The Young Leader

  • GLA Program Blogs
  • Gamechangers
  • Newsletters
  • About The Young Leader

June 19, 2015 by Brett Scuiletti

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Beachside Service Adventure – July 2 – July 11, 2015

7/3/2015

All students have arrived safely.

 

7/3/2015

DR1

Leaving our homes for a busy week at the Dominican Republic, we woke up very early to catch our flight. We were feeling a rush of emotions from nervousness to absolute excitement. However, once we arrived at the gate our nerves settled down as we saw other people wearing the same blue GLA T-shirt. We began to feel more comfortable around each other during the flight when we took our seats next to each other. During that journey, we were all feeling exhausted and tried to take a nap, but couldn’t get ourselves to fall asleep. Finally, we arrived at the destination, Puerta Plata, and found a huge group of kids our age meeting outside. We were so excited to be in this island paradise and made our way to the hotel. It was extremely hot and as soon as we got off of the bus, everyone headed for the beach. The water felt refreshing after the long plane ride. We got to meet the cutest dogs, owned and loved by our awesome mentors. Everyone poured into the dining hall to enjoy a great dinner, and afterward had several icebreakers to help everyone get to know each other. We can’t wait to discover what these next 9 days bring!
~Soha Mikdachi and Cailin Callahan

7/4/2015

Today we woke up to the rare sound of an unhappy rooster and synchronized alarms!  Hustling to pack our day packs, and dress appropriately, we rushed to breakfast.  Where displayed before us were eggs, toast with a golden brown tint, ham delicately rolled, cheese, and local fruit.  With full bellies and hearts we strolled  to our busses, and daily adventure began.  With a fast and furious-esk bus ride, we arrived at our destination, Arroyo Blanco.  Packs on backs, and canteens in hand we started our pilgrimage to our work site.  Rolling hills and tiny creeks lead us to our first work cite. Straight off the bat, Cameron separated us into two groups; dirt baggers, and rock throwers.  Dirt baggers were lead up the hill to a small green house where their work began.   They circled up around a pile of rich soil, where they switched into alternating shifts of scooping the soil into small plastic bags, and carrying those bags into the green houses. “They were like an arch, and the outside had black canvas”, said Juliana Ryan about the green houses on the hill. “I got a sweet sunburn, and I actually accomplished something that was important to the Dominicans,” commented Jennifer Huang, a fellow dirt bagger.  While the baggers were getting sunburns, the rock throws were getting jacked muscles.  Our goal was to create a steady flow in the river so that fish could continue to descend down the river for local food consumption.  Heaving rocks to the bank, we spoke broken Spanish to local kids, who also helped out with our project.  After only a couple hours we got a steady flow on both sides of the bridge, and established friendships with the kids.  Next stop was lunch!  A local woman named Dalia kindly welcomed all 41 of us into her home and front yard where we dined on chicken, rice, and more fruit.  We talked to local kids, who knew a little bit of English from school.  After lunch, we hiked down to the water fall!  Since all 41 of us in one place wasn’t enough, all the local kids and some parents joined us.  They showed us their impressive acrobatic skills while flipping off the rocks, and on land! Some of us, more anxious than others, jumped off the 15 foot cliff.  Even more sunburned, we hiked back to the busses and back to home base we went. Finally kicking off our soaked shoes, we relaxed with some free time before dinner.  Some went to the beach, and others laid out by the pool.  Dinner consisted of pasta, delicious chicken, enchiladas, this cool cousin of a potatoe but tasted just like one, and even more fruit.  After dinner was leadership, where we were given 30 values in life, and had to choose our top 4 most important to each one of us.  The most common value was love, how sweet.  More free time, then Georgio gave us a lecture about the 7 elements of life, and what human security means.  “It made me very culturally aware.  It educated really privileged kids about unprivileged kids in the world.” said Hallie Perlman about Georgio’s moving lecture.  Again, more free time, more relaxing, and finally time for bed.
Olivia Hansel and Juliana Ryan
7/5/2015
     The day started for us at 5:45 A.M. beginning with a cold shower and a peaceful walk down to the beach. The goal of the early wakeup was to view the outstanding sunrise over the ocean. Rumors of the beautiful sunrise were not made up, as we had never seen anything like it. After the sunrise we made our way back for a 7:30 breakfast which consisted of (legendary) pineapple, watermelon, French toast, sausage, eggs, and a smoothie. Shortly after breakfast we got on the bus and drove to La Grua, a Haitian village. The task at hand was to continue with the construction of the bottle school for the locals. Some went on tours of the village, while others stayed and mixed cement and added bottles to the school walls. Touring the village was a very eye-opening experience. Realizing that the local Haitians had to bathe in the same water that they drank from and used for recreation astonished many of us who were used to drinking from bottled water. After staying in the town for 5 hours we all were exhausted. Following came another bus ride back which consisted of many sleepy children. We came back and relaxed at the beach and pool. After relaxation we enjoyed a healthy dinner of chicken, rice, and more (legendary) pineapple. We finished up the night with leadership and food security lectures.
drbeachx1 drbeachx2 drbeachx3 drbeachx4 drbeachx5 drbeachx6 drbeachx7

7/6/2015

After several days of hard work in Haitian bateys, we were able to get an extra hour of sleep to begin day five. We woke up at 8 o’clock, and ate breakfast at 8:20. We were given fried cheese, fresh fruit, eggs, and toast. After that, we gathered our backpacks and headed to the buses at 9. At 10:30, we arrived at Laguna Dudu, where we were able to zip line into the lagoon 40 feet below us and jump off of cliffs into the water from even higher up. After a couple hours in the water, we played games of soccer and volleyball; truly bringing out the competitor in all of us. Lunch was eaten in the lagoon’s restaurant and consisted of chicken, rice, beans, and salad. After lunch, we ventured through the complex and found a smaller lagoon in a cave filled with crystal clear water and an abundance of fish. Even though the water was cold and the weather wasn’t the best, everyone had an amazing time taking advantage of the country’s natural treasures.  We returned to the GLA home base around 5:15, leaving us time to swim in the pool before dinner. After dinner at around 7, we were inspired by a Ted Talk and discussed the contagiousness of passion. Later, we listened to a human security lecture and talked about the way that economic, community, and environmental security work together.

Olivia Siegel & Taylor Phillips

7/7/2015

To start an absolutely amazing day a group of us got up extra early to go experience the magnificence of the Dominican sunrise. Even though the clouds impeded our view quite a bit the beauty of it was outstanding. After the sunrise we headed back to home base to enjoy yet another great meal. The Dominican style of cooking never ceases to impress. After breakfast all of us loaded onto the bus for riveting ride back to our second day of building a bottle school for the children of La Grua. Everyone played a major role in the construction of the school for these very underprivileged children. Half way through the process a group of us left to tour the community itself and see the lifestyle of these people. The absolutely horrendous conditions of the town almost brought many of us to tears. Just seeing the quality of their water and the land left the majority of us in awe. Little can we say there was trash everywhere; and when we say everywhere we mean everywhere. Yet the children were not phased. Still smiling and frolicking through broken glass, empty bags, dirty diapers, and even the remnants of a cows skull. This tour was the most eye opening experience of our young lives. Through all of this horror these people still manage to find the joy in life. Sharing their local music with us and inviting us to dance along with them was incredibly inspiring. The power of these people was something out of this world. To wrap up the day we headed back to our temporary home to enjoy yet another delicious meal and hang with our new founded friends and enjoy the absolutely stunning beauty of the Dominican Republic.

By: Theo, and Maddie

7/8/2015

We started the seventh day by waking up an hour later with a special surprise of having pancakes for breakfast.  Around 9am we took a ten minute bus ride to a Dominican community called Caño Dulce.  This was the first bottle school the GLA started and it is the one only Dominican community we work in.  In this community we mixed cement in order to cover floors in some of the houses.  As a group we were able to mix 28 bags of cement and complete two full houses and half of the third.  Also, we made bee boxes and painted them.  We used special paint with high smelling toxics so that other animals would not destroy the bee boxes.
Next, we separated in two groups and went on a tour.  James our mentor took us around the community, through a field of cacao trees, across a skinny wire bridge, and finally got to the bee farm. This was a huge hill filled with hollowed out logs for bee nests and bee boxes.  The bee keeper showed us around and then gave us fresh honeycomb.  Throughout our day in this community we had the opportunity to meet the local people and hangout with them.  We played basketball with the kids and they all helped us throughout the day with our projects.  Talking to everyone and learning more about their life gave us a dual learning experience.  We left the community around 3pm and went to the beach.
Afterwards we had our leadership time early before dinner.  We broke into four groups and tried to complete a series of low ropes courses.  Through this activity we were able create close friendships with our peers and work together to complete the courses quickly.  After everyone finished we ate chicken, rice, vegetables, and fruit for dinner and talked with Giorgio about political security.  This day was very fun in a variety of ways because we were able to complete a lot of work done in the community, have a dual developmental relationship with the local people, and become closer with everyone here to volunteer.
By: Kelly Thompson and Dario Drndalovski
7/9/2015
This morning we had potatoes, ham, bread, fruit, fried cheese and hot cocoa. Next we all loaded on the bus around 8:00 and drove for an hour and fifteen minutes and slept and sang music on the bus. As we started to hike we learned about the school and other projects they had worked on in the area. As we struggled, sweat, and cried up the mountain we learned that some people had to climb the mountain every day. For some people it was one of the hardest mountains things they had ever done physically.
The hike really made us appreciate what we have and we were inspired to help the community more. “Man, these people walk so fast”-Jennifer. As we were almost in tears we were told there was 30 minutes left, we later found out it was more like two. At the top we enjoyed the usual lunch of chicken, fruit, rice, beans, and coleslaw. A family graciously offered us their home to eat at. There was a man who sold ice cream, he was quickly swarmed by all of us sweaty, stinky, tired kids. The ice cream seemed like the best ice cream ever due to our state. After lunch we slipped and slide partially down the mountain.
We stopped at another family’s home, where we bagged dirt for their green house as a reforestation project. Many of the kids came to help us and it was fun to hang out with them. We worked for over an hour and then hiked the rest of the way home. The hike back was a lot easier and a nice break. The views and experience from today’s hike were truly breath taking. Most everyone was exhausted and sweaty so we slept on the ride home. Back at the base people swam and slept till dinner where we had pork, more potatoes, something mashed, fruit and juice. We later had leadership and a speech from Georgio, both summed up our trip nicely.
Love your favorite people,
Dana and Joslyn

Global Leadership Adventures


Comments

Filed Under: Programs

About Brett Scuiletti

Brett Scuiletti is the Editor of The Young Leader. He is passionate about young people having meaningful travel experiences and enjoys sharing their stories. Brett resides in San Diego but always has his passport handy!

Give Back to the Community

Donate to the GLA International Foundation and help support projects and grant recipients around the world.

Brought to you by

Copyright © 2023 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in