6/11/2015

The Spanish, Service and Mayan Culture program in Guatemala has officially begun! After long flights and equally long layovers everyone has arrived safe and sound and spirits are high. We are now settled into our home base in Quetzaltenango (aka Xela) and are looking forward to a summer full of excitement, learning and adventure. Updates to come soon!

6/13/2015

Greetings from Guatemala! Only three days in and so much has been accomplished: community service, Spanish classes, cultural activities and group meetings.

For our service project we are painting Garibaldi School in our local area of Quetzaltenango. Garibaldi school serves 400 elementary age students and is in need of a major facelift. We are working hard to make Garibaldi school a beautiful place for children in Quetzaltenango to learn and play.

6/15/2015

The past few days have been full of new experiences, people, and places. Whether painting the local school, taking Spanish classes, or hiking through beautiful Guatemalan towns, GLA has given all of us the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in the vibrant culture that surrounds us. Learning about different local traditions such as traditional Mayan weaving and embroidering have opened our eyes to the rich history of this country, while also bonding with each other and forming lasting relationships with each other. Living together so closely in this type of foreign environment has clearly been a catalyst to making friends and enjoying each other’s company. I am confident in saying that we are all looking forward to the challenges and exciting adventures that await us over the next couple of weeks. Here are a couple of group photos that exhibit both our camaraderie while experiencing the Guatemalan culture.

– Alexander de Liagre

6/17/2015

Today we visited a town called Totonicapan. We were given a lesson on pottery where we each got a turn to make a plate.

The man who owned the pottery shop had many beautiful plates, tiles, and cups. Most of us ended up buying at least one.

On the way home, there was a beautiful view of the town, and a double rainbow!!

We’re all having so much fun!

– Mary Shkouratoff and Sarah Suttner

6/19/2015

Written by: Vienna Roche and Athena Rubin

Service, Salsa and Chocolate!
Today was a great day!! We started off the morning with painting at Escuela Garibaldi and then played with the children during their recess. It was filled with what seemed like hundreds of piggyback rides and lots of chalk! The older kids enjoyed playing both basketball and soccer. Many of them were eager to learn English and get know us. We are so happy to be experiencing this new culture and making new friends.

After service we headed back home for lunch, where we were able to reenergize ourselves for the activities to come. Then we set off to learn about (and eat!) traditional Mayan chocolate! We went to a chocolateria called Doña Pancha, a small family business that has been passed down for generations. They started off with a delicious chocolate fountain complete with fresh fruit. The women then taught us about the original Mayan currency, cacao, which is the raw form of chocolate. They also used it for medicine, food, and offerings to the gods. At the end of the presentation the women gave us drinks similar to hot chocolate. In their culture it is customary to make a wish before having the first sip of this chocolaty drink, which we made happily!

Once we drank the chocolate we were ready to Salsa! In order to learn the dance we went to a traditional Guatemalan Salsa club. This dance includes many complicated steps but we had an amazing teacher and an absolute blast!! Salsa was then followed by chili cheese fries and fresh limeade. Overall it was a really incredible day!!

6/24/2015

Written by: Emma Seidler and Carmen Harris

The past few days have been full of fun activites and adventure! On Tuesday, we began painting our mural for the school where we volunteer. We can´t wait for the kids to see it after they come back from their vacation. We included many different aspects of Guatemalan culture and landscape that we´ve experienced over the past couple weeks. So far, we have painted the beautiful mountains, farmland, sunset, forest, and the nation´s Quetzal bird. As we painted, we decided to film a time-lapse video to document our progress. We included the first part of it for you to see how far we have come already!

After a long morning of painting, we got to relax at some nearby hot springs. We went up in the mountains, which was about a 45 minute drive from our home base in Xela. There were three pools that were all heated naturally. Each one was a different temperature, and we had fun relaxing in all of the different pools. One of the pools was built into the side of a mountain, and had a lot of caves were the hot springs filtered into the pool. The landscape was so beautiful because we were high up enough in the mountains that we were surrounded by mist from the clouds. Also, there was a path behind the pools that we decided to take an adventure on, and we could see the view even better from where we hiked to.

To finish off a great day, we had a ¨bond¨ fire (pun intended, thanks to Athena, our wonderful team-building leader). We walked a few blocks from our home base to our director Orlando´s house, carrying all the candy and snacks we could possibly eat. We chatted and bonded over smores and ghost stories. Since smores are very American, a lot of our Guatemalan leaders and friends had never tasted them. We got to give them their first bite ever, which they enjoyed. What a great end to an amazing day!

6/26/2015

This morning, we continued our volunteer work at the school. We have almost completely finished painting all of the school! Thanks to Carmen, the team leader for the mural, the mural was also completed. Tomorrow morning, we plan to go back and finish a few final things, including adding our hand prints to a wall upstairs, painting a quote underneath the mural, and coating the mural with a protective layer to make it last for years to come. Here is a picture of the completed mural:

In the afternoon, we were able to enjoy an activity hosted by our leader, Lisette. The activity was only listed on the calendar as “Lisette Activity”, so nobody had any idea what it was. Lisette told us that it was designed to strengthen our Spanish skills, so from that, we guessed that we were going to the movies, and we were right! After lunch, we went out to see Jurassic World in Spanish. None of us were able to take pictures of the event, but we can all attest that the movie did involve several very large dinosaurs and many smaller dinosaurs, all of which were incredibly cool when seen in 3D.

Tomorrow, we look forward to finishing our work at the school and beginning our final weekend here in Guatemala!

Written By: ​Carrington Metts

Everybody has arrived safely at homebase! We’ve just enjoyed a traditional Ghanaian meal of jollof rice and are getting ready for bed after a long journey.

6/11/2015

After over a day spent in airports and on airplanes we finally arrived in Accra at eight o’clock pm and underwent the ordeal of filling out landing-cards and finding our bags. We met Kendall, our international director, and Henry, the local director, at the doors of the airport. During the ensuing three hours we drove past the tallest building in Ghana and caught our first glimpse of the local culture. Upon arrival at Emmanuel Lodge in Krobo we were welcomed with a rice-based, Ghanaian dish that Henry’s wife, Charity, had prepared for us. We were introduced to our drinking water, which arrives in small plastic bags, and shown to our room. Exhausted from our long journey we quickly fell asleep to the sounds of crickets, chickens, and drums.

6/12/2015

We started the morning with a luke-warm shower and another one of Charity’s delicious meals consisting of Tom-tom (a grain-based porridge), omelets, and sweet oranges which we quickly devoured. Then we had a chance to become familiar with our surroundings, tour the house, and go over some of the rules and plans for the following two weeks. After a few icebreakers and a journaling experience we received some down-time to nap, read, play cards, or just chat. Our plans to visit the neighboring girls secondary school was delayed by the funeral of one of the teachers who had passed away. The funeral consisted of a two-day celebration of the man’s life and the loud procession of singing and dancing passed through the school and continued down into the community hall. Charity produced another excellent lunch of Ghanaian rice and vegetables after which we took pictures on the roof, which has an amazing view. We could even see the Volta Lake.

Following lunch Henry led us through the main village to tour some of the old classrooms as well as the newer areas where we would be teaching. Henry also pointed out the site where the library will be built with the bricks that we make on Monday. Passing through the dirt roads we were greeted with great enthusiasm by the children and saw hundreds of baby chicks and goats wandering through the streets. Henry introduced us to some of our host families and the director of the orphanage before we walked back up the road to Krobo girls’ school. In Ghana primary school is provided by the government and goes through sixth grade, however secondary school must be paid for by the family. We walked through the campus of the boarding school to speak with the local director, however due to the funeral she was not present and we returned to home-base shortly thereafter. After another excellent dinner we had a chance to taste some Ghanaian peanut-butter, learn some local games, and make yarn bracelets before heading to bed.

6/13/2015

Today we had a breakfast of porridge and the most amazing fresh pineapples. After a shower and a little down time we headed back to Accura at 10 am to exchange our money, tour the mall, and watch a story-telling based on the popular Ghanaian children’s stories Ananse. After a long drive to the city we were all relieved to spend some time in the air conditioned mall and had our first opportunity to look in the mirror since arrival. After exchanging our cash at 4.13 cedis to the dollar we bought a salad and some French-fries in the food court. After some window-shopping we went upstairs to the cinema where the story-telling would occur. Ananse stories star a crafty spider who undergoes a variety of adventures which teach moral lessons through his success of failure. These stories have been passed orally through centuries, and for he first time an animator, poet, artist, musician, and storyteller gathered together to tell the stories of Ananse. The event had sparked great excitement in the general public and even attracted media attention. We were even interviewed by the camera crew on scene! The show itself contained beautifully designed cut-outs of Ananse characters, sing-alongs in the local language, video shorts of different Ananse adventures, and Henry did a story-telling.

After the show we took a picture with the cast and then made our way down to tiGO for a half-hour of internet access. On the ride home we purchased plantain chips and Ghanaian donuts from vendors walking up and down through the traffic before returning home to a dinner of fresh papayas and avocado, rice, vegetables, and chicken (although Casey, being vegetarian, had eggs instead). After chatting for a little while we headed to bed to get some rest for the two weeks ahead of us.

6/14/2015

This morning Henry showed us how to prepare Gari, a potato-like plant crushed and dried into small grains that can be used to make cereal or dumplings. After breakfast we constructed the lesson plans for tomorrow’s class where we will be teaching English to the fifth and sixth grades. We spent the rest of our time before lunch with Ludo rematch, one of the local games, and a brief game of catch in the front yard. We had grilled plantains, rice, watermelon, and a bean sauce for lunch. After a thirty minute break we will head down to the park to play with some of the children and then visit the Krobo girls’ school. This evening we will undergo a Krobo naming ceremony and receive our Krobo names in the local language.

– Emma

6/17/2015

Today we started with going to the nursery to play with the babies, they were super cute and there were so many of them; we really had our hands full! After we got home we ate some lunch and got ready to go to the market. At the market we all bought various fabrics to make dresses, skirts, pants, rompers, and etc. Kate and I also got fabric to share for gifts. When we were done picking out our fabric we gathered beads, bracelets and necklaces. On the way home Papa Henry bought us strawberry ice cream! Today was a lot of fun and we can’t wait to play with all the babies again.

With Love

– Paige (Ayeki)

6/19/2015

(To Pam, Richie, Michelle, and Emma’s British mom)
Waking up early to the roosters crowing definitely proved to be worth it on Wednesday morning when the four of us, accompanied by Papa Henry, took a trail down to town to play with babies at a nursery. So many babies… so much energy… not a sufficient amount of space to fit so many energetic toddlers. After teaching, singing, dancing, and eating with the children, we returned back to the home base to eat a great lunch made by Charity, aka the cutest person in the entire world (she made and decorated two fruit baskets for us). After lunch, we went to the busy marketplace to buy Ghanaian fabric and beads, and also look around at the randomly weird food that is normal to people that live in Ghana. Later in the day, the seamstress came to our home base and took our measurements to turn our new fabric into clothing.

6/21/2015

On Friday we did service work in the morning, we finished making the bricks and taught in the school like we do every morning. Making the bricks require a lot of physical work and it’s very hot in the morning sun. It takes a lot of time and with only a small group it is very taxing but a very rewarding process. We made 8 bricks that day so in total now we have made 22.5 bricks in all. In the classroom it was also a student work day so the kids were already tired before even starting the school day so they were not in the mood to learn. We made the most of it and were able to get stuff done even though everyone was tired and hungry. After lunch we went to Krobo girls which are all girl boarding school. We got a tour of the dorms and hung out with the older girls and got to know them. We went to the park then to hangout and play games with the younger kids.

On Saturday we went a hike called boti falls and it was botiful! It was a very up and down fun hike that lead up to a rock called umbrella rock. You could see very far from up there and it was awesome. On the way back down we stopped at the falls and it was two different water falls flowing into one pound. After we finished it started to storm and stormed the whole drive home, oh just so you guys know you don’t go out in the rain here unless you have too. Once we made it back another storm hit our house and it was crazy loud and our power went out and stayed out for a while ( the power goes out a lot on a normal bases for a short time.) it finally came back on for a little but then went back out for the rest of the night and most of the next morning. It was a very busy past two days and its been super fun!! Its very sad there’s only a few days left 🙁

That’s all for now so signing off

~ Casey Rua (DeDo)

Shout out to Pam from Kate!

6/21/2015

On Sunday we took the day off and (finally!) had our laundry done while we visited a beach resort surrounding the Volta Lake. We swam in the pool and tried some local drinks, ice-cream, and food. After lunch Kate and Paige joined in a volleyball game and then the group took a thirty minute trip by motorboat up the Volta River to the border between the Eastern and Volta regions. Upon our return the pool had grown quite crowded and we spent a little more time swimming and playing volleyball before heading back to home base. In the evening we hand washed our delicates and after dinner Henry told us an Ananse story before we made our lesson plans for class. Casey and Paige have been teaching the fifth grade while Kate and I teach sixth grade.

6/22/2015

On Monday we started with a team building exercise led by Kendall before heading over to the school where we taught from nine until one. The sixth grade class learned quantifiers, each/both/all, has/have, and continued to work on their rhyming by making couplets. We also taught a few songs and games, and I think Simon Says is currently the class’s favorite game. After teaching we returned for lunch and helped Charity prepare a dinner of beans, stew, and fried plantains. Once dinner was well underway, around four o’clock, we went down to the park to play with the younger kids. Duck-duck-goose, concentration, jump rope, and football are the kids’ favorite games, and we also sang a few songs with them. At six we left the kids and went up to finish making our meal and sit down to eat dinner. Later on in the evening some of the teachers at the school came by to teach us a little bit of the Krobo language, history, culture, and dance.

6/23/2015

Today we had an opportunity to talk over some ways that we can continue to give back to the community after our departure and came to terms with the fact that this was our last full day. Kendall then had us write letters to ourselves six months from now which she is planning to send around January. At ten o’clock we began class. In the sixth grade we sang through the three songs we had been teaching (Shut Up And Dance With Me, The Cup Song, and The Shark Song) which Kate recorded on her GoPro. After that we created a Jeopardy-style competition between the boys and girls in the class to go over the material that we had covered in the last week (the girls won). Fifth grade read a passage and answered a few questions before ending the day in a dance party. Kate and I concluded the day with a few games, stories, and some fun-facts about America before we all had to say good-bye and come back for lunch at home base of Ghanaian Soup (peanut-butter and fish), rice, and sugar cane. The teachers from the school then came and gave Paige a full head of cornrows before we all headed down to the park where we played with the kids one last time. Upon our return Casey had her head done into cornrows while Kate and I each got a few. For dinner Charity carved a watermelon into a basket which was full of mango and watermelon alongside popcorn, soda, and a pasta dish. Afterwards the seamstress arrived with our cloths to try on and alter as necessary. We concluded the night with a game of Ludu and some packing before heading to bed for our last night in Ghana.

Krobo Vocabulary:
· Ba: Come

· Ya: Go

· Tumunyu: Talk

· Do: Dance

· Fiye: Play

· Jukuwi: Children

· Ngma: Write

· Poem: Cancel

· Mwo: Laugh

– Emma

6/24/2015

Everyone has departed safely and are on their way home!

6/10/2015

All students have arrived safely, stay tuned for blog updates and photos!

6/11/2015

We had a great day at Mitad del  Mundo, The Center of the World.  Lots of great group time!  We’re having a blast.

6/12/2015

The group has arrived on Isabela island in the Galapagos. After a long day of travel an impromptu card game arose before dinner.

First day of service is tomorrow!

6/13/2015

First day of work at Campo Duro on Isabela:

We started our work to clean up the coral where the tortoises live at this center. The tortoises are part of the National Park but live here as a sanctuary and to help out the National Park in their work to take care of the animals and we help by cleaning so that they will have only plants that they can eat and in this way get a more natural environment and less contact with people at a close range as they do not need anybody to enter and feed them.

Best,
Hakan

Today was better than any of us could have ever imagined. Between working with tortoises and seeing blue footed boobies and pelicans along the Wall of Tears trail. Everyone took away a lifelong memory.

We’re all super excited to work again tomorrow and can’t wait to get out on kayaks and into the water snorkeling.

– Ross

6/14/2015

The group had a busy day mixed with service for the tortoises, kayaking, snorkeling, a lot of games and great food. Being inches away from seal ions, blue footed boobies and penguins will definitely be unforgettable.

– Lizzy

6/18/2015

Today was our first day at the work site at San Cristóbal Island. We carried plants up the mountain and used machetes to get rid of invasive plants hurting the habitat. After work we got to snorkel with sea lions and play charades.

– Wilson

6/19/2015

Mixing up the schedule today made for a very interesting one. We started the day off with some of the best snorkeling of the whole trip, and finished the morning with a sand castle building competition. We finished off the evening by planting over 150 plants, a feat none of us thought possible. Overall it was a fantastic day, and we look forward to finishing our time in the archipelago tomorrow.

– Ross Thompson

6/20/2015

Today was our last day of service in the Galapagos. We had a challenging and exciting final task of cutting down more invasive species. After a few hours of hard work (and a break of ninja every now and then) we took a trip to Puerto Chino. There we had a barbecue and swam and relaxed by the ocean. Definitely a wonderful way to spend the last day in these magnificent islands.

-Lizzie

6/23/2015

The last night in Ecuador was pretty low key but filled with love. We talked about their experiences here and the wonderful memories they are taking home.

The students are on their way home but with amazing experiences to talk about and new lifelong friends.

Hasta luego!

6/11/2015

All students have arrived safety, stay tuned for blog updates and photos!

6/12/2015

In just a few short hours “Bula” has become not only a greeting but a cheer for the students. Officially, Ni sa bull vinaka, meaning “wishing you happiness and good health,” and the shortened version meaning “life,” Bula has already proved to be growing in the group. After the long trek to Nadi, Fiji (pronounced Nand-ee, rhymes with candy) the first 13 students were excited and ready for all of our adventures. We are now complete with our final few members and set to task getting to know one another, figuring out what it means to build our community and who we want to be, and the beginning steps of understanding Fijian culture. Our time has been filled with beach clean ups, challenge and trust activities, a walk through the beautiful Sleeping Giant Garden (where we found an Australian Buddhist monk who challenged us all to sit in lotus position), and an afternoon of games and laughter getting muddy at the natural hot pools. We’ve found Fijian’s to be incredibly hospitable and welcoming every where we go. It’s be a fun few days and everyone is pumped to head out to Drawaqa Island to our Barefoot Lodge homebase.

6/13/2015

Our day started out early, with a morning run at 6 and yoga on the roof of our hotel, greeting the beautiful sunrise. After washing up and cooling down, we had our morning circle. Our two leaders of the day were James and Kay, who led our morning games and informed and guided the rest of the group throughout the day. We all dressed respectful, the ladies wearing sarongs or long skirts.

After breakfast and a small rest, we departed to a local Indo-Fijian community to prepare a traditional vegetarian Indo-Fijian meal. Traveling on a charter bus, we made our way through villages; one being the home of the Fiji rugby team! When we arrived at the community, we were welcomed with respect and many “Bulas!” The locals explained what we were going to cook for lunch, and we began the process. We prepared our ingredients and cooked all of the courses in the garden of their community building. After a lot of cooking, we were finally ready to eat. The meal consisted of traditional pumping and eggplant curry, rice, potatoes, and coconut chutney, all served with an Indian roti and cooked on an open fire.

We were all so excited to eat what we prepared together as a group! It’s traditional to eat Indian food with no utensils and to use your right hand (one clean, one dirty) and use the roti to scoop up the curried rice. After enjoying our decadent Indian cuisine, we all gathered up and sang! The locals played some Fijian songs, including drums, guitar and a stationary accordion. We then played some well-known American tunes, such as “Stand By Me” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. The energy was peaceful and happy. The Indo-Fijians played us a farewell song as we left the community, giving us many warm goodbyes.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in Nadi to purchase some last minute necessities before heading out to the Island home base. Before dinner, we enjoyed an educational workshop led by Aisake, a local member of Vinaka Fiji (our partnering volunteer non-profit organization of Fiji).
We concluded our day with group discussions, preparing us for tomorrow’s trip to the Yasawa Islands, where we will be staying for the next two and a half weeks!

Vinaka! – Bell and Andrey

6/14/2015

Today we had an extremely early morning. Everyone was up by 5:45 to be prepared for our initial 6 am breakfast circle. It was our last meal at the hotel before leaving for Barefoot, and excitement was running high. Once breakfast was over, we all boarded the bus to the port, excited for our ferry ride to Drawaqa Island. The boat ride was beautiful, everyone was laughing, smiling, playing music, and taking many pictures.

We arrived on Barefoot Island to find a Fijian band serenading us as we disembarked from our boats. Then we met under our large bures (thatch roofed structure) which we named Duavata, meaning “together.” We also took time to move into our cozy small beach huts and were happy to learn who our roommates were. Afterwards each of the local Vinaka Fiji project coordinators explained their service groups work in detail. Later we got a little time to explore the island while doing an awesome scavenger hunt. Following that, we met at the dive shop and ‘Dan the Manta Ray man’ taught us more about local Fijian coral reefs. Just after that each of us got into the ocean for the first time to pass our GLA swim test. We then split up for free-time, some of us swam while others enjoyed a spirited game of beach volleyball. Lastly, we met for dinner circle, had our delicious meal, and finally found out which of the service projects would become our own for the next two weeks starting tomorrow morning!!! After these meetings, very tired, everyone quickly ran off to go to bed.

–  Jack and Macey

6/15/2015

Today was a momentous first day of service. We divided into three main service groups based on interest and necessity. Eight volunteers from GLA went to Naviti Island to work on education and marine biology projects. Another eight volunteers went to the Soso or “Chiefly” Village to work on an underground food bank project that will be an integral part of a future UN presentation. All three projects are aimed at lasting meaningful change that will continue to better the community in years to come.

The education group got the privilege of working one on one with students in years three and four from a primary school. The students we worked with those that are sometimes challenged more so than other in a standard classroom setting and need a little bit of extra attention to thrive. Today, each of the four volunteers involved in the education program got to work with three different students. The experience was not only fun, but also immensely rewarding in a sense that even throughout the short time we spent with the students we got to see them improve. We will be working with the same students for the rest of our service time, and we all look forward to watching them grow as well as growing through the experience ourselves. The education group will also be working side by side with the marine group to improve the communities’ self-sufficiency.

The marine biology volunteers had an amazing first day working with Butani (an expert in marine biology, local ecosystem patterns and dynamics, and just about everything else), and local vocational students. We started the day by listening to Butani’s enrapturing presentation about local sea life (coral, turtles, fish, crown of thorns, etc.), and MPA’s (marine protected areas). Butani explained the importance of coral as a habitat for sea animals as well as an attraction to continue the main island business of ecotourism. With this description, we also learned about how and why coral bleaching occurs. Coral bleaching occurs because of invasive species (crown of thorns and others) or because of human contact. Crown of thorns, a free floating plant that attaches to coral, sucks the algae out of the coral that normally provides for pigment and consequently causing bleaching. Human contact causes new diseases in the coral that it cannot combat. Following Butani’s presentation the GLA volunteers and local vocational students helped to make cement “cookies” (round circles with holes in the middle) that will serve as habitats for coral polyps (fertilized eggs) to grow on. The reason that the “cookies” are necessary is because of the reproductive cycles of coral. Coral releases polyps during the nighttime that float around but will only become coral plants and grow if they are able to attach to a hard surface. By making the cement “cookies” the coral polyps have a place to attach. Lastly, the vocational students led the GLA volunteers around the reef on a snorkeling expedition pointing out thing like giant clams, sea slugs, starfish, coral types, and trigger fish. After snorkeling, we thanked the vocational students and Butani with the traditional Fijian “Vinaka” (thank you). On the other side of Naviti Island in the Soso village region, the other eight GLA volunteers were hard at work on the food bank project.

The food bank group had an amazing eye-opening day! We started the day by getting to go and see the variety of crops that the people in the Soso village have planted just incase of a cyclone or drought. When we returned to the village we gathered all of our tools then went to go meet the chief. The chief was very nice and generous to our group, by allowing us to wear hats at the worksite and play music. After meeting the chief we went back to our work site to figure out what we were all going to work on. We started by hauling sand and gravel then we were working on bending and cutting iron slabs. After lunch we got to work on digging out the natural underground freezer and learn how the locals make cement on their own. Throughout the day we had the pleasure of meeting many fantastic students and children that we hope to continue to talk (and dance with) and build our relationships so they can last for a life time.
All three groups, education, marine biology, and food bank construction, had a successful start that we will continue to build on. Each project hopes to provide the local communities with an element of self-sufficiency that will continue to help them grow as vibrant local cultures. As a group we look forward the continuation of our projects and the lasting effects they will have on the communities and ourselves.

– Caroline Chang, Bridget Bruneau, James Mckenney

6/16/2015

Today, the education group and marine group was given the opportunity to attend the high school assembly, where the students warmly welcomed us with a “bula” song. We then split our ways, and the education group breezed through the day with each student getting five kids to work with, from 25-30 minutes each. Today was the second day helping with reading, and many of us got the same kids to work with! It was satisfying to see the progress in two short days. We tried something different with the kids by playing some group games to get them more excited for each session.

Caroline and I (Jac) are going to each be shadowing a high school student tomorrow. We will be spending a whole day with a Fijian high schooler, from attending class with them to eating lunch with them. Two others from the food bank group, Kai and Kay, will also be shadowing student with us tomorrow. It’ll be awesome!

Once we split ways in the morning, the marine group went straight into the ocean! We went out with the vocational students and they taught us how to snip off the tops of branch coral. We are all getting to know each other better, and it’s also cool being able to communicate in a different way under the water in our snorkels. They’re very intelligent and we are learning a lot from them! We had to be very careful while cutting off the tips of the coral, if we touched the white tips with our hands, it would die and cause it to not be able to grow further. We were able to pick up branch coral from the bottom of the ocean that was detached from a coral base, so we could float it to the surface of the ocean. We all worked together to collect the corals in a bucket and carry them to shore. We then placed them in the concrete cookies that we made yesterday, securing them and filling in the loose space with more concrete. Once finished, we carried the metal bed with the “cookies” down the sand and through the water where we held it half on the boat while we transported to a reef 5 minutes away. We then planted it at the bottom of the ocean! After that was completed, each of us was paired up with a vocational student and went out snorkeling, looking for specific things. One group was looking at the coral, the other was looking for fish, and the last group was searching for invertebrates. We then went into our classroom and wrote down what we saw and talked about what was missing from a healthy coral reef. We are going into a community tomorrow to talk and to inform them on overfishing and the different effects that they have on the reef.
The group working on the Food Bank were given a situation and had to be able to adapt to it. Today we were expecting a boat carrying the tools that we needed for building. However, due to confusion with the boat… we will not be able to receive our tools until Friday. In response to this our group was able to continue working on the foundation of the building—mixing cement and moving gravel. We were also given extra time to interact and really connect with the vocational students and small children from the village. Through all the hard labor and building, our group was capable of working together and truly using each other’s abilities to further create progress in building the Food Bank.
Until mataka (tomorrow)!

– Jacqueline Ung, Luli Hays, Bell Coleman

6/18/2015

Hello Everyone! We are having a great time in Fiji so far! Due to wind and choppy ocean tides, we were not able to visit our service sites yesterday. However, we still had a productive day, playing lots of games and interesting activities. It was also Luli’s birthday yesterday and we surprised her with an evening bonfire.

Today was also quite windy, but it did not prevent us from doing service. Unfortunately, some service groups could not reach their usual service sites because of the waves, so everybody went to the village of Soso. Soso village is a beautiful community located on an island not far from our home base. We were split into our three service groups: some continued working on the food bank, some visited the Soso village elementary school, and some went out snorkeling in the bay.

The food bank group spent their day fertilizing and planting yams in the local village, which will later be used in the food bank that they are constructing. The marine group went out into the ocean, surveying the amount of sea cucumbers in the coral reefs around the village. The education group spent their day observing classes and tutoring students one on one at the local primary school.
After coming back safely to our home base from Soso village, we enjoyed an evening workshop from one of the diving instructors. He gave us a presentation about the basic coral reefs around the island. Overall, it was an efficient and fun day, as well as a great opportunity for the education and marine group to work at a different site and see a new community. We have all been enjoying our service and cannot wait to continue with our projects.

– Andrey, Isabel, and Caroline

6/23/2015

Today was literally not smooth sailing. Going to service in the morning was pleasant, but during our return to our home base, we encountered some rough waters. In a nutshell, we all returned soaking wet, some of us feeling a tad sick, and all very cold. Nonetheless, we had a fun and efficient day of service.

Two members of the education group as well as two members of the food bank group got the chance to shadow local Fijian high school students throughout the day. The other two members of the education group got the privilege of shadowing yesterday. Experiencing a Fijian school day brought to light many differences as well as similarities between the Fijian and American school systems, and was a wonderful experience for everyone involved. Hopefully, more students will receive the chance to shadow before the end of our trip. The members of the education group who did not shadow continued to work with their usual students on enhancing their reading, writing, and grammatical skills.

The marine group visited Mauro Village to assist in the construction of a recycling hut. They helped weave coconut leaves for the exterior of the structure, and enjoyed some Fijian pancakes.

In Soso Village, the food bank group had the chance to understand the Fijian way of building by helping to put panels on two of the walls on the structure. We worked together to measure, cut, and nail the panels to the frame in order to make a solid wall. During the process, it started to rain, but we were able to maintain a positive attitude while continuing to build. When we finished for the day, the chief’s wife invited the group to have afternoon tea with her, and we ended by hiking across the island and riding the bumpy waves back to our home base.

Over the past few days, we had a nice weekend of games and various activities. We got to learn how to weave coconut leaves and played a few games of group volleyball. We also participated in a beach clean up, which was followed by hermit crab races, and a few team building activities. Additionally, we swam with a Manta Ray in its natural habitat, which was insanely cool. We also taught the Fijian chefs how to make PB&J. Monday was another successful day of service in which the three groups continued work on their projects.

Despite the weather conditions today not being ideal, all service groups had an efficient day and we all look forward to continuing our projects.

– Caroline and Erin

6/24/2015

Today was another windy day on Barefoot Island, so we did not want to risk taking the boats out to our service spots… although it still ended up being a beautiful and well-planned day. The energy that everyone shared today was enjoyable and we all felt like a big family. We started our morning with yoga led by Jess on sunset deck, which got us all movin’ and ready to take on the day. We then got an amazing Fijian language lesson from Tema! We all took down notes so that we can practice while talking in the communities. “O vakacava tiko?” Is how you ask “How are you?”

After our lesson, we played a game and then had a conversation workshop led by Kay and Jacqueline. We paired up in groups of 3, and talked about what positive change this trip has brought upon ourselves. Afterwards, we had lunch under the Dua Vata hut (with beans in our wraps!) followed by a nice volleyball tournament.

Once we got enough time in the sun, we all got a presentation from Lemeki about the geography and history of Fiji! As closure to our day, we had a few activities going at a time. Some playing ultimate Frisbee, some slack lining while we had music playing and the sun setting in the background. It was a nice relaxing time, everyone hanging out and having good laughs. After the sunset, we began to write our own individual Change View Narrative. Presented to us by Brittany, we will each make a poem about how each of us have evolved and how we have dealt with change while growing up. We will have the opportunity to share with each other on Saturday.
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

– Bell Coleman

6/25/2015
By: Jacqueline Ung

Today, the education and marine group was dropped off at Botaira Island Resort and had to hike to the Soso village. When we arrived at the village, we ate lunch with the food bank group in the chief’s hut. After lunch, the education and marine group went to the school and split up to do different activities. Some of us tutored the students one-on-one or painted posters with the students for drug-free week. After, we played rugby or baseball with all the students. We got picked up around three in the afternoon. When everyone got back to Barefoot Island, the leaders of the day facilitated a couple games before dinner. The day was very relaxed for the education and marine group and we all had a lot of fun.

6/25/2015
By: Kay Torres

After a beautiful hour-long hike to Soso village, the Food Bank group hammered in the final braces for the structure and continued to dig the in-ground refrigerator. When the Education and Marine group arrived, we all hauled the last pieces of timber from a barge to the construction site. After lunch in the chief’s hut, we finished paneling two sides of the Food Bank as well as starting and almost finishing the last wall. It is safe to say the Food Bank will be finished by tomorrow! Before we left Soso village, the chief’s wife threw a tea party for the Food Bank group with multiple treats made by many families. After a calm boat ride home, leaders of the day facilitated some fun activities as well as a workshop. In all, it was another productive day for the Food Bank group!

6/26/2015
By: Kai Graf, James Mckenney, and Sammi Rustia

The second week of service is over and we have a lot to be proud of and thankful for! The food bank group has almost finished construction of their building that will be able to hold 3,000 taro and cassava plants. The food bank will be able to provide food to Soso and other villages in the happenstance of natural disaster such as a cyclone. The marine group has finished their recycling hut that will give the locals a place to put excess waste that is otherwise strewn about. The education group has helped to make reading and writing fun for many young Fijian children. Everyone is happy at the progress that has been made and everyone has learned a tremendous amount.

The food bank group has made significant progress in the last few days and will be returning Monday morning to finish the project. Only a few windows and the front door are left! The positive attitude from our leaders of the day showed in the productiveness of the food bank group as well as the group as a whole. We started the day on yet another hike to get to the village of Soso, which took roughly 45 minutes. Once we arrived, we immediately started working on the food bank. We finished the roofing, walls and removing excess nails and wood. All in all our day was very productive and ended with delicious food and tea from the chief’s wife.

In the education group, we started the day off similarly to the food bank group, but much later. Today is National Sports Day here in Fiji and so the primary school only stays half day. We split up into two groups, one focusing on one-on-one reading and writing, while the other group focused on assisting the teacher of years 1 and 2. To end the school day, we colored a couple worksheets with the children that represented a drug free environment. Afterwards, we met up with the food bank group for lunch under the chief’s hut. We finished off the day with a tour of the village, saying bula to everyone we saw. Overall, our day was filled with happiness and excitement through the growth of the children’s reading and writing skills.

The marine group was able to finish the recycling hut thanks to hard work and skillful help from the vocational students. The locals are very excited about the recycling center and it was tremendously rewarding to see their smiles and gracious thanks. We had a fun last day of work but it was truly a rollercoaster of emotions when we had to say goodbye to Master Betani and the students. We have learned so much from them and we tried to convey our deepest thanks with somewhat butchered Fijian phrases that they seemed to appreciate nonetheless. The marine group is very proud of their accomplishments and thankful to the amazing people who made our project possible.

I also have a short video to send but computer is dying so don’t have enough time to upload. Will try to get it off to you in an hour.

7/1/2015

All students have departed and are on their way home!

6/9/15

Arrival Day Into Our New Journey.

Today was our first day arriving in the Dominican Republic. After a long day of connecting flights and travelling, all 15 of us GLA members arrived at the Indalo lodge which lies outside Puerto Plata. Some of us bussed 45 minutes and others bussed 2 hours from the airports and settled into our bungalows. Each of us divided into groups of 4 to 5 as we claimed rooms and beds. After depositing our luggage, we quickly slipped into bathing suits and headed towards the beach! The water was warm and the waves were big. Afterwards, we got ready for dinner, a delicious buffet of rice, beans, stewed chicken, vegetables and an assortment of fruit which everyone needed after such a long day. Then we convened and discussed the upcoming weeks that we have to look forward to. We got to meet our counselors and program directors who reviewed the itinerary for the next 21 days. We did a few bonding exercises centered around finding common ground between the many members of the group from all over the world. After the long day of travel, we are all excited and eager to begin the next three weeks and take on the adventures of tomorrow. And there are spiders….. big spiders. More to come on that in upcoming blogs…..

– Emily Crist and Emma Young

6/10/15

Today we went to a village called Joba Arriba. We helped begin a project to help rebuild the local water tank for the local community. As of right now the community does not have any water. During our process we helped by clearing the surrounding debris that was interfering with the construction process. We used the debris to help build a road in order for vehicles to access the water tank in a more convenient way. We helped build a base for a column using rebar, nails, and wires. The process of cutting the wire was very difficult and it took a lot of time. We were hoping for power tools but the community only had small hand saws to cut the thick metal rebar. The day was very hot and everybody was experiencing something new. The labor work was much more intense than expected. The local people helped us to rebuild and gave us good advice to learn techniques much better. After the hard afternoon of work we went to the beach and had some time to rest. We had a great dinner; after dinner we had had a Human Security discussion led by Giorgio. Afterwards we had a leadership activity that helped us understand our values and how we go about them every day.

– Daniela and Allyn

6/11/2015

Joba Arriba II

Eat.Work.Fun.Eat.Learn.Fun

Today started out very similarly to yesterday. Waking up we were greeted by the smell of bacon wafting across from the kitchen. After a delicious breakfast, we headed out to Joba Arriba to continue working on the water tank. We continued to remove rocks from the inside of the tank by filling buckets, raising them, and emptying them outside the wall. Inside the sauna-like tank, the temperature sky-rocketed and had a lack of cooling ocean breezes. Additionally, many members of our group had fun throwing rocks, mixing cement, and hauling water. After the cement was mixed, along with the help of locals, we helped to pour cement to form a support column which will stabilize the roof to ensure that a massive roof failure does not happen again. Then we drove back to the lodge and many members went down to the beach to spend an hour sunbathing, bodysurfing, and just having fun in the bathtub-like water. After returning to a wonderful meal of lasagna and other assorted pasta, Sarah led a discussion about leadership and Georgio led a discussion on environmental security. We all soon passed out while a couple of mentors and students stayed to get RIPPED, by doing an ab work out.

– Des and Alex, the only guys in the group.

6/12/2015

We woke up to the fresh tropical air of the Republica Dominicana. Eager to engender our first adventure in this foreign land, our faces were bright as the sun that shined upon us. We hopped onto the bus, our souls leaping with joy, after enjoying a nutritious breakfast of fresh fruits, eggs, and French toast. My heart trembled as the feeling of joy shook me to my core- a feeling some describe as “excitement”. After a short two hour bus ride we arrived to our destination- 27 charcos (waterfalls) in Damajuaga. After providing us with lifejackets and helmets, Omega, Pablo, and Robert led us through the mountains to twelve of the twenty-seven cascading waterfalls. Everyone in our group enjoyed sliding and jumping down each of the waterfalls, and we were discouraged when we reached the final waterfall. Smiles were the only thing that you could see on our faces. We enjoyed a delicious meal after our adventure, and afterwards we headed to the beautiful town of Cabarete. This surf town offered local stores and a beautiful beach where we got to spend over two hours in bliss (aka free wifi). The cultural difference was prevalent in this town as many of the locals approached us, offering illusive jewels and “organic” chocolate. We haggled as best as we could and returned back to the home base for a awesome meal.

– Alexandrea and Chaney

6/13/2015

It’s Emma Scott’s birthday today!!!! Happy Birthday Emma!!

Today we ventured to La Veredita, about two miles away from our first workplace. We are tasked with rebuilding the community center, which will serve as a monthly medical center and a meeting place for the local community. Today, we started by digging a trench with picas (pickaxe) and shovels that will provide a base for the walls of a new room to the center, also some members of the group worked on digging a latrine in the back of the center. Frustrations ensued as there were cultural differences and difficulties coordinating on measurements to use for the second part of the building, but eventually there was a compromise and we were able to continue the project. It was an especially hot day today, but thankfully a family living near the site where we were working greeted us with fresh passion fruit juice and hot coffee. After our nutritious lunch which we ate in the same family’s beautiful home, we returned to work for another few hours. After a long day of working we returned back to our home base and enjoyed some free time and a delicious tex mex meal. Stomachs full, we entered into a talk with our leader Giorgio about food insecurity throughout the world. After a leadership discussion our day ended and we are happy.

– Alexandrea and Chaney

6/14/2015

Today was the second day that we worked in the community of La Veredita. We were mentally preparing for the hardest part of the project which consisted of mixing cement and adding it to the base of the rebar in which we carried down on a slanted, bumpy, and muddy hill. During the process, we connected to a wonderful family and they brought us refreshments and coffee during the whole work experience. They successfully looked after us and offered their help if needed. The Don or “the man of the house” took the time to explain to our director about what he did for a living. The man kindly explained to Giorgio that he owned one hundred tareas; one tarea consists of thirty-three cacao trees. Since one tarea earns 150 US dollars per year, this man lives a very wealthy lifestyle compared to many locals in the Dominican that are lucky to even afford one tarea. This shows that those who own one tarea depend on 150 dollar profit for a single year. Through helping out with the community of La Veredita , we gained a new perspective of how much the value of just one hundred and fifty dollars in the Dominican compared to one fifty in America. To us one hundred dollars could be a daily grocery shopping trip to Safeway! But to many Dominicans, it is a very low amount in which they depend not only for themselves, but also for their family in one whole year!

Tomorrow we are very excited to visit the batey of La Union where we will help layout cement flooring for Hatian families. This is really educational to intertwine service learning projects to human security.

– Emily and Daniella

6/15/2015

Today we traveled to a new village called La Union. This batey is comprised of Dominican citizens as well as illegal Haitian immigrants. They live in impoverished conditions where many have floors without cement. This leaves them susceptible to many diseases as dirty, “black” water will soak into the dirt floors where many walk barefoot. We toured the local village and saw firsthand the cultural and economic division between Dominicans and Haitians. Dominicans lived on the outskirts or front of the village and their houses were much nicer and well furnished. As you traveled up and into the rest of the community, however, you saw the conditions progressively worsen. Some houses had no access to fresh air, wind, or sunlight and heat and bugs were issues for them. Our main project for today was working to install cement floors in some of the homes. We noticed differences in the process of cementing from what we had done in previous days. Haitians were more methodical in their process: we strained the sand before mixing it with cement to avoid big rocks, and there was a special process they used to mix the cement with water to avoid leakage and waste. As we hauled buckets of cement and sand up to the houses, we were surrounded and helped by many local children. We played and held and talked to them for hours. They were so happy and precious and even made Giorgio smile J The little boys loved helping us shovel and the little girls braided our hair as we took water breaks. At the end of the work day, we drove to a grocery store (AC, finally!!) and indulged in many sweets that we have been deprived of recently. Coming back to the home lodge, we took a trip to the beach and returned to a dinner of chicken, rice, potatoes, mango and salad. We learned about health security as an essential aspect to human security and discussed health issues that affect our world. Today was another adventurous day and we are so excited for Dudu Lagoon tomorrow!

– Emma Young and Allyn Anness

6/16/2015

After three long days of sweaty, strenuous work, we were able to have a fun day. We took a two-hour bus ride to Dudu Blue Lagoon. There, we had the option to jump off a 25 ft. zip line and a 30 ft. cliff into the lagoon, and also swim in natural caves. The beach volleyball court was a fun activity for many of us. Those who didn’t play cheered on the rest as we challenged a group of 6 locals– and might we add, we kicked their butts. Many of enjoyed relaxing in the sun and working on our tan. After dinner we learned about the concern of over using prescription drugs, in the process of learning about human security. Many turned in for the day earlier than usual, while the rest played the nightly card games.

-Jordyn and Cady

6/17/2015

Today we ventured to the beautiful terrain that is Joba Arriba. Our third trip to this area proved to be entertaining as we were able to complete a cement floor for a house in the community. Without cement trucks, we had to mix cement the old fashion way… shovel, sand, and cement bags. We got a special authorization from the environmental committee in the town to take sand from the local river. We were blessed with clouds hanging over our heads, which protected us from the harsh UV rays of the sun. After long hours of sweat, blood, and tears we earned a delicious lunch of burritos, which made our day.

We all worked hard today and we finished our project early, heading back to the home base to do leadership activities on the low ropes course. We learned the power of teamwork and the need to ask for help with different activities, and we all took away new life skills. Our leaders then graced us with some extra free time to settle into the Dominican atmosphere as we have an early morning the next day as we head to Santo Domingo and Jarabacoa. Our next days will be filled with adventure, self-discovery, and cultural immersion

-Lauren and Alexandrea

6/18/2015

Today we woke up at the incredibly early hour of 5 am.  Luckily, we all got to catch up on our sleep on the three hour bus ride to the city of Jarabacoa.  Once here, we hiked to a beautiful waterfall that was in the movie Jurassic Park.  Some of the more adventurous members of our group then went  and rock climbed through the river around to another part of the waterfall to go swimming and play on a beach.

After a lunch of chicken sandwiches, we went to a local ecology university and took a tour with local students learning English.  They had all kinds of plants from pears, to cactus, to floating gardens. Then, after cultural discussion, we went outside to spend a couple of hours playing basketball,  volleyball, and soccer.  We then went to our hostel and helped the mentors cook a delicious dinner of grilled vegetables and chicken, while Giorgio made an incredible garlic pasta.  After dinner, we had time to relax, listen to music and settle into our new surroundings.

6/20/2015

The past few days were filled with adventure, cultural learning, and new experiences. As we hopped onto the bus to start our mini-vacation our hearts pulsated with excitement. We started our journey with a three hour bus ride to a waterfall in Jarabacoa. Although a cloudy day, our excitement was not diminished as we took in the beautiful Dominican scenery. We all took in the image of cascading waterfalls and gushing streams. Some got to swim in this paradise while others hiked the large rocks in the area, leading to a cliff overlooking a massive waterfall. After this exciting journey we ventured to a university dedicated to the study of the environment and natural resources. The students at this school treated us with a tour of their biologically diverse campus, their faces lighting up as they spoke about the many types of flora and fauna situated at their school. After the tour we exchanged our experiences that we had while doing this cultural exchange. We then headed over to their athletic courts to play volleyball and basketball with the student- only losing by a little bit. Following this experience we headed over to a very nice hostel, and the night that ensued included dancing, cooking an Italian dinner, and sharing our experiences about the day.

The next day we woke up to the beautiful scenery of the mountains across from where we were staying. We enjoyed our first breakfast of cereal and milk, which fueled us for the rest of the day. Departing from the hostel, we headed towards the capital of Santo Domingo. A contrast from the greenery we lived in the past days, we were all astonished by the massive industrialization in the city- even recognizing brands commonly seen in the United States. We visited the beautiful botanical gardens located in the city, seeing plants endemic to the Dominican and a picturesque Japanese garden. Later in the evening we enjoyed our first trip to a Dominican restaurant, eating a true Dominican meal of chicken, rice, and beans. After dinner we got to walk around the old colonial town, shopping, bargaining, and even indulging in ice cream. We went back to our beautiful hotel hearts pounding, eyes glimmering, and souls shining. In the morning we took a trip to the natural history museum in the city, and then headed back home to the lodge, satisfied with the trip’s experiences.

Chaney and Alexandrea

6/21/2015

Today we went to a new community called Caraballo. We started out the day by touring the community and learning about how they are forced to cook using illegal, homemade charcoal inside of their already sweltering houses. It takes the people approximately 3-4 days to make a single bag of the charcoal which they sell for 50 pesos (or approximately $1.13). We then saw the river that is used for bathing, cleaning, and more. The water was green and at a standstill, which is definitely NOT sanitary. We then began working on the largest bottle structure in the world. It was nearly complete, all we were doing was smearing concrete on the walls and digging a latrine. After lunch, we went to a local market where we were swarmed by store owners trying to sell us a variety of crafts such as bracelets, necklaces and paintings. We then went to the air-conditioned supermarket to restock on a variety of foods and ice creams before listening to an incredibly interesting lecture on economic security from Giorgio, partially focused on the income inequality of the world. One fact that stood out was how only 300 people around the world own the same amount as the poorest 3,000,000,000 people in the world. We then listened to another inspiring Ted Talk before relaxing and going to bed. Goodnight.

– Alex and Matty

6/22/2015

Today we visited a batey in the town of La Grua. We started off the day by walking through the Haitian part of the community while collecting littered plastic bottles for the walls of the bottle school clinic. While walking, we were joined by many children who were eager to help us pick up the bottles. Despite the language barrier, as a group we had managed to fill up ten trash bags full of bottles within an hour. Throughout the community we observed that the kids lacked clothes and shoes, and the families did not have the basic necessities to keep their homes and surroundings clean and sanitary. After collecting the bottles, we went to work on the existing structure of the school, which was built on the Dominican side of the batey. We walked along side the little Haitian kids that helped carry the many bags of plastic bottles. This community was so divided between the Haitians and Dominicans that we had to cross a road to get to the Dominican side from the Haitian side. Different groups took turns stuffing walls with bottles, digging a latrine, and leveling the uneven floor. After playing a highly competitive and confusing game called “Signs” during lunch, we worked for additional two hours, continuing to improve the school. This was the third batey we have gone to in the past two weeks, and it still provided a completely unique eye opening experience for us. Today introduced a lot of new issues for us all to think about, and we hope to continue to have more experiences like this one in the remainder of the trip.

-Carly Anderson and Emma Scott

6/25/2015

Today we went to Sousa to snorkel after a long cramped bus ride. We arrived and were carried via dingy to a larger boat. We traveled for 30 minutes to the reef and put on the snorkeling gear to look at the fish and coral reef habitat. It was nice to see first hand the environmental component of the oceans. It was very sunny and very sad to see how the coral reef has disappeared and died. A friend threw up on the boat because it was kind of turbulent, but he was ok. We spent our last few minutes looking at the view. We then went back to town to eat PIZZA. Yes, pizza. We were excited. After pizza we had free time to roam around town with our friends. Many returned with Hawaiian shirts, corn rows, necklaces. Others played football with locals. Our ride back to the lodge was pretty hot in the bus and we were happy to get back to take a shower and get our clean laundry from the line. We discussed the last element of 7 elements: Political Security. Afterwards, we were able to talk to a few interns from Indiana of University who are studying how the 7 elements affect various communities in the DR.

– Emma and Allyn

6/25/2015

Our Second Day in La Union.

Today we went to La Union for the second time and it was almost as good as the first. On the way there our front tire blew and we got to see how fast the local men fixed tires, which was not so fast because we had to take a Guaga (local taxi bus) to our worksite. We had the opportunity to help a local family with a cement floor. We are becoming experts at mixing cement. Many buckets of sand and cement were carried up and down a steep hill because there was a slight miscommunication amongst the workers, but we were in high spirits and were happy to help anyway we can. Some of us (Alex) played some soccer with the locals and some of us (Alex) showed them some American soccer skills. It was about a 45 minute bus ride and we are pretty tired. Tomorrow we are going to the border of Haiti to a market named Dajabon Market. This will be a 4 hour bus ride there. Thankfully, we have music and wonderful (Liv, Crys, Shay, and Sarah) to keep us occupied during our bus rides. Some of us are home sick and miss you guys.

– Alex and Cady

The Market

4 hour bus ride there. 4 hour bus ride back. It was long, hot, and windy, but it was worth it. We had the chance to see a new world, a foreign world, a world that seemed chaotic and different than what we are used to. There has been a lot of political and social stuff happening here in the DR and we were not sure how this trip would be. The market was filled with cheaper electronics, knock off shoes and second hand clothing from the US. We were able to see first hand how the 7 elements intertwine and how life is for the Haitian People. It was a long day drive and we are happy that we were able to see this new world.

-Carly

Arroyo Blanco

It was Emma Young’s birthday today, one of our awesome friends here. We were able to spend her birthday hiking up to do a restoration project. Half of the group built a greenhouse from scratch and the other half packed seeds into plastic bags next to a pig farm so you can image the awful smell. After our community service work we jumped into a water fall and had fun. It was a good day. The rain fell on us as we walked back to the van. Thunder and lightening too! We were pretty happy to help with reforestation.

 –Alex