cho and Naomy (your leaders of the day).

Friday August 2, 2019

Hello Everyone Back Home,

Today we had an early start at our day, woke up around 6:30am. We ate a really quick breakfast and headed out on the guagua at 7:30 to drive two hours to La Grua. We got straight to work, mixing cement and getting the paint ready for the basketball court. We went through seven bags of cement and about 10 cans of paint. After a few hour of hard work we started lunch at 12:30. Lunch consisted of chicken, tacos, and fruit. We also got the chance to visit a new colmados.

We then worked another hour and a half or so before we embarked on the community tour. We got the chance to walk through the batey and view the difference between the Dominican and Haitian neighborhoods. After engaging in a fun learning experience we arrived at the lodge at 5:20. We had dinner at 6:00 like always and after the delicious dinner we started our fun, interesting, and exciting debate. We split into 4 groups and debated whether or not a sports complex should be built in the community we visited today. To end the night, we had a little spa night and we all put green, Shrek-like mask. Thank you and stay tuned for tomorrows exciting new blog.

-Elai and Gabi

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Monday June 10, 2019

Dear Parents,

They day is finally here and I am happy to inform you that all of your lovely children have arrived safe and sound! From what I hear, the flight went smoothly but everyone is excited to be off the plane and headed to get something to eat at a popular restaurant here in Guatemala! I am personally thrilled at their excitement and enthusiasm for what is to come! After dinner, we will head back to the hotel for some brief orientation and some much needed rest!

I also wanted to introduce myself! My name is Jordan Doty. This is my second time serving with GLA in Guatemala and I am so excited to share this journey with your children. I can personally guarantee that they are in for a treat and an experience they will never forget! We have so many incredible activities planned for them and we will do our best to keep you updated about all of the fun! The students will be creating daily blogs with photos attached in order for you to hear their perspective on everything that is going on while we are here!

Tomorrow we will be introduced to a a traditional Mayan wedding ceremony and learn how to make our own homemade tortillas, followed by a trip to the ancient​ ​ruins​ ​of​ ​lximche where we will learn the meaning of the structures and a little about the ancient Mayan history! We will finish our day at the home base where we will be staying for the remainder of the program. Update again soon! I have also attached a picture of their smiling faces 🙂

Yours truly,

Jordan Doty
International Director

Tuesday June 12, 2019

Dear everyone,

My experience in Guatemala during the 2019 Junior Journey trip! My first official day in Guatemala was amazing!! We woke up to a breakfast that reminded me of home (seeing as Im Salvadorean-Dominican). The day continued by us going to a village in San Antonio known as “Aguas Calientes”, we learned about the customs such as the weaving done before a wedding.

I was chosen to be apart of the a showcasing of the wedding and I was decided to be the bride. I was then arranged to marry Stephen and it was fun and hilarious, but what had me intrigued was how intimate and beautiful the ceremony was. I loved going to ruins and learning more about the foundations built based on ancient Mayans and their livelihood. I participated in a fire ceremony that called out to the gods and asked for health, fertility, agriculture and etc. Overall the day was fun!”

Sincerely,

Giovana

Wednesday June 12, 2019

Dear Parents,

Today was the first time that we went to the school to start our voluntary work. When we got there the kids were in the margins and welcomed us very excitedly. After the welcome, we began our service in painting the external walls of the school.

We worked on that until it was recess time for the kids and put everything away. During recess we got the chance to interact with the kids by playing games and talking to them. After that, we returned to painting the walls and then we went to home base for lunch time.

After lunch, we took a ride to the city of Xecul. In arriving, we met with a guide who would then go on to show us around the city. We visited a church and learned about the religion that is common there, which is a mix of catholism and mayan religions. While hiking up the mountainous city, we visited a woman who weaves and we had the chance to drink hot chocolate and eat a different type of bread, in which they told us is served to visitors!

More updates to come!

Sincerely,

Isabelle

Thursday June 13, 2019

Dear Parents,

On the fourth day of our Guatemala trip we started our day with the children at the Intra Mundo elementary school in Xela. We had so much fun playing soccer and jump rope with them!

After lunch we went to the market place in Chichicastenango. We bought so many cool things there such as sweatshirts ,bracelets, and purses.

We ended our day with dinner all together and a game of uno.

Sincerely,

Ailani

Friday June 14, 2019

Dear Parents!

Today we went to the school and painted over the walls that we had previously painted, painted the lower sides of the walls blue, painted the kitchen, and played with the kids. After we finished playing with the kids, the kids performed for us and gave us all gifts of gratitude for painting their walls.

A little while later we went to the hot springs and had fun in the water over there. The most exciting thing about the hot spring had to be the captivating environment we were located in. It was an extraordinary experience and definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that we will all remember forever.

Sincerely,

Vrishab

Saturday June 15, 2019

Dear Parents,

Today is day six on our junior journey trip and it was also our last day at the school. We started off our morning ziplining in Retchuleu. To start ziplining we had to get on a truck and travel up a mountain, it was a short but bumpy way up. After harnesses and helmets were on, we were ready for a once in a lifetime experience. The view while ziplining was beautiful, and the experience was extremely thrilling. We even got to see a waterfall!

After ziplining we got back to home base, ate lunch, and left to finish our work at the school. Unfortunately, our last day at the school was without the children but we were able to finish up our work. When we got home a Guatemalan civil war veteran was waiting for us. He shared his side of the war which was the side of the Guerillas and we all learned so much and realized how important it is to understand both sides of a story.

Best,

Yassmine Benmimoun

Sunday June 16, 2019

Hi Parents,

Today we as a group faced another extreme challenge that tested our phycological and physical abilities. We all woke up as a group early today and ate breakfast, we had cereal, yogurt and toast. The milk was supposedly fresh from a cow, and it tasted differently than traditional milk from back home. We also tried a different cream cheese which didn’t taste like cream cheese at all, it tasted like butter.

After breakfast a lot of us went on a hike up a volcano! The volcano was not active, but it did have a surprise at the top. The hike was intense but it was fun. At the peak of the mountain we saw a beautiful lake. According to the Mayan religion, some hold rituals there in order to praise their ancestors.

Lastly one of the GLA agents told us a very personal story. It was eye opening to hear about the normal life of a large population of people who live here. It made a lot of us open up our minds and our ears.

We miss home! But we are having a blast here.

Sincerely,

Liana

Monday June 17, 2019

Dear Parents,

Today we left our home base to go to the lake Atitlan in a city called Pana. We took a boat ride together to San Juan, where we explored the village and all of the local venders. After, we went swimming at the local beach where water was warm and had a lot of seaweed.

Next we went shopping and found a cool place to make custom bracelets for us! Then, we went together to watch the sunset on the lake before dinner. We are at a whole new hotel with a new layout and less bunk beds!

I have really enjoyed getting to experience this culture and I am not ready to head home yet!

Sincerely,

Isaiah

Tuesday June 19, 2019

Dear Parents,

Your students have boarded their planes and are on their way home to you! I know that some of them are sad to leave but all of them are excited to be back home as well!

We had a wonderful time here in Guatemala and I hope your students share all of their highlights with you but I am also going to share a few of mine:

– We made some serious progress and really changed the lives of the students at Intra Mundo forever. Their school is now more beautiful than it was before, but even more than that, they now know that there are people around the world who care about them and were willing to come to paint their school for them because they matter and so does their education!

– We met many local Guatemalans here and built connections that will continue. The students are also returning home with a better understanding of other cultures around the world.

– We had a lot of fun zip lining, hiking, swimming in hot springs and that lake, boat riding and shopping in the local markets!

We made memories that we will never forget and I know that I am very grateful!

Yours truly,

International Director Jordan Doty

Saturday June 1, 2019

Arrival Day in Peru!

Sunday June 2, 2019

Today was our first day of service. We loved watching our students with the kids and fixing up the school greenhouse.

Monday June 3, 2019

Here are some photos from our hike and and market visit today after service.

Monday June 3, 2019 Part 2!

Hey this is Tara and Ela!

We have had a busy and fun day full of service. We switched off in two different groups; one group doing service and the other playing with the kids. For the service we made plaster to put on the greenhouse walls, and cleared out the inside of the building by tilling the soil and removing rocks.

Then, we played soccer (Cadmus was so sweet with the little boys), went on the swings (Lulu was especially cute with them), read books (Sadie and Maritza were great teachers), and ate with the kids. It was an awesome opportunity to practice our Spanish and experience the culture and lives of these kids. It was a successful first part of the day and we had a blast helping and learning.

For the second part of the day, the two groups split again with half going to one of Peru’s most famous air markets and the other half climbing and exploring a ruin that used to serve as a lookout for the Incan army. The views were beautiful and, though it was steep, it was amazing to be in the same place that all of those people were hundreds of years ago. The market was extremely vibrant and full of life.

Everything was colorful–from the largest blankets down to tiny little key chains. It was also a great opportunity to practice Spanish while bargaining. We bought tiny little llama statues (so cute!!), blankets woven from alpaca fur and snow globes. It was also very interesting to talk to the people working in the market as they told us stories about where all of the products came from. Overall, we are all safe, happy and excited for tomorrow!

Tuesday June 4, 2019

Photos from Tuesday!

Wednesday June 5, 2019

Hi Blog!

It’s Lulu and Ayisah here to report another full and exciting day here in Peru!

We woke up for an early breakfast at 6:30am and then got onto the bus where we drove to the lodge in Cuzipata, which means Happy Feet in Quecha. On our way we saw cows, sheep, and many beautiful mountains. About three hours later, we arrived at the rafting lodge, got our gear on, and then headed to the start of the river.

We listened to the safety and introduction speech and then went to the rafts for 25 minutes of practice. After, we rode through class two and three rapids where we had to practice working together as a team in order to keep the boat from flipping or hitting rocks. Although it was very cold, we all had lots of fun with our entertaining guides. Two hours later, we arrived back to the lodge, returned our gear, and headed inside.

We all immediately rushed to the sauna for some warmth. We were also all very relieved to hear that there were hot showers available. After getting warm and changing, we headed to the dining room for a delicious three course lunch (soup, chicken + rice, and banana bread). In addition to rafting, zip lining was another offered activity for today.

It included a brief ladder to the first platform (many said this was the scariest part) and then one zip line across the river and another to return to the lodge. We then said thank you and goodbye to our guides and loaded up on the bus to return to home base. After a long and tiring day, we quickly ate dinner and relaxed until it was time to go to sleep.

We can’t wait for tomorrow where we will be doing some more service and hiking another mountain!

Thursday June 7, 2019

More photos!

Sunday June 9, 2019

Afternoon arrival in aguas calentes. We wake up tomorrow (Monday) early early to catch a 30 min bus ride up to Machu Picchu. We got back this morning from our trek. All are exhausted and had a hard, but successful trek through the Andes. A once in a lifetime experience.

Off to bed.

Photos from the weekend and Monday: