Time Capsule Letter

I’m sure you all miss waking up to the odd howling of Ernie & Oscar, our home-base mascots, as they MOOed like cows outside of our cabins bright and early each morning! Or waking up to the sweet melody of your top bunk roomie’s alarm clock going off for 10 minutes straight. How about our delicious breakfast of eggs, pancakes, cereal and toast every morning? Or the smell of bug spray and sunscreen blowing into our cabins by a rare but much needed breeze? Ohh, I know we all miss when the water pressure would go weak mid-shower because everyone else is also showering off the cement from their legs. Then, theres always the good old shower companion that startles you when you catch a glimpse of the lizard or frog on the wall!

Ahh, yes…do you remember seeing the giant Land Crabs being boiled after having their claws surgically removed one by one by our friend Mongo during our special Escabeche workshop? Who could forget the day we navigated the chaotic sidewalks and streets of Gaspar Hernandez in order to enjoy a local ice cream treat? Every moment of every day we were exposed to new experiences and micro challenges that no one can ever take from us! We came we saw and we conquered!

When we weren’t running around screaming our heads off from harmless bugs, we were swimming in the refreshing pool, cooling off from a hard days work at service. Or sitting pool-side chatting away with all of our new friends, especially the Danimals aka the Dan-ettes! Whether it was seeing the finishing touches be applied to the bottle house or arguing with William about the definition of a sitcom from a Breaking Bad perspective, we enjoyed ourselves and our time together and shared our experiences wholeheartedly! Our session was very fortunate to be the only session that did a Karaoke night, a visit to the caves with stalactites, and get to oversee the final stages of the bottle house: Where we met our greatest challenge, laying the floor of the bottle house in 87 degree sweltering heat and humidity!

Like many who visit the Dominican Republic, we enjoyed delicious beverages while relaxing in the sun, with our toes in the sand. But our experience was much more than that, our experience will live on in our hearts, our experience was unique and empowering. We traveled here to learn about WHO the Dominican Republic is. We witnessed a different way of living as local families in rural and small communities welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories with us. We saw the struggles and strides that people in the DR face daily.

We get to leave the DR with so much more then a sun tan. Our local Director and friends Walner, Junior and Loubens, shared with us the difficulties that Haitian people in the Dominican Republic face everyday. Our hearts and minds feel full and inspired to continue to learn about global issues and take action. We learned about how we allow inequality into our everyday lives and how people from all over the world are given different opportunities based on the color of their skin or the place in which they were born.

We hope you all feel empowered to make changes in these systems. Although you are home now, surrounded by all of your comforts, we hope you continue to travel and gain a worldly view. Continue to educate and inspire those around you. We hope you always carry an open mind and an open heart. Remember your goals of learning more about your identity through community service and also having 2-4 conversations with community members and classmates about the environment and world issues!

We all went to the airport as 1 because over the course of our program we had become a community of individuals who cared and esteemed each other; there was no way we were going to go our separate ways

as individuals, we left the Dominican Republic together forever!

Thank you for making this experience everything that it was! You have inspired and taught us along the way and we hope that you continue to BE THE CHANGE that you want to see in this world!

We wish you the very best and are always here for you!

P.S Dont forget to learn more about the Mirabal sisters and read, “In the time of Butterflies”! (William talking)

Your Team,

William, Walner, and Jackie!

 

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Wednesday July 31, 2019

Everyone has arrived and we are so excited for the next 10 days here in the DR! Stay tuned for more blog posts about our adventures 🙂

Thursday August 1, 2019

Today we woke up by the sound of a rooster, which is the best alarm clock out there. A wonderful morning of toast and fruit, accompanied by a mocha was a great start of the day. A quick drive of around 15 minutes to Las Canas, we arrived to a little road filled with colorful abodes and friendly locals. We did a little teambuilding activity before we arrived to Johnny’s house.

There we hauled nearly 100 lb. bags of cement down a beautiful walkway to an unfinished house on top of a hill. We met the eventual owner of the house, Elizabeth, and her son. After that we got to work, mixing, shoveling and sifting dirt, after that we mixed in the cement. Then by making craters with our shovels, filled them with water to create wet concrete.

We then began to plaster the chicken wire / plastic bottle walls. What we called “slathing”, was an effective way of plastering the walls. Then we had lunch at Johnny’s lunch, in which a delicious meal of pork, rice, fresh fruit and amazing fried plantains filled our bellies before we continued with our service. Even though Dan spilled a bag of cement over him, and Lucas got his clothes unrepairingly dirty, this was an extremely effective, rewarding and exhausting day of work.

We came back to a cold shower, a pool, a light thunderstorm, and new friends aplenty. Here we met another student on this trip, Maya, who sadly had to go through the worst of Newark airport and flight delays. Even though she was tired, she came in with a smile, and so everyone was sure to make sure she was welcomed. After a wonderful dinner cooked by our chefs of fried fish, spaghetti, and fruit, we learned of what 7e really is about.

The eye-opening expierence taught us the 7 elements of human security. We better understood these topics through our mentors and peers, and ended the day in our mentor groups, in which we serenly opened up to each other about our values, excitement and expectations of our trip. Lucas turned 17 today of which we celebrated through song, laughter, and cake. Honestly one of the better days I have ever experienced.

Friday August 2, 2019

Everyones day started with some french toast this morning. And it was a great way to start the day.
We then returned to the same community we were in yesterday. after we got right into the work and
had a crazy productive morning.

We had a group that mixed cement in the morning and a group that pasted cement on the walls in the morning.
After lunch we switched. For lunch we hit some chicken and rice and pineapple and we hit it hard. After out work day

we took a short tour of the community and got to learn about the local culture by checking out the local school and church.

When we got back to home base we got in the pool immediately. For dinner we ate a typical dominican meal-sancocho which is a stew type dish. Afterwards, we had some ethical decision making discussions.

Until next time,
Dan

P.S. Apologies for no photos from today-we had technical difficulties!

Saturday August 3, 2019

Today, we started out the morning with a pretty great breakfast. Then we headed out to DuDu Lagoon. Once there, we toured the area, which included a soccer field, numerous swings and hammocks, a large cave, and a volleyball field. The lagoon was beautiful; everyone jumped into the water from an elevated platform. Near the lagoon was a large lake with numerous fish. The cave overlooked the lagoon and was filled with stalactites. Once everyone was done with exploring, we sat down for a very enjoyable lunch and headed off to the Preciosa Beach.

The beach offered (virgin) Pina Coladas, immense waves, and numerous street vendors. As a result, the time that was spent there focused on jumping over waves, negotiating with the vendors, relaxing and sipping our Pina Coladas. After that, we returned to the lodge to jump in the pool and eat dinner. The day was concluded with an insightful forum about the divide in the Hispanola island but also the hope for what may come for the two countries and all their people.

-by Nick

Sunday August 4, 2019

After a delicious brekky we headed out to the service site and started mixing cement. It was very hot, but soon the gods gifted us with rain for a few minutes. Although it was refreshing, we did not take it as a break and instead mixed cement even faster than before. After lunch we played Simon Says and basketball with some of the local children. Following even more cement mixing we had our mentor groups where we talked about people who inspired us; William’s mentor group was also greeted with copious amounts of mosquitos.

When arriving back at the logde we spent time reflecting on our own and then chilled in the pool where we had some interesting conversation with our neighboring program group (a.k.a. Dan made FRIENDS…and so did Lucas). Dinner we delicious as usual, and then we played a fun game that was similar to charades.
That was the extent of our day, and we are excited for what is to come on the hike tomorrow.

Monday August 5, 2019

We woke up at 7 today to have breakfast. We had eggs, bread, and fruit. We got on the bus around 740. The bus ride was about an hour and a half. We began the hike around 930. We stopped along the way for bread and juice. Their were also small things for sale that we were able to buy. We reached the top at around 12.

Overall the hike was challenging on the legs because it was partly uphill and the terrain was loose rocks. But in the end the view from the top of the hill was worth the pain of hiking to the top. We started our decent at 130 and got back to home base at 430. We had free time till dinner which was at 6. After dinner we had a very informative talk about our identities. Then we had free time till bed.

Tuesday August 6, 2019

This morning started with a later brekky (yay for sleeping in!) and then a van ride to the Cabarete Caves. After arrival, we spent about an hour cleaning up trash from the community where a few locals joined us.

We then headed to the caves and looked inside. William made an oopsie and stepped in one of the water holes. Also we lot about stalagmites and stalactites! Some of the local children helped us carry our things and showed us around their community. Mayah and I (Martina) had a lot of fun speaking and singing with the kids in spanish as well as teaching them some English (hello, water, and avacado were their favorite words).

We jumped into a water hole in one of the caves and swam around in the refreshing water. For lunch we picked up pizza on our way to Playa Alicia and ate it by the beach. The water was super salty but really nice and we swam for a while. To end our excursion we went to a super market and got some snackies for the rest of the trip.

We couldn’t use the pool because it was being cleaned but we still had fun talking and playing cards until dinner. For dinner we had tacos and it lived up to the hype of taco night. Instead of a lecture we did a debate about whether or not a sports stadium would benefit the people of the DR.

It was very interactive and everyone participated and shared their thoughts. Many of us agreed that today was one of the best days we’ve had as it incorporated all of the best parts of the trip. We are all super excited for our last 2 full days here so we can keep learning more about this amazing country!

Hasta luego,
Martina

Wednesday August 7, 2019

Today we woke up at at 7:45 to eat breakfeast before embarking on our final service day in Cano Dulce. We mixed cement to finish the floor which was one of the only remaining aspects of the house that still needed work. We quickly finished the floor before lunch, which we ate at the worksite today.

After some time to rest after lunch we mixed more cement. Before going home we made a pit stop in Gaspar Hernandez, a local town where we crammed into a small ice cream shop for a much needed refreshment!

We then went back to the lodge and swam. After swimming we had a local come to the home base to help us cook crabs and prepare a local dish called encabeche, which we ate with our dinner that featured mac and cheese and french fries. Lastly, we had mentor groups and free time before going to bed. Hasta Manana! Our last full day!

By Kenny

Time Capsule Letter

I’m sure you all miss waking up to the odd howling of Ernie & Oscar, our home-base mascots, as they MOOed like cows outside of our cabins bright and early each morning! Or waking up to the sweet melody of your top bunk roomie’s alarm clock going off for 10 minutes straight. How about our delicious breakfast of eggs, pancakes, cereal and toast every morning? Or the smell of bug spray and sunscreen blowing into our cabins by a rare but much needed breeze?

Ohh, I know we all miss when the water pressure would go weak mid-shower because everyone else is also showering off the cement from their legs. Then, there’s always the good old shower companion that startles you when you catch a glimpse of the lizard or frog on the wall! Ahh, yes… the many nights spent trapping giant flying beetles in a handy-dandy Pringles can. Oh the joys of cabin life! But it’s these little quirks that allowed us all to bond so quickly in just 10 days!

When we weren’t running around screaming our heads off from harmless bugs, we were swimming in the refreshing pool, cooling off from a hard days work at service. Or sitting pool-side chatting away with all of our new friends. We made so many beautiful friendship bracelets over hours of casual conversation. We went to so many beautiful beaches, swam in crystal clear ocean water, lagoons and caves!

We ran like our lives depended on it across miles and miles (or so it felt..) of burning hot sand. We haggled prices with local vendors and had our hair braided and beaded by local women at the beach.We embarked on a catamaran boat ride to our beautiful snorkeling destination and saw vibrant colored fish swimming below us.

Like many who visit the Dominican Republic, we enjoyed delicious beverages while relaxing in the sun, with our toes in the sand. But our experience was much more than that, our experience will live on in our hearts, our experience was unique and empowering. We traveled here to learn about WHO the Domincan Republic is.

We witnessed a different way of living as local families in rural and small communities welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories with us. We saw the struggles and strides that people in the DR face daily. We get to leave the DR with so much more then a sun tan. Our hearts and minds feel full and inspired to continue to learn about global issues and take action.

We learned about how we allow inequality into our everyday lives and how people from all over the world are given different opportunities based on the color of their skin or the place in which they were born. We hope you all feel empowered to make changes in these systems. Although you are home now, surrounded by all of your comforts, we hope you continue to travel and gain a worldly view. Continue to educate and inspire those around you. We hope you always carry an open mind and an open heart.

Let’s not forget about our goals that we made in mentor groups! William’s group to do 20 hours of service each semester, Carlos’ group was to also do 20 hours of community service as well as go vegan for a week (which will be held accountable via a groupchat). Jackie’s group was to continue to educate ourselves as well as others about issues not only occurring in the DR, but also worldwide and to strive to be global citizens.

Thank you for making this experience everything that it was! You have inspired and taught us along the way and we hope that you continue to BE THE CHANGE that you want to see in this world!

Your Team,

Walner, William, Carlos, and Jackie

 

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Saturday July 20, 2019

When we woke up everyone was a little hot but everyone was excited nervous for their first official day in the Dominican Republic! Breakfast consisted of eggs, toast, cereal, oatmeal and hot cocoa. No one was sure what to think of having a hot drink while it was so hot but once they tasted it people flocked. At the service site everyone, despite the heat, worked tirelessly to build the platic bottle house while taking short breaks to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Some people mixed the concrete while others pasted the walls once they were insulated with plastic bottles. We met some of the family who we were building the house for and heard a powerful speech from them. After the lunch buffet at site and an invigorating team-building activity led by the student leaders we finished the house and began touring the town. We got the opportunity to interact with some of the locals and got to meet many of the town dogs (One of which we named Papaya).

After a fun filled day, we all took cold showers when we got back to homelodge and hopped in the pool to cool off before meeting again to discuss shared expectations then enjoyed fried fish and plaintains. once we were all stuffed and well rested, we learned about human securities and insecurities and had an open discussion. We ended the night with mentor groups and all went to bed ready for another fantastic day…

XOXO sun burnt and livin life (Seth R)

Sunday July 21, 2019

Today we woke up brighteyed and ready for the new day in the beautiful Dominican Republic. We woke up to a more traditional breakfast of French Toast, cereal, eggs, and a delectable banana smoothie. We then hopped in the van and went to service site passing some strolling cows along the way. We continued working on the plastic bottle house and it is amazing (!!) to watch it come into fruition. I (The writer/editor have begun training my writing pupils to continue my new legacy.

XOXO Sethy – I’ll stay in touch

Let us continue with our service adventure. The day was filled with joyful children and a taste into traditional dominican food. IT SLAPPED AND HIT DIFFERENT. We grew friendships with not only our fellow student campers but also with the local children. We shared interests, played games, and worked on the house together. Thats all for now….bye baddies mwah!

After a great day at the bottle house, we ventured off onto a stunning beach that was close by to our lodge (2 minute walk)! We stayed for a while; some people even went knee deep in the water! After walking back from the beach, many people enjoyed pool time. Then we had another amazing dinner with a rainbow spectrum of different lasgnas, amongst other nutrients and beverages. Immediately following dinner, we had great and informative lesson on the topic of the divide between and Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Then, we split into deep and reflective mentor groups. Now we are here long past our bedtime (#savages) writing this blog to our loving parents.

T-H-E E-N-D. THE END.
MADISON AND CAROLINE

Monday July 22, 2019

We woke up to the sweet sound of birds realizing it was our first day without service!
Our breakfast consisted of eggs (with plenty of spices) and cereal. We all piled into the whip (the van) and headed off to the lagoon. After an intense volleyball match and a lot of swimming in the stunning swimming holes we got to eat a scrumptous combo of spaghetti and chicken. On our way home from the lagoons, we stopped at a beach for a couple of hours. We then headed to the dazzling beach where the shore just kept going and the water glistened. We headed over to where many different men peddled their wares to us and many campers picked up necklaces made of assorted beautiful metals and gemstones.

XOXO Sethy – tired and living lavishly

We enjoyed our time at the beach by drinking gorgeous (virgin) pina coladas (in pineapples!), shopping, taking pictures, and most importantly playing in the waves in the crystal clear water. Once we came back to the home base, we enjoyed a minimal amount of free time, in which some people played in the pool, while others rinsed off from the beach. Once our free time came to a close, we consumed a beautiful array of tacos, amongst other side dishes that warmed our empty stomachs.

Following dinner, we played a fun new game, called “electricity,” in which we got to know each other better through various movements. After this activity, we had an eye opening experience about ourselves regarding specific characteristics and differences between our identities that we may possess. We now have extra free time before returning to our bedrooms at 9:30, which is nice because it is more time than we usually get to spend with each other before bed.

CATCH YA ON THE FLIP SIDE,
CAROLINE AND MADISON

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Good night!!

We woke up to our normal traditional breakfast and then headed to the service site for a long rewarding day. The house was coming together as we started to plaster and we were beginning to see the fruit of our labor. We also visited a bee farm with one of the leaders of the “caño dulce” community.

When we got back to the camp we had half an hour of meditation or “selfie time” and then we met with our mentors. My group went down to the beach at sunset and basked in the dying light admiring it’s natural untouched beauty. We then went night swimming in the pool, tiring ourselves out for bed.

Xoxo Sethy who’s chakras are all lined up

Wednesday July 24, 2019

Hey bloggy-pops!!

Today’s adventure woke us up at 7 o’clock to a delicious fulfilling breakfast before the tiresome excursion; brison. This vibrant community lives along a steep mountain, and we had the privilege of hiking a mile and a half up it. The journey was sweaty and intense, we all thought we were dying, and needed multiple water breaks to sustain ourselves.

However, in the end it was extremely rewarding because we got to meet Doña Máxima and eat the amazing beans, chicken, and rice she cooked for us. We also met her mother, who is 87 years old. Their resilience and energy was astounding; they hike up the hill almost everyday! also the view was stunning, even after we learned it was corrupted by deforestation.

The way down was easier, but took more concentration because there was less grip on the rocks. Quickly we were back on the bus, exhausted and ready to take cold showers at home base. After a refreshing dip in the pool and a few card games, we ate dinner!

It was some of the best food so far, Zancocho, which is a kind of stew with potatoes and chicken.

After dinner, Loubens, one of the local directors, talked about his life story. He had to cross the border between Haiti and the DR to end up working for GLA and 7 element.

We finished the day with a role play debate about the difficult situation between the DR and Haiti.

– by Ariana, Belle, Seth

Thursday July 25, 2019

We woke up to a delicious buffet of different breakfast foods and coffee. After breakfast we headed to a local community to pick up trash and freshen up the neighborhood. We went around to local businesses while picking up trash to not only clean the neighborhood but also get to the root of the problem of pollution and educate them on why littering affects the community.

After working up a sweat we got to cool off and (safely) cliff jump into an open cave. We went to the beach after and got a picture perfect view of the sparkling water and scrawling coastline. When we got back to the lodge, after resting of course, we participated in an engaging discussion about our personal morals and ethics and then applied those morals and ethics to theoretical situations and discussed the outcomes. After a long mentally and physically draining day we were thrilled to hit the hay and call it a day.

XoXo Sethy – Sipping (virgin) strawberry daiquiris in heaven `

Friday July 26, 2019

Hola!!

This morning, we woke up to a typical GLA gourmet breakfast under the palms; which consisted of various
cereals, eggs, rolls, fruit, and a refreshing passionfruit beverage. Following breakfast, we prepared to
depart to our new work site. In terms of service, our goal was to finish flooring a house using cement.
Many of us mixed cement, while others transported it to the house.

We enjoyed a classic spread of rice and gandules, fruit, fish, plantains, and salad for lunch. Working tirelessly all day, we were able to get the job done early, meaning we had the opportunity to get ice cream at a local creamery afterwards. With a variety of different ice cream selections, it was difficult to choose only three scoops to fill our bowls (#hungryworkers)!

After arriving back to the lodge after service, covered in cement and dirt, some refreshed themselves in the pool, while others cleaned off in a nice cold shower. Once our hour of free time came to a close, we enjoyed a cultural dance lesson from the locals. During this time, we had the opportunity to learn an array of classic Dominican dance styles. With many laughs, we found our true inner dancers. Immediately after this tiring yet energetic dance lesson, we devoured an American style dinner; one that we have been looking forward to all trip. T

his dream meal was made up of classic Kraft mac and cheese, penne pasta with marinara sauce, plantains, fruit (ofcourse), salad, bruscetta, french fries, and some freshly squeezed pineapple juice for a drink. After we filled our bellies, we enjoyed a short amount of free time before embarking on a cultural adventure where we learned about life in the Dominican Republic directly from two local sources.

Now we are enjoying one last bit of free time before hunkering down in our bug nets for quiet time at 9:30. After a long and tiring day at service, many of us are eager to get to bed so we can wake up refreshed for our last full day here in the beautiful Dominican Republic.

It was a pleasure chattin’ with ya! See you lovelies tomorrow,
CAROLINE AND MADISON

Photo Credits: Rylie Fryberger & Sophie Koziol

Time Capsule Letter

I’m sure you all miss waking up to the odd howling of Ernie & Oscar, our home-base mascots, as they MOOed like cows outside of our cabins bright and early each morning! Or waking up to the sweet melody of your top bunk roomie’s alarm clock going off for 10 minutes straight. How about our delicious breakfast of eggs, pancakes, cereal and toast every morning?

Or the smell of bug spray and sunscreen blowing into our cabins by a rare but much needed breeze? Ohh, I know we all miss when the water pressure would go weak mid-shower because everyone else is also showering off the cement from their legs. Then, there is always the good old shower companion that startles you when you catch a glimpse of the lizard or frog on the wall! Ahh, yes… the many nights spent trapping giant spiders in a plate and a bowl. Oh the joys of cabin life! But it’s these little quirks that allowed us all to bond so quickly in just 10 days!

When we weren’t running around screaming our heads off from harmless bugs, we were swimming in the refreshing pool, cooling off from a hard days work at service. Or sitting pool-side chatting away with all of our new friends. We ate the best big rice in the world, celebrated Jackie’s birthday dancing the wobble flashmob while William was finishing his chicken, and even adopted a coconut named Wilson who accompanied us in our last days of adventure ! We played so many funny games like electricity you got so good at, that you were unbeatable at the end.

We went to so many beautiful beaches, swam in crystal clear ocean water, lagoons and caves! We ran like our lives depended on it across miles and miles (or so it felt..) of burning hot sand. We haggled prices with local vendors to get carlos’ shirt and had our backs massaged by local women at the beach.We embarked on a catamaran boat ride to our beautiful snorkeling destination and saw vibrant colored fish swimming below us. And don’t forget the memorable hike to Brison, that the rest of the world feared but we climbed with a smile on our faces and a little bit of sweat on our t-shirts. We learnt how mountain communities live in the DR, and how Dona Maxima loves to live there and she wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

Like many who visit the Dominican Republic, we enjoyed delicious beverages while relaxing in the sun, with our toes in the sand. But our experience was much more than that, our experience will live on in our hearts, our experience was unique and empowering. We traveled here to learn about WHO the Domincan Republic is.

We witnessed a different way of living as local families in rural and small communities welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories with us. We saw the struggles and strides that people in the DR face daily. We get to leave the DR with so much more then a sun tan. Our local Director and friends, Walner, Loubens, shared with us the difficulties that Haitian people in the Dominican Republic face everyday. Tito and Maycon told us the different lives one can face in the DR. Our hearts and minds feel full and inspired to continue to learn about global issues and take action.

We learned about how we allow inequality into our everyday lives and how people from all over the world are given different opportunities based on the color of their skin or the place in which they were born. We learnt how to become Global Citizens of the world and how to contribute to global issues. We hope you all feel empowered to make changes in these systems. Although you are home now, surrounded by all of your comforts, we hope you continue to travel and gain a worldly view. Continue to educate and inspire those around you. We hope you always carry an open mind and an open heart.

Thank you for making this experience everything that it was! You have inspired and taught us along the way and we hope that you continue to BE THE CHANGE that you want to see in this world!

Your Team,

Jessica, Walner, Loubens, Jackie, William, Carlos

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Sunday July 7, 2019

Good night everybody!!

We are Jessica, Jackie, William, Walner and Carlos and we are reporting from the north shore of the Island of Hispaniola, here in our beautiful lodge in Las Canas community.

We are having our daily meeting and we are loving to write you as we enjoy the soft sound of the waves in the distance and look at the stars in this clear summer night.

The sun came back after two days of rains and with him our students join us after a long day of airports and planes. They all are in their rustic cabins ready for a night of sleep before heading to their first day of service work tomorrow morning.

We’ll be building a bottle house in the small village of Caño Dulce. We are all excited about it.

Buenas noches from the D.R!!

Tuesday July 9, 2019

Today’s day started off with a relaxing ab workout by the beach next to the waves. After breakfast, we all headed to our second day at Cano Dulce for service. We had teams of people working on shoveling sand, mixing cement, hammering nails, stacking bottles, and pasting cement. Everyone did an amazing job remaining positive in the heat and staying diligent to their work (go us!!).

After working for a few hours, we played a fun game of basketball with the locals (sadly but not surprisingly, they knocked our socks off), and it was really nice to get to interact with the locals on a more personal level. After lunch, we went back to working on our bottle house service project for a few more hours where we managed to complete an entire new portion of the house!!

Once we returned back to the home base, we had a lot of free time to hang out, and most of us decided to chill in the pool that’s conveniently located right outside of our rooms 🙂 After free time and dinner concluded, we watched an informative video on the divide between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This topic was very powerful because none of us were very knowledgeable about the divide as well as the inherent racism that exists between these people that share their home island.

We were also lucky enough to hear first hand accounts from two staff members here at the home base, Walner and Loubens, about their experiences in dealing with and living through this racism. It was a very eye-opening experience for all of us that allowed us to see the island of Hispaniola in a light we had never known existed. We’re super pumped for Dudu Lagoon tomorrow and to continue learning more about this beautiful and vibrant island!!

See you all soon 🙂

Emerson Cilley, Sydney Brister, and Cam Cilley

Wednesday July 10, 2019

Hello blog readers! Today we started off our day with a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs and fresh fruit. We got up extra early to get a head start on our beach/lagoon day. First we went to Dudu Lagoon, where we went cliff-jumping (don’t worry parents, it was only 6 feet), swam in the clear blue water and played a round of competitive volleyball after lunch.

To get everyone energized before our next bus ride we played a game of Red Rover and then we were off
to La Playa Preciosa. There we had piña coladas in fresh pineapples,took lots of beach photos and splashed around in the waves. Many of us also bought gorgeous hand-made jewelry from local vendors and some of us even got cornrows. We came home just in time for our Americanized dinner of fried chicken and fries before finishing the day off with a debate on ethical dilemmas.

Buenas noches from Las Canas, Sloan, Ffiona and Anna

More photos from Wednesday!

Thursday July 11, 2019

Good night from the DR!

This morning we had a hardy breakfast and headed out for our third service day. As we made the walk to the service site we were greeted by the familiar faces of the locals. We continued to work on the bottle house. Before heading to lunch we played a friendly game of basketball with kids in the community. After a delicious lunch we continued to work on the house. We came back and took a dip in the pool before heading to our first spanish lesson.

As leaders of the day we had the privilege to facilitate our peers in a debate on international development and how it may affect illegal immigrants and the low socioeconomic neighborhoods. It was really interesting to hear from all different perspectives; the government, human rights representatives, environment representatives, and Local community affected.

After this debate, speaking on behalf of our peers we all realized the difficulty on coming to a consensus on a such an impactful and controversial development. It was a unique and eye opening discussion that left us all pondering the reality of international development especially in the Dominican Republic.

-Hats off to a great day from Evie, Claire, and Maggie

Friday July 12, 2019

Today we started with a HIIT workout on the beach lead by Emerson. Students then departed to the Cabarete community to do a trash clean up before swimming in the caves. At the caves, there was an opportunity to jump a 15 foot drop into the refreshing water below.
Then we went to the beach and had great pizza for lunch followed by swimming and tanning. After we got back everyone had time to reflect and read during our time for self. Then everyone had some pool time and dinner.

After, we played a game of electricity, where people had unique dance moves that they had to ‘pass’ to other students. There was an activity after dinner in which we talked about our idenities based on different parts of our lives such as race, class, religion ,etc.

Then we had mentor groups and we went to bed. Excited for the hike tomorrow!

Love Tess Anderson, Julianna Lotti, and Jenna Wisler

Saturday July 13, 2019

Hello from the DR!

We started this morning with our usual breakfast to fuel us for our hike to Mt. Bríson. The hike was well worth it when we were able to buy bread and bracelets from a local woman named Juanita. After buying food and bracelets from her, we had a look into her abundant garden with chinolas (passion fruit), pigs and banana trees. We had stunning views of mountain sides, cows, palm trees, and plenty of chickens, turkeys, horses and donkeys carrying milk and people. About a 1/4th of a mile up we stopped to look at a local school that had 2 classrooms for 4 grades of students. At the top we stopped at another local named Doña Máxima’s house for lunch and a Q&A with her, where she talked about her life and how she acts as a leader for the community.

After our hike we took an adventure to the supermercado to load up on delicious sugary snacks. With full bellies and happy hearts, we got back to the lodge, and took a dance and cooking lesson! We all enjoyed peeling and smashing plantains and participating in the Bachata dance.
Today was our mentor Jackie’s birthday. We made her signs, had a “wobble dance” flashmob and ate cake to celebrate her special day!

After dinner, our 3 mentor groups met again, Carlos’s group headed to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset. Then, at exactly 10 PM we all QUIETLY went to sleep! 🙂 Goodnight, and see you all very soon!!!

Ava, Sophie, and Bri

Sunday July 14, 2019

Today was our last day of service, instead of working on the bottle house we mixed cement for a family in Caño Dulce. The cement was used for the floor of the house and our goal was to finish it in one day so that the family of 6 could move their belongings back into their home as soon as possible.

It was really interesting to experience a new focus for our service and we all really felt the effects of manual labor. We were extremely proud of everyone today as we all persevered through a rainstorm and everyone worked really well together. We also talked to Johnny, who is a beekeeper in the community and he gave us a tour of his bee hives. His father handed down the job to him after occupying it for many years, and he is known to have the best honey in the community.

After our day of work, we rewarded ourselves with ice cream. 🙂 We also had a discussion called, GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT, with Kate, one of the 7 Elements Staff. We discussed what it means to be a global citizen and how we can remain involved in service, giving back, and making a change when we return home. We shared about how this trip has inspired us to be more aware of world around us and being aware of global issues and taking and creating opportunities to help the world around us in any way we can.

Time Capsule Letter

Hi Everyone!!

I’m sure you all miss waking up to the odd howling of Ernie & Oscar, our home-base mascots, as they MOOed like cows outside of our cabins bright and early each morning! Or waking up to the sweet melody of your top bunk roomie’s alarm clock going off for 10 minutes straight. How about our delicious breakfast of eggs, pancakes, cereal and toast every morning?

Or the smell of bug spray and sunscreen blowing into our cabins by a rare but much needed breeze? Ohh, I know we all miss when the water pressure would go weak mid-shower because everyone else is also showering off the cement from their legs.

Then, theres always the good old shower companion that startles you when you catch a glimpse of the lizard or frog on the wall! Ahh, yes… the many nights spent trapping giant flying beetles in a handy-dandy Pringles can. Oh the joys of cabin life! But it’s these little quirks that allowed us all to bond so quickly in just 10 days!

When we weren’t running around screaming our heads off from harmless bugs, we were swimming in the refreshing pool, cooling off from a hard days work at service. Or sitting pool-side chatting away with all of our new friends. We went to the grocery store and bought entire CAKES (oy vey) to celebrate “LOD day” as we sang “HAPPY LOD DAY TO YOU” prancing about in the Gazebo!

We went to so many beautiful beaches, swam in crystal clear ocean water, lagoons and caves! We ran like our lives depended on it across miles and miles (or so it felt..) of burning hot sand. We haggled prices with local vendors and had our hair braided and beaded by local women at the beach.We embarked on a catamaran boat ride to our beautiful snorkeling destination and saw vibrant colored fish swimming below us.

Like many who visit the Dominican Republic, we enjoyed delicious beverages while relaxing in the sun, with our toes in the sand. But our experience was much more than that, our experience will live on in our hearts, our experience was unique and empowering. We traveled here to learn about WHO the Domincan Republic is.

We witnessed a different way of living as local families in rural and small communities welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories with us. We saw the struggles and strides that people in the DR face daily. We get to leave the DR with so much more then a sun tan. Our local Director and friend, Loubens, shared with us the difficulties that Haitian people in the Dominican Republic face everyday.

Our hearts and minds feel full and inspired to continue to learn about global issues and take action. We learned about how we allow inequality into our everyday lives and how people from all over the world are given different opportunities based on the color of their skin or the place in which they were born.

We hope you all feel empowered to make changes in these systems. Although you are home now, surrounded by all of your comforts, we hope you continue to travel and gain a worldly view. Continue to educate and inspire those around you. We hope you always carry an open mind and an open heart.

Thank you for making this experience everything that it was! You have inspired and taught us along the way and we hope that you continue to BE THE CHANGE that you want to see in this world!

Your Team,

Jessica, Loubens, Jackie, Carlos, William

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Tuesday June 25, 2019

Buenos días!! Here the CSA mentors from the Dominican Republic.

Our students made it to the island of Hispaniola, safe and sound last night. After a long day of flights and delays, pool, sunset at the beach and orientation, they were all so tired than run away to bed and we had to wait for this morning to take a nice group photo.

We are now having breakfast looking forward to our first service day and the arrival of two more students today (Christopher and Francis)!!

Wednesday June 26, 2019

We began our 1st day of program with a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, oatmeal, toast, and coco puffs. After breakfast we took a short bus ride down to the Cano Dulce community to start work on a bottle house for a very kind family. The family we are helping had been trying for twelve years to get a house of their own and they were so thankful to GLA and 7 Elements for helping them.

We worked using chicken wire, metal, and bottles to make walls, and then put cement that we mixed ourselves to cover the aforementioned wall panels. The job was very laborious and definitely had everyone sweating under the hot caribbean sun. For lunch we had pork, rice w/gandules, fruit, and eggplant.

Throughout the day it was really cool to see the locals, who were so happy to share their community with us. The experience from today was eye-opening for a lot of us. We all came back and washed off in the pool and then ate a dinner consisting of fried-fish, spaghetti and potatoes. We were then given a lecture about the Seven Elements of human security, which is what the foundation here in the DR is named after. Seven elements works in partnership with GLA to do service learning projects for College and High School students. To finish off the day we got into our mentor groups and chatted with each other about our backgrounds and personal goals before going to bed. Hasta Luego Amigos!

Written by Genaba, Teddy, and James

Thursday June 27, 2019

Hi everyone,

After multiple alarm attempts, we all finally hopped out of bed at 8am. Threw on some clothes and talked to my cabin mates before breakfast. Everyday we have volunteers that make up the “Leaders of the day” I volunteered to be the time keeper. This task requires gathering the group, maintaining the daily schedule, and deciding table groups for breakfast and dinner, as well as transportation.

After breakfast we load onto the buses and head out for service. We returned to work on a bottle house for the second day. We sorted plastic bottles, put up chicken wire on the walls, then stuff plastic bottles between the chicken wire and “sweet” wire. Then we put concrete over top of the bottles contained by chicken wire. And that’s how we make the walls between the wall frame.

We played a few fun games of basketball with locals in the community. Then we ate our lunch with Jonny, a beekeeper in the community and his family. He lives right up the path from the bottle house that we worked on. Jonny is a very nice man, who lets us try the honey and honeycomb as a thanks for what we are doing in his community.

After service work, we went to the beach and played frisbee. We had a debate and learned about human rights and Dominican and Haiti global issues.

-by Parker

Friday June 28, 2019

Today was an excursion day in between our service days in caño dulce. We started off the day taking an hour and half bus ride to the DUDU lagoons. We were able to jump into the lagoon from a cliff and swim around. Afterwards, we ate lunch at the local restaurant and played volleyball. Then we departed for the beach.

We took a fifteen-minute bus ride to playa precision (beautiful beach) and had some free time. We had virgin piña coladas and were able to purchase souvenirs rom local merchants.

We then departed for home and ate dinner. We did a lecture/group discussion about morals and ethics, which everybody had lots of information to share about the topics. After that we did an unknown truths activity that everyone enjoyed and laughed. We wrapped up the night with fun activities that brought everybody closer to each other, and the day was looked after upon as a very fun part of the trip.

Written by Amelia, Azaria, Addie

Saturday June 29, 2019

Today we started our morning with a proper breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, toast and loads of other heart-healthy things! We began the day with a bus ride to Caño Dulces where we sang songs and listened to music to get in a happy mood for the day. Excited for the day, we started working on the bottle house by mixing cement and plastering it onto the walls, which gave the new walls a clean finish.

By around noon, we were finished with one room and about halfway done with a second. The boys had loads of fun using the pick axe to break up the dirt for the septic tank. The sun was very hot but that did not lower our moods. We were still able to have fun and get a lot of work done.

Next, we walked over to a different part of the community where we participated in a game of basketball with the locals. They kicked our butts! Afterwards, we ate a delicious lunch of rice & veggies, pork with a special sauce and loads of fruit. We had a rowdy game of freeze dance, where we all got out some of our energy. We began working for about 2 more hours before we left to go home.

Covered head to toe in dirt and cement, we were all antsy to get showered off and into the pool. The girls convinced the boys to get a little pampered by the pool. We ate a delicious dinner of chicken tenders, french fries and macaroni salad.. which we were all excited for. After stuffing ourselves till we were ready to burst, we got to enjoy some activities with William. Once the winner of the games were declared, we sat down for a group activity about self-acknowledgement called the Identity Walk.

After the interesting discussion we had time to sit with our mentor groups. We discussed the activity that had just happened and how we felt about it and then answered some feedback questions for the mentors to be able to have a better understating of how they could better our experience. Overall we had a fun but tiring day and we are all ready for sleep!

P.S. I love and miss you Mom and Dad and Kyle – Mireya<3

Sunday June 30, 2019

We began the day with picking up trash in the local community, in the villa of Cabarete. Kids were separated into groups of 2, one was assigned to pick up trash and the other had to pick up plastic.
The trash was to be thrown away in a secure place, while the plastic collected would be used later to bulid a boat for the community.

Everyone spent an hour collecting trash and made a huge impact on the cleanliness of the area. After collecting trash we took a short walk up to a cave by the city. Upon entering the cave students saw the beautiful pool of crystal clear water. Some students decided to take the daring jump and hop off the cliff while other decided to slip in through the deck on the bottom. Quick shout out to Teddy who took the jump after a hesitant twenty minutes, and Grace who jumped right in with no hesitation.

The cave’s water felt very refreshing after a scorching hot morning of volunteering.
After an amazing fun time in the cave we headed out and took a quick drive to pick up some pizza.
The amazing Carmella and Lakin decided pineapple on pizza would be a great choice and all the other students agreed.

Especially because all we’ve eaten so far has been rice and beans, and pineapple, but for some reason we decided to get pineapple on it even though we’ve had it for every single meal since the day we arrived!
At the beach we all took a really trippy panorama. It will blow your mind. The sand was so hot on the bottom of our feet but thank god we had our LODs to save us and that bottom layer of skin. In the ocean fish swam around. The water was so clear you could see underwater without goggles , it was crazy yo.

Loubens, which is one of our mentors/ friend/ best friend/ life adviser/ my favorite person/ father figure/ the person that can’t remember anyone’s name was so scared to go under water, which is crazy because he is in his twenties. After the beach we got to go to the supermarket to gather our nourishment for the next few years (we’ve decided to stay here for a little longer). Immediately entering the store, we bought only the essentials: cake, baguette, doritos, whipped cream. Lakin and Ethan ate the whole baguettein the twenty minute bus ride. The LODs shared the whole cake at the gazebo (#YOLO #carbsdon’tmatter bruh), but the non-LODs had to pay a small fee of $1 to have a slice so Ethan can gain some cash money flow.

Afterwards, we gladly jumped into the clean blue pool, however about 5 minutes later it was brown, let me tell you, it was #crazynastybruh but we persevered doe bro. And now… #NACHO MAMAS REGULAR NACHOS cuz they were soooo bomb.com. Best dinner yet, hands down. After dinner, we did not have a lecture doe, so that means more free time doe that we wasted our hour and a half writing this doe but it was fun doe #NOREGURTSDOE #OURLIFEISCRAZYDOE #LUVLYFEDOE… #BEDTIMENOWDOE #PEACEOUTDOE

PS dear future LOD: I hope you still believe in our #CARBSDONTMATTERDOEBRUH and life is still crazy yo.

LODs,

Lakin, Ethan, Carmella and Rebecca

Monday July 1, 2019

Today started with an early breakfast at home base at 7:00 a.m. and we departed at 7:30.
Everyone exited the buses and reached the base of the hike at 9:00 a.m.​ After a long trek up in sweltering heat and steep hiking everyone we pushed through and made it ​
to the top of the mountain at 12:00 p.m.

We treated ourselves to some delicious ice cream after the usual chicken, beans and rice after Donna Maxima made everyone lunch ​we had a Q/A session with her and we learned about the community, but beforehand we took a rest stop at ​Julieta’s and bought sweet chocolate bread and colorful bracelets.

The descent began at 1:15 and went by much quicker taking only an hour to an hour and a half with some slipping.​ Passing by the friendly community members and people on horses. Everyone did a good job looking out for each others​ safety calling out for motorcycles.​
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The start of the hike was easy we all had lots of energy and we were eager to get to the top of the mountain. As the hike continued and the trail got steeper it was difficult to keep a positive attitude but thanks to Ethans awesome music​ we all kept going with high spirits. Half way through the hike we stopped and we were able to buy bracelets, fresh bread, and to​ use the restroom at Julieta’s lovely home. We also came across fresh juicy mangoes that were very mouthwatering. Ascending in the blazing heat powering through inclines and hills all the while we were Viewing baby chickens and watching the turkeys frolic and gobble. ​
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A student, Parker, gave a beautiful call of the turkey.​ The students were cautious avoiding motorcycles calling “Moto, moto!!!” letting everyone in the group motorcylces were on the rocky roads.​ We waved hello to the friendly locals as the road horse back and walked on foot on their steep mountain trek.​ Upon hoping the fence to Donna Maxima we took group photos of the beautiful view while taking some great selfies.​

We met her family and ate crispy chicken with rice and beans. After eating we began in depth conversation about human securities​ and asked her questions like where the nearest hospital was and many other questions in Spanish. She even asked the students some great questions​ like why we did this trip. After lots of chocolate and fruity ice cream we began our descent. We tried not to tumble down the loose and rocky path but Grace took an epic fall. We are off to bed now, cant wait to see what tomorrow brings!

-Written by Grace, Violet, Brandon, and Chris

Tuesday July 2, 2019

Today, Tuesday, July 2nd, everyone woke up very early for breakfast and the two hour bus ride to our service site, La Grua, a Hatian/Dominican Batey (community). We helped to cement a basketball court GLA / 7 elements are building for the community and we were given a tour of it where we could see how life is in this part of the island. Very different to what you see about the DR on the internet or the news.

We ate lunch in the local school, and then we went back to continue our service and continue cementing the basketball court. Zoe, Lexi, and Addy played dominoes with the local children and everyone started joining in for a huge game of dominoes near the end of our service time.

Afterwards, we took the bus back to home base and to enjoy our last day in the pool and a great traditional dominican dinner (we had plantain lasagna). Our lecture was presented to us by our GLA counselor, Loubens, who is a Hatian living and working in the Dominican Republic. He spoke about the whole history of the Hatian and Dominican tensions and how they affect him to this day. We ended the night with plenty of fun games in our mentor groups and we also have been practicing our talents for the talent show, which is tomorrow.

– Zach, Zoe, Eva, and Aurora

Time Capsule Letter

I’m sure you all miss waking up to the odd howling of Ernie & Oscar, our home-base mascots, as they MOOed like cows outside of our cabins bright and early each morning! Or waking up to the sweet melody of your top bunk roomie’s alarm clock going off for 10 minutes straight. How about our delicious breakfast of eggs, pancakes, cereal and toast every morning? Or the smell of bug spray and sunscreen blowing into our cabins by a rare but much needed breeze? Ohh, I know we all miss when the water pressure would go weak mid-shower because everyone else is also showering off the cement from their legs.

Then, theres always the good old shower companion that startles you when you catch a glimpse of the lizard or frog on the wall! Ahh, yes… the many nights spent trapping giant flying beetles in a handy-dandy or watching Ernie eat a beetle or two or Oscar feasting on one of our basketballs!

When we weren’t running around screaming our heads off from harmless bugs, we were swimming in the refreshing pool, cooling off from a hard days work at service. Or sitting pool-side chatting away with all of our new friends. ! We went to so many beautiful beaches, swam in crystal clear ocean water, lagoons and caves! We ran like our lives depended on it across miles and miles (or so it felt..) of burning hot sand. .We embarked on a catamaran boat ride to our beautiful snorkeling destination and saw vibrant colored fish swimming below us.

Who could some of the remarkable braiding provided for us and the Dominican pina colada (Virgin) drinks and shirts we got to try and buy! Who could forget Taco Night, Mac and cheese, and Sancocho over rice, or what about our hike up to Dona Maxima’s house in Brison? No matter what day it was we always pushed ourselves to try new things and go outside of our comfort zones; after all that is definitely why we came to the DR to do CSA in the 1st place, no?

Like many who visit the Dominican Republic, we enjoyed delicious beverages while relaxing in the sun, with our toes in the sand. But our experience was much more than that, our experience will live on in our hearts, our experience was unique and empowering. We traveled here to learn about WHO the Domincan Republic is. We witnessed a different way of living as local families in rural and small communities welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories with us. We saw the struggles and strides that people in the DR face daily.

We get to leave the DR with so much more then a sun tan. Our local Director and friend, Loubens, shared with us the difficulties that Haitian people in the Dominican Republic face everyday. Our hearts and minds feel full and inspired to continue to learn about global issues and take action. We learned about how we allow inequality into our everyday lives and how people from all over the world are given different opportunities based on the color of their skin or the place in which they were born. We hope you all feel empowered to make changes in these systems.

Although you are home now, surrounded by all of your comforts, we hope you continue to travel and gain a worldly view. Continue to educate and inspire those around you. We hope you always carry an open mind and an open heart.

We were the 1st group and community that embarked on the journey and set the pace and task of building a house for a local family in Cano Dulce. We, just like the that very 1st stage of the bottle house, were the foundation for a structure that would evolve and grow incrementally over the course of the summer.

That is why the bottle house s is the perfect analogy for why we came to the Dominican Republic in the 1st place; we came to grow and transform ourselves on a day by day basis. Sometimes the pace was slow, challenging, and sometimes it was fast, but the outcome is a clear one. Just like the bottle house, we expanded, we developed, and we are not the same as when we began!

What we put into that living structure remains not only in a visble sense, but it will remain in a metaphysical sense forever! Dont forget your service hours goals and doing more service in your schools, universities and communities!

Thank you for making this experience everything that it was! You have inspired and taught us along the way and we hope that you continue to BE THE CHANGE that you want to see in this world!

Your Team, Loubens, Jackie, William, Carlos

 

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Thursday June 13, 2019

Buenas noches from the land of palm trees!! This is Carlos, the Spanish Mentor for the CSA program.

All the kids made it safe and sound to our beautiful lodge in Las Canas. We also had a couple of missed flights and we are looking forward to meeting Clara and Tilla tomorrow. We visited the local beach, played some icebreakers and welcomed Sam and Lia who arrived just in time for our Dominican dinner!

We enjoyed, as Marc Anthony would say, un arroz con habichuelas and after introductions and orientation the kids are happily sleeping now. From now on, the Leaders of the Day a.k.a your daughters and sons will be authoring the future blog posts to help share about all their fun activities and experiences here in the beautiful Dominican Republic!

We are very excited for our very first service day tomorrow!!

Carlos – GLA Dominican Republic Staff

Friday June 14, 2019

Today we started working on our service project, a four room bottle house. The bottles are used for insulation and to reinforce walls.

We put the chicken wire on one side and stuffed the bottles in. We had a great lunch with rice, beans, and fresh fruit. We met a local member of the local Cano Dulce community named Elizabeth, who is going to move into the house with her family. She has four kids including a four year old boy who loves his toy dinosaurs. Afterwards we took swim and health tests and spent some time relaxing in the pool before and after dinner.

We finished out our day with a lecture and a video on the 7 elements of Human Security. We also met with our mentor groups for the first time and talked about our goals for program and when we return home. We can’t wait to begin day three of our program tomorrow and build off the momentum we achieved today!

-Written by Clara Lawrence, Sasha Ahem, and Carly Dilworth

Saturday June 15, 2019

Today we started with an interesting breakfast choice of mashed potatoes, oatmeal and fresh fruit. Before breakfast, the leaders gave a rundown of the day and scheduled out all the activities and service. The GLA students travelled to the Caño Dulce community to perform community service. The GLA students performed a multitude of service activities. This included constructing the house with bottles, chicken wire, regular wire, and a good attitude. All students were committed to the process, and were dedicated to the work at hand. Whether it was hammering nails into the wood, wrapping chicken wire, or digging holes for the new bathroom, all students stayed loyal and invested in their work.

For lunch we had great combination of rice and chicken, along with fruit and eggplant. After eating lunch, the students worked side by side with the community members and Elizabeth, the homeowner for the new house. The students also had the opportunity to play with Elizabeth’s son, Medellin, who was incredibly playful and happy. After service, the students toured the community, visiting a finished bottle house and learning center. We learned how the local people enjoy life, and thrive in the Dominican Republic. There were also various amounts of cute puppies that students enjoyed.

We then came back to home base and created our community agreement charter which ensured all students are respected and cared for by one another. We then had dinner and a full group debate on the implementation of a new stadium in the Dominican Republic, and its possible effect on the community and economy. Tomorrow we will be looking forward to a serene adventure at Dudu lagoon and Preciosa Beach, where they will bond and make new connections with each other and the nature around them.

Written by Andrew Lanesey , Tilla Segrave, & Saedy Branch

Sunday June 16, 2019

Hi everyone! This morning we woke up to our guard dogs Ernie and Oscar standing outside of our rooms howling super loud. We proceeded to get ready for the day, and we had a plentiful breakfast consisting of French toast, fruit, cereal, granola, hot chocolate and eggs. Everyone went back to the rooms to get ready for a big beach day. We departed at 9:15am and took an hour-long bus ride to Dudu Lagoon. The lagoon is an attraction consisting of fresh water swimming hole and a lake. We could not swim in the lake, but we spent a good solid few hours jumping into the cove lagoon Many of us played a few friendly games of volleyball and soccer with locals and staff. We ate lunch at the nearby restaurant, and left around 2:30 to make our way to the beach.

After a 30-minute bus ride, we arrived at Playa Preciosa. We got to swim in the blue water and lay on the white sand. A local vendor made us virgin pina coladas and we drank them from a pineapple. Some students made sand castles, while others stayed in the ocean and body surfed. Ladies walked by and asked us if we wanted to get our hair in cornrows, and another l man was selling desert toffee on the beach. We got a bunch of souvenirs from a jewlery vendor to remember this beautiful Dominican Beach.

At 4:30 we headed back to where we are staying, and got the chance to rinse off and shower before heading to dinner. 7 new students from another GLA program joined us. For dinner we had pasta, chicken tenders, fries, plantains, fruit, and some delicious mango juice. We ended the day with a self-awareness activity where we channeled which parts of our identity affected our lives and us the most. Students identified areas that they need to work on for self growth relating to our race, privilege, class, religion, and other factors. Now we shall wrap up this bca log because we have an hour of free time before lights out at 10. Stay tuned for the next update!

-Blog by Ben, Carly, and Sara.

Tuesday June 18, 2019

Today we woke up earlier than usual and ate a delicious breakfast in order to get in the van and drive to Mt. Brison. We had a fun bus ride where we played music and did sing-alongs.

Once we started hiking, we saw many animals including cows, chickens, dogs, and horses as well as astonishing views. At our first stop on the way up we saw an elementary school and we were amazed to find out that the local kids walk this hill everyday to go to school.

At our next stop we went to Juanita’s house and she offered us sweet bread, mangos, bracelets and water.

At the top of the hike, Dona Maxima made us lunch and let us eat at her house. We bought very yummy ice cream, including coconut cream and other fruity flavors.

After taking a few photos we descended down the mountain at a much faster pace! Once we finally reached the bottom, we cooled down with sodas from a local colmado. We rested on the bus ride back to the lodge and were able to swim in the pool and buy snacks. At the gate there was a local selling us fresh dominicana coconuts.

We proceeded with dinner at 6pm that was followed with an informing lecture of the discrepancies between the Dominan Republic and Haiti. We learned of the discriminations toward haitians in the Dominican Republic and what lead to this political tension.

This day’s agenda taught us many things that we may not have had the opportunity to learn at school. With the hike, we were able to simply scrape the surface of their daily challenges. The hike made us aware of many problems and was meant to encourage us to make a change. We are excited to see what tomorrow brings us.

More photos coming soon!

Blog post by Riley Hotchkiss, Lali Martinez, Justine Levy

More photos from yesterday: 

   

Wednesday June 19, 2019

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, oatmeal, and smoothies. We then drove to the caves, but on the way we stopped at an amazing American grocery store. It was the first time we had not been in a constant state of sweat. The snacks were cheap and yummy! Once we arrived at the Cabarete caves, we separated into groups and cleaned up trash with some community members so they can play in the park. It was cool.

In the afternoon, we jumped into the water at the cave. Next, we stopped for pizza and enjoyed it at the beach. We also enjoyed a wonderful day swimming in the clear ocean of the D.R. For dinner, we ate shredded chicken tacos, fruit, and drank cold, refreshing lemonade. The tacos were muy delisioso!

After dinner, and taking a bachata/salsa lesson we had a lecture regarding palm oil and the destruction it causes that many people are not aware of. To grow large palm oil plantations, land is taken from farmers at the farmers expense. The farmers not only lose their land but have to work for the palm oil companies. These companies do not provide insurance and easily dock workers pay if the work is not done to fit extreme demands. Palm oil is used in many everyday products for us including but not limited to: soaps, shampoos, cosmetics, and in food preservation. The documentary was extremely informative and enjoyable.

Before bed, we had another amazing mentor group where we got to know each other better and then we head to our lovely cabins to share another night with our friends.

Thursday June 20, 2019

Today we walked to a local house near the beach where we helped mix concrete and carry buckets of supplies to the house owner and workers. Our contribution made the house sustainable and a safe place to live in, we were able to cement the whole floor of the house. The entire community came out to watch and help us as we assisted in creating the house.

The house was small and made out of mostly scrap metal and pieces of wood. We had a lot of fun playing with the kids there who clearly enjoyed our presence with wide smiles and laughter all over. A woman in the community was nice enough to let all of us eat in her home. The service was tiring but rewarding because we felt a sense of pride as we made the last of the concrete to fill the floor of the man’s home.

We have improved our knowledge of global citizens through tonight’s lecture and video. A global citizen is someone who cares about global issues and wants to bring about change in the world. I believe everyone one of us will be able to apply this knowledge to our own communities and hopefully help fix major problems in the world. Ex: poverty, climate change, etc. One of the highlights of today was the very American-style dinner. We had mac and cheese and french fries which all of the kids enjoyed and thought was a nice break from the traditional rice and beans.

We are sad that our trip is coming to an end, but we are looking forward to our last excursion day consisting of snorkeling with tropical fish of the Dominican Republic.

-by Max Saia and Clara Freeman

Friday June 21, 2019

On the last day in the DR we started off the day with breakfast at 8AM with french toast and delicious fruits. Soon after, we departed for Sosua, renting a boat and sailing out to go snorkel along the reef. After snorkeling and taking pictures for an hour or two, we headed back to Sosua beach to have pizza. Students went souvenir shopping and hung out on the beach for the last day. Some of us got massages and our hair done.

After a while we headed back to home base and did our final evaluations. We then finished off the night with mentor groups and a bonfire, the former reflecting upon our experiences throughout this trip and the latter celebrating our experiences we’ve had with each other throughout this trip.

As the bonfire died down, we started to realize that this was truly our last day in the DR and that the next we’d be off to our respective homes and would hopefully see each other again back in the States, ending our Caribbean Service Adventure.

-by Nolan and Aislinn