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Thursday June 14, 2018

All students have arrived safely in the Dominican Republic! We are getting to know each other, getting settled into home base, and are all super excited for the next three weeks!

Friday June 15, 2018 

Today was the group’s first day embracing the climate of the Dominican Republic. Though it was extremely caloroso (hot), the group pushed through by enjoying themselves, engaging with the locals, and building the community center for the New York Chiquito. Everyone is safe and sound back at The Lodge, staying grounded and prepared for another day in the DR. Overall, today was such a wonderful experience to enjoy with new friends, locals, and the breathtaking scenery the DR has to offer. We hope these upcoming weeks are as amazing as the first has been so far.

Marissa C. and Becca H. – signing off!

Saturday June 16, 2018

As Ice Cube would say, “today was a good day!” We continued our work at New York Chiquito community center. Yesterday 12 sections of wall were completed, and today we finished the day off with 36 sections! Quite an improvement. The opportunity to be immersed in such a connected community has created an intense feeling of family amongst the group. We are on day 3 and the group has not only bonded with each other, but also with the children of New York Chiquito. To wind down a long day of work the counselors surprised us with a trip to Caleton Beach. We head into the next few weeks inspired and energized to learn as much as we can about the beautiful country that is the Dominican Republic.

-by Kyle C. and Cat R.

Sunday June 17, 2018

Today was the halfway marker of our work completed at Nueva York Chiquito. Our team building skills have improved a great deal today as we helped each other start off the third and highest section of the wall. Not only were we hard at work with the walls, we were immersing ourselves in the Dominican Republic culture by dancing and listening to songs with the locals. After our long day at the site we were surprised by the mentors with a trip to Playa Preciosa. We are excited to visit Dajabon market on the Haitian-Dominican Republic border and experience the rich culture tomorrow.

-by Shay P. & Coni G.

Monday June 18, 2018

Rise and shine at 4:30 am! Start of a five hour journey to Dajabon Mercado. After four stops and some other delays we finally enjoyed our lunch at D’House and prepared for our tour through the market. It was turbulent and chaotic but immersed us in the clashing cultures of the Haitians and Dominicans. We also got the chance to experience the massacre river and the bridge separating the two countries. After our unique tour, we made our way back to the bus for our 5 hour journey to home base.

-by Lily O. & Jude H.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

Today we worked on a latrine in Caña Dulce. We did more bottle walls and began a six foot deep pit, which will be used for a septic tank. Later we raced through an obstacle course on the beach as a team-building experience.

-Taryn and Jay

 

Wednesday June 20, 2018

Today we toured the capital city, Santo Domingo. We arrive at our (air-conditioned, woohoo) hotel around 2 and then headed out to explore the “zona colonial” as a group. We got to do some shopping and visited a lot of cool historic sites. We passed beautiful street art and centuries old buildings such as the house of Christopher Columbus’s son and the first cathedral in the Americas. We then practiced our salsa dancing in a plaza and afterward did a team building exercise, untangling the human knot. Last but not least, we finished the evening with pizza!!!

– Luca and Isabella

Thursday June 21, 2018

Today we explored Tres Ojos caves in Santo Domingo. They were beautiful and the sunlight shining down lit up the clear blue waters. Afterward we headed to Jarabacoa, a mountain town. As rain fell from the sky and a brisk breeze hit our faces, we realized that we were not in Las Canas anymore. Toward the end of the day we did a self-awareness exercise called ‘values line’ which was really interesting. We ended the day playing ping pong and having a piggy back riding competition at our hotel.”

-Megan and Alex

Friday June 22, 2018

Today everyone was very excited to start off the day by going white-water rafting in Jarabacoa. It was an amazing experience and at one point as we glided down the cool river, we surpassed a 4 meter drop! Afterward, we ate lunch, spent some time playing games, and celebrated Luca’s birthday. Next, we took a short drive to a powerful waterfall and came back to the lodge later in the afternoon. It felt good to come back to home.

-by Alexandra and Sam

Saturday June 23, 2018

Today was one of our most challenging days yet! Through hiking the beautiful landscape of Brison, we grew physically and mentally, not only exercising our legs as we took on the 4 km trail but also developing our knowledge of the region’s unique culture and history.

We hiked on a road that led directly through the community, which meant we were able to observe their school, houses and water pipes, some of which had been recently set up by the peace corps. When we got to the top, we ate at the house of a local resident, Maxima, who generously shared her culture through recalling her life experiences (and cooking us delicious food!)

Our strenuous hike made us better understand the difficulties of people in developing countries and appreciate the simple privileges many of us have, such as driving to school and getting a glass of water from the faucet.

– Maggie and Marli

Sunday June 24, 2018

Day 12: Today was our 4th day at Nueva York Chiquito. We finished bottling the walls of the community center. After lunch in the community we went to the beach. We swam and enjoyed each other’s company. We left early due to thunderstorms. Dinner was great as usual. We then had a discussion about issues in comunities in the DR and Haití.

-by Becca and Delaney

Monday June 25, 2018

Concrete for days! Today was the group’s first day working with cement. Although it was different and hard the group stuck together and accomplished a lot! Seven bags of cement to be exact. The trip is going by so fast. Within these 13 days, the group has grown so much and are practically family.

-by Kyle and Jude

Tuesday June 26, 2018

Today was a work day. We finished cementing the walls of the community center in Nueva York Chiquito. One thing that made today more significant is that we met more of the local children. Another thing that made today special was our tour of NYC and the Bronx. We were shocked by the living conditions in the community. This made us realize the true impact of our work. Today opened our eyes to extreme poverty.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Today we took a break from working and cementing to take a trip to Santiago. First we went to Centro Leon, a cool Dominican museum, and learned about Caribbean history. Then we had lunch at a pizza place, where many of us also ordered some very delicious churros. After lunch we then went to a monument and enjoyed a beautiful vista. We spent time as a group at the top, enjoying the skyline and taking silly pictures. We closed the day with dinner and a viewing of Poverty Inc.

-by Megan & Jay

Thursday June 28, 2018

Today was a great relaxing day! Some of us went on a run in the morning along the beach, while the rest of us took the opportunity to sleep in. We enjoyed a late breakfast and later spent some time in the pool. After lunch we went to a gorgeous beach and played in the water for two hours. We capped the day with a yummy dinner at the lodge and are about to have our nightly lecture. We’ve enjoyed this experience so much and look forward to making the world a greener place. Off to gardening in Caño Dulce tomorrow!

– Shea and Connie

Friday June 29, 2018

Today was our first day back to work after our excursion days. We got our hands dirty planting new banana trees for the community in Caña Dulce. While reforesting, we came across many intriguing insects including delicious tarantulas (haha just kidding). After or banana-filled day in the sun, we cooled off with a quick stop at the ice cream shop. After dinner at the lodge, we watched ‘Before the Flood’, an eye-opening environmental documentary.

– Lili and Sam

Saturday June 30, 2018

Today was our second day at Caño Dulce reforesting banana trees. We came together as a group in order to water all of the trees planted yesterday. There is no proper irrigation system in the community, so we formed a long assembly line to transfer 5 gallon buckets of water from the river to the banana sprouts. Today we shared our cohesion and our determination to aid the community through real interactions with each other and the local kids. The work was difficult but proved to be rewarding.

Thanks for reading,

Kat and Luca 🙂

Sunday July 1, 2018

Today was our last day at Caño Dulce (and our last work day here in the Dominican Republic!) As we have for the past couple days, we worked to plant seedling banana trees and water them with water we carried ourselves from the local creek. Before lunch, we took a trip to visit Johnny, a local community member, and explore his environmentally-friendly bee farm.

At the hives, we were even able to taste some delicious honey fresh off the combs— definitely a highlight of the day! Finally, we ended our work day with some time spent interacting with local community children, playing basketball and practicing our Spanish in engaging conversations. Ultimately, our final work day was a huge success with a bittersweet end— we formed memories that will last us a lifetime as we approach our final days here in the beautiful Dominican Republic.

Sunday July 29, 2018

We all made it safely to the Dominican Republic. We are super excited for the adventure ahead! #CSA

Wednesday August 1, 2018

Today we went to cabarete and picked up garbage around the national park. Then we jumped into a cave into the water (it was lit!!). We all hopped in the busses and went to playa Alicia (beach) and had soooooo much fun!!! 10/10 would do again! We all got burnt but we have lots of aloe. After dinner we had a political debate about which hypothetical Village was the poorest. The group consisting of Abigail, Daniel, Nathan, Julie, Gabby, and Victoria won. And after we’re going on a night hike to see the stars!! We’re all Having so much fun here don’t worry about us!

 

Thursday August 2, 2018

Today we continued our service in the community of Caño Dulce. We finished the house we were working on by painting the walls a happy pink color. It was a lot of work, but rewarding to know that someone was going to live in the house that we worked on! After a hearty lunch of ham, plantains, and tropical fruit, we returned to our home base for a relaxing afternoon by the pool. We had fried chicken and French fries for dinner (Yum!). To finish a great day, we watched the NatGeo documentary “Before the Flood”, which opened our eyes to the dangers of climate change and how it is affecting and will affect our daily lives. Tomorrow we do service in the Haitian community of La Grua!

-the leaders of the day, Julia, Alison, Devon, and Itai

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Wednesday July 18, 2018

The 40 of us started off the day heading to Mt. Brisón at 7:30. We arrived an hour and 45 minutes later at the mountain and began the trek to the top. Along the way we stopped at a kind woman Juanita’s home where we were able to buy homemade pan dulce and handmade bracelets. The hike wasn’t easy to say the least. The majority of us were drenched in sweat, but even more than it was tiring, it was eye-opening. To see how the local people went about their lives was an incredible experience. When we finally reached the top of Brisón, we had a traditional Dominican lunch that consisted of eggplant, beans, rice, sweet plantains, pork, fruit and vegetables. It made the physically challenging hike well worth it. We were then well equipped for the hike back down.

After a bus ride back to the home base, many of us decided to venture to the local beach for a walk. We ended the day with dinner, a lecture about insecurity and security in our towns vs. in The Dominican Republic, and some bonding.

Take a look at our pictures taken by yours truly 🙂 <3

Thursday July 19, 2018

This morning we woke up ready to work! We drove to Caño Dulce, the neighborhood in which the house we are building is located. For 6 hours today (with a lunch break), the 40 students mixed concrete and spread it on the inner and outer walls of the house. As we worked, we also got to meet and play with the local kids. As rising global leaders, we learned a lot about Dominican culture and are looking forward to the remaining 7 days of the trip!

Friday July 20, 2018

This morning, we visited Las Cuevas National Park, which is a protected forest with caves. When we arrived, we planted around 60 baby trees. Then, we were given a tour of the types of plant species that grow in this forest, which includes avocado trees, orange trees, pineapple plants, papaya trees, and passion fruit trees. Afterwards, we were treated to a dip in the waters of a beautiful cave! Many of us took turns jumping in. Then, we made our journey to Playa Alicia, and we picked up pizza on the way. We spent a few hours there, enjoying the clear waters and nice weather before heading back to home base.

Sunday July 22, 2018

We concluded our work at the neighborhood of Caño Dulce, but we started the morning with an amazing pancake breakfast. Upon arriving at the worksite, we made lots of rough cement and helped the local masons pour cement for the floor. They completed the floor using a beautiful yellow dye with swooping red streaks. After a hard day’s work, we stopped for delicious Dominican ice cream. Then we enjoyed a pool party back at the eco-lodge. Rebecca, one of the lodge employees, came by to braid our hair if we wanted. We completed our final day of work at Caño Dulce with pure satisfaction.

Check out our photos!

Monday July 23, 2018

Today we went to a lagoon called dudu and it had a zip line that was very high and very fun. There was also a cool cave we got to swim in. In addition to the lagoon, there was a volleyball court where we enjoyed a game together. Later on we went to a beach called “playa preciosa” and it was really beautiful and we all got piña coladas – virgin of course!

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Thursday July 5, 2018

Part 1:

We made it! All students have arrived and we are excited to be in the Dominican Republic and look forward to the journey ahead! Stay tuned for more updates on our adventure!

Friday July 6, 2018

Our first day was a success! We woke up to a delicious breakfast at eight in the morning. After that, we took buses to the Caberete Nature Preserve to clean up garbage in the neighboring community. Afterwards, we cooled off in a body of crystal-clear water tucked away in a beautiful cave. We then rode to a pristine beach called Playa Alicia. During the scenic bus ride, we were able to get a glimpse of what daily life in the DR is truly like.

For lunch, we had our pizza on the beach, before swimming in the serene waters. We then came back to home base and were given time to shower, hang out, and recoup. We were treated to a dinner of fried fish and received an enlightening lecture about human security in the DR and abroad. Afterwards, we were given groups with one mentor and a handful of other students and were able to check in and reflect on what we have done so far.

Saturday July 7, 2018

Today we woke up bright and early at 6 am for our crazy adventurous day. We had a two hour bus ride to Mount Brisón, and hiked for three hours. On the way up we encountered many steep hills and two local families, who both shared personal stories about their lives on the mountains and spoke about the 7 elements of human security.

At the top of the mountain we met La Doña Maxima and she had ready for us a delicious lunch which consisted of rice, beans, pork, eggplants, plantains, and fresh fruit. She spoke to the group about her life on the mountain and some struggles she faces being so isolated from society. After lunch, we hiked back down and returned to home base. To wrap up the day we had a yoga session led by Ellen our mentor and a delicious meal cooked by the chefs.

Sunday July 8, 2018

We began our day working at Caño Dulce. Caño Dulce is a small community in Las Cana. We worked together to build and insulate a cement house for a family of 4. Various jobs performed we used chicken wire to make a barrier for plastic bottles, insulation, cementing, digging a hole for septic tank, and organizing bottles. Afterwards we cooled off in the pool at the home base. Finally, we split into our mentor groups and each created a hypothetical project that could improve life in a community. #Tacosunday

Monday July 9, 2018

This day went a lot faster as someone brought a speaker so we could listen to music. We completed the bottling and the base cement layer of the house. We started to apply a smooth layer of cement on top with the help of locals and masons. To take a break from our work, we went to visit a beekeeper named Johnny who lives in the area. We got to taste his delicious honey and observe his bees. At the end of the day, we watched a documentary on climate change in the midst of a storm outside.

Lots of pictures because we couldn’t choose!

-Written by the Leaders of the Day

 

Tuesday July 10, 2018

What an amazing day at Dudu Lagoon! Today the GLA students and myself got to enjoy an excursion after days of hard work! At the lagoon, we were able to admire intricate caves and wildlife while engaging in fun activities such as swimming, volleyball, and a variation of games. My experience at Dudu Lagoon was truly something I will never forget! Tomorrow we will return to Caño Dulce to continue our work in the community!

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Saturday June 23, 2018

We have all arrived safely in the DR. Despite some flight delays, we are in good spirits and looking forward to the next 10 days! #CSA2

Monday June 25, 2018

The facilitators woke the students of the GLA program 15 minutes earlier to hit the ground running as most all of them were anxious to get working over at the community. From the crack of the first hammer on the walls of the house to the last ball of cement plastered on the walls the house came a long way in the completion process.

Students worked various different jobs from mixing and laying cement, to laying the bottle insulation in the wall, to carving the hole for the septic tank, everyone was working hard making an impact on this community. Alongside the hard work we took some time to interact with the locals and have a fun time playing basketball with the children at lunch time to playing catch with the younger ones, everyone had a blast and there were nothing but smiles on everyone’s faces.

Tuesday June 26, 2018

Today was the first adventure day comprised of swimming in the light blue water of Dudu Lagoon and riding the waves at Playa Preciosa. First, we arrived at Dudu Lagoon and some brave souls zip-lined into the crystal clear water while others played it safe and jumped in. After Dudu we started our next journey to Playa Preciosa which was a salty turquoise ocean. Other than swimming, many people spent their time drinking piña colada’s (all virgin!), getting cornrows, and buying sick jewelry. Day 4 was a very well spent day.

-Authors: Sabrina, Bradliegh, Nicola, and Sofia.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Today started out as an early morning. Around 6:30 am, we all woke up for a yummy desayuno. Then, we began the bus journey to Mt. Brisón. We began the hike up the tough terrain. We learned about the local community members who need to face this journey cada día to get agua and to escuela. When we finally reached the top after a 2 hour journey, we stopped for a delicious almuerzo with Doña Maxima. The decent was far easier than the ascent, but we still enjoyed the breathtaking scenery every step of the way. We are all excited for what tomorrow will bring!

 

Thursday June 28, 2018

Today was an amazing day of service. The group traveled down to Caño Dulce for the third time to finish up our progress on the bottle house. Between cementing, digging the hole, hammering, bottling, and mixing cement, everyone had a day full of hard work. We also got to visit a beehive run by community members who sell honey. The day continued with some free time which the students spent playing in the pool and relaxing. A yummy dinner and more time spent with friends completed the day – some event got to catch the beautiful sunset! We can’t wait for tomorrow!

Friday June 29, 2018

Today we visited Las Cuevas de Cabarete. Here, we picked up trash around the community with the help of the park guides. Following that we took a short hike around the protected area which included a view of the surrounding city. Finally, our last stop while we were there was swimming in the caves. Next, we went to Playa Alicia, where we ate pizza for lunch and swam in the ocean.

When we returned we had a pool party and cake for one of our group members birthday. For discussion tonight we watched a short film on the differences and history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We had Haitians come in and talk about personal experiences and answered any questions about being Haitian in the Dominican.

Saturday June 30, 2018

Today was an interesting day because we traveled to our Haitian/Dominican community (Betey) and saw some of the divide between the two groups. While entering the community you immediately see the tough circumstances that exist because of the lack of support. We worked on building a recycling center using empty plastic bottles. The environment was new as the kids were not hesitant in interacting with us and even some offered to help us. We divided into groups of playing and working to make our day flow well.

In the spirit of respecting local community we did not take any photos today. Here are some great pictures to represent our group: sweating heavily on our way up Brisón and sleeping heavily on our trip back home.

See you soon!

Post Writers: Ella, Macey, Kenny, Delaney

Final Blog – by Alex Kreichman

Though this year I went on my second ever GLA trip, it truly felt like the first again, the sense of wonder upon landing in a foreign country, the excitement building slowly as all the tired and hyped up kids packed onto the bus, the program-wide wave of exhaustion that ensued when we all got our rooms and the mild depression we all had when we learned we needed to get up at 6 AM for breakfast and head to the work site the next day. Though I experienced this all before it was just as fantastic a the first and it’s truly an experience I hope that a lot more people get to enjoy in the future.

This goes without saying but living with the same people for 10 days really helps you bond and make friends that you truly cant see yourself living without after the fact even though you didn’t know them beforehand. I’m still in contact with about 90 percent of my group from the Dominican Republic over text or snapchat and our group chat is popping. Getting to experience the culture of somewhere like the Dominican Republic is fantastic and sobering all at the same time. The fact that there are totally accessible parts of the country that look like they belong on a movie set just around the corner from our worksite where we were making a house for a mason who was living with his family in a dirt floor house with minimal space was shocking to most of us.

About the Worksite, we all got into four different groups and worked under the leaders of the day who were elected by the previous leaders of the day to lead the day (Complicated, I know) and began to work on the house, some of us made cement, some of us used the cement to cover up the mesh, some of us measured, cut out, and hammered the mesh into place after the wall was filled with bottles and some of us puffed up deflated bottles to put into the walls as insulation. We also played basketball with some of the local boys and girls after eating and one day we even went to see a local beekeeper and got to try honeycomb which was kind of gross in my opinion but I thought i’d mention it.

One day we worked on another groups service project in a primarily Haitian community called La Grua where we worked on a recycling center also made out of mesh and bottles and such, but we also spent a lot of our time there playing with the kids, some of us played a 3v3 with some of the locals on their basketball court while others played catch with baseballs or penalty kicks with soccer balls out in the field near where we were building. Other than working, we also had days where we went somewhere and did something touristy such as going to a Lagoon, Hiking up a trail through a small community, snorkeling in the ocean, or just chilling at the beach and recreating scenes from Baywatch for the lols, but eventually our time in the Dominican Republic came to a crushing end, we packed onto the bus after saying our goodbyes and head off to the airport back home, and while we may not still be in the DR, the memories and friends we made there will never be lost or forgotten.

-written by Alex Kreichman