PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Written by Amelia & the Dominican Republic Team
Hello my beatiful and feirce pirates and mermaids!
It seems like just the other day we were asking who would be joining for a sunrise run/walk! We hope that since departing the Dominican Republic you have all settled back into your lives. You may have experienced some culture shock and although this is often accompanied by missing different aspects of your travels, we hope you have been able to come through it with a sense of joy and groundedness.
You are missed here too – the morning after you all left Johnny (the dog) came over and tried to go in all the rooms since it was so quiet with no one in the common area! There is also a great sense of gratitude from the impact of your service. Now that you finished the floors in both houses, the families are able to put the finishing touches in painting the walls and moving in. Your energy, your songs, and all of your positivity are literally supporting them every day.
We hope you are enjoying your cacao products and honey even if its just a memory of the deliscious taste we received after making bee boxes. How wild that Jhonny and his wife came to rescue the bee colony in the girls room and a few days later we were able to help him and them out with our capentry skills!
We want to remind you to be proud of yourselves for the growth you went through here stepping out of your comfort zones to make meaningful connections and take on leadership roles. From speaking with Paula and Jhon to get ice cream and candies, to shadowing Dr Caho and Luisa the pharmasist in our medical brigades. You were able to welcome patients, take their vitals, listen to what each person was experiencing in medical history and help get the medication they need. We experienced many leves of language barriers and yet your care was understood loud and clear.
Shout out to all of our relaxing routines that we developed in between as well. The bananagrams, the card games (esp kill the land lord), hammock time, friendship bracelets, reading, pool time and beach days in sosua, playa grande, the laguna dudu, and right in front of home base – oh and the beach Olympics! I hope you’re all still styling your bachata, merengue, and llama dances – and lets not for get our coreo from both Nart and Ava! These moments were invaluable, and added to our perspectives, connections with each other, and joy in the little things.
Do you remember your One Meaningful Goal that you created in your mentor group? In RJ’s group you commited to becoming more appreciative of the things you have and take note each day of what you are grateful for. In Amelia’s group you commited to spread awareness about single stories by asking questions, staying curious, and continuing to learn about new perspectives. These are both commitments you can use to inspire change and continue to be leaders!
Thank you so much for your consistant efforts while you were here and we hope that you hold your experiences close as you move through your lives. We hope you remember the joy, that you remember each other, and the positive influence that you can bring with you no matter where you are in this world.
Un gran abrazo
Amelia, RJ, Beca, and Nilsa
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
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- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR JULY 17
Saludos all the way from the Dominican Republic! We are excited to be here with all of your students on this gorgeous sunny day (only inturrupted by a short 10 munite rain shower)! After two seamless airport pick ups from puerto plata, all 13 are here at home base and we are looking forward to a couple of weeks together full of growth, learning, and leadership.
The first 5 students to arrive spent the afternoon with mentors RJ and Amelia settling into home base and playing card games while awaiting the other 8 students. Once everyone had arrived we officially launched into getting to know each other and of course food! Our local team welcomed us with a traditional Dominican dinner and some amazing passion fruit juice – so refreshing!
After dinner we got to continue learning about eachother through some games and a presention to highlight what we are here for and expectations while we are together. We saved the best part of orientation for tomorrow after breakfast so that we could all finish settling in and get some rest after our travels.
The students were warmly welcomed by the DR with a brief power outage which they all handled like true leaders – coming together with flashlights and snacks until the lights came back on and it was time for bed.
We are so happy to be here to guide your students through this experience and cant wait to see how they continue to bond as a group and grow as individuals. Thanks for all of your support and following along with their journey here! Feel free to comment and show love below and stay tuned for our next blog in the days to come.
Best,
Amelia, Mentor
BLOG POST FOR JULY 18
Hola! Day 2 is complete and we just wanted to summarize our day for everybody back at home. We started our day with a delicious breakfast. We had pancakes, fresh fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and lots of yummy stuff and then we finished our last bit of orientation. We talked about culture and community service, and comfort zones and how we will be able to help out the local communities.
Then we started heading out at 1pm to go help mix and put concrete on a house that will be utilized by a member of the community. It was a lot of hard work and lots and lots of sweat but it made it all worth it when we got to see the progress on the house and know the impact its gonna have the people living in it.
After, we headed back home and got in the swimming pool and enjoyed that relaxing break from the super super bright sun and then ended the night with our mentor group discussions, and lots of fun board and card games. We hope you feel like you were right here with us (minus the sweat, blood and tears), and we will be back tomorrow night to share the rest of our experiences!
Ibk and Ava
BLOG POST FOR JULY 19
Hola Amigos y Familia,
Today we started the day with a great nutritious breakfast which consisted of fried cheese, smashed plantains, fried eggs, fruit and a smoothie. Yum!
Afterwards we had a nice walk over to the same community where we helped yesterday. We mixed concrete and helped to bring it into the house we were building while being guided by Luis, the local builder.
We were suddenly surprised by strong rain and got absolutely soaked, which was refreshing after sweating ourselves for a few hours.
We fortunately had lunch which was chicken fried rice, fried plantain, and salad at the construction site. Being able to have hot lunch really helped us recharge and also was delicious.
We were able to finish filling the front porch with concrete an hour earlier. We were all proud and felt good about the awarding result which also gave us an hour more of free time.
We had ice cream and soaked in the pool as a reward for our hard works.
At night we were able to have a detailed training session to prepare ourselves for our first medical brigade tomorrow.
All in all today was fulfilling and fun with everyone participating and witnessing how the flooring was done and enjoying our sunny Dominican afternoon with ice cream and pool time!
– Pato and Daniel
BLOG POST FOR JULY 20
Today in the morning the group had a great breakfast of french toast and several fruits. At 8 we had a eventful two hour bus right to our first Medical Brigade. There were five stations all doing different work, including registration, vitals, clinical history, doctor assistance, and pharmacy. We worked with a professional doctor and pharmacist who assisted us.
At the end of the service, we had a lot of fun dancing with all the little kids and listening to fun music. We went back to the homebase and had a chow circle and a great dinner. After that, we split into mentor groups and had a very deep conversation about stereotypes. By the end of the night, we were playing a bunch of fun board and card games!
Lexi and Satya
BLOG POST FOR JULY 21
Hello friends and family, we started the day today with a breakfast at 7am. After breakfast around 7:30 most students departed to their room to get ready for the day. At 8am we left for our first excursion at Laguna Dudu. We arrived at about 9:30am and went straight to enjoying swimming in both the large and small lagoons along with playing volleyball with locals. At about noon we departed from Laguna Dudu to our next excursion located in Rio San Juan, which is a beach called Playa Grande. We had a delicious lunch there and after we were all finished we headed down to the beach. We all spent time swimming in the ocean, playing games in the water, hanging out with locals and all around having a great time.
At around 3 we left from Playa Grande and headed back towards base camp. Once arrived back at home we had about an hour of free time to play cards and walk to the store. At around 5:50 we had our chow circle where we shared announcements, highlights of our day, shoutouts and played a card game to introduce our new leaders of the day for tomorrow! At 6 we had a lovely dinner together and around 7 we started our Malnutrition talk with Dr. Caho, which lasted until around 9.
Mya and Izzy
BLOG POST FOR JULY 22
Hola amigos!
Today, we visited Chocojoba- a women’s chocolate cooperative. We got to tour their process from cacao plant to all kinds of cocoa products, like white, milk and dark chocolate, cocoa oil and butter, and the different cacao products they make. We got to sample and purchase them.
Next, after a delicious Dominican lunch, we visited a local beekeeper. We helped build and paint beeboxes, and we also got to try some fresh honeycomb! Connecting and interacting with the local community was so much fun!
After returning to Home Base, some of us bought some snacks like empanadas, ice cream, and candy. We got to relax in the pool and play games together. After dinner, we had a group activity where we reflected on the things each of us value, as well as our first week in the Dominican Republic. Buenas Noches!
Grant and Maya K.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24
Written by: The Natalies
Hey everyone, Natalie^2 here today and we had so much fun! We woke up and had some eggs breakfast rolls and some juice. Then we headed onto the bus to Puerto Plata and went to the Fortaleza de San Felipe and then the Amber museum. Later we went shopping at the umbrella street and the infamous pink street. Next we headed to an amazing lunch spot.
After that we stopped at Jumbo and got snacks and some froyo. We then headed back just in time for FREE TIME and took a dip in the pool. We then indulged in a scrumptious dinner including some chicken burgers and papaya. For our evening activity we learned Bachata dance with Beca and had a great time. Before bed we played some cards and then headed to sleep.
Good night!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
Hola chicos!
We started off the day with a delicious breakfast, and then we walked over to our service site. We worked on finishing the cement floor of the house we were working on. We even got to inscribe our initials on the front of the house!
After we finished service, we all celebrated with some ice cream. We then went to the pool and to the beach. When we got back, we had a lot of time to read, relax, and play games.
We had dinner, and we had a talk about Human Security. This taught us about the seven elements of human security and prepared us for the medical brigade we will have tomorrow.
Goodnight!
Collin and Maya
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
Hola! Today we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the very early morning at 6:00am as we had to leave for a medical brigade located in Haitian populated town called “La Grua.”
At the medical brigade we were stationed in different sections consisting of different responsibilities (registration, taking vitals, clinical history, doctor’s table, and pharmacy). We were hosted by the town pastor in an unfinished church, which GLA and 7Elements are helping to build. We provided the residents of La Grua with medication and also vitamins. We also all engaged in playful interactions with all the children there including colouring with them, dancing, bubbles and much more that we very much enjoyed!
At around 12:30 we had a yummy lunch consisting of beef burritos and tortilla chips. After we finished with our lunch, we had a walk around the community and heard the backstory of the Haitian community in Dominican Republic. That gave us a lot of insight into the history and life the Haitian people lives. Once we were done with the walk, we loaded onto the bus and headed back to home base.
Once we arrived home we played some card games and other activities before we had our chow circle and ate our delicious dinner. We ended off the night with a debate which in the end we came to an agreeable compromise which left us with life lessons that we will apply to our own lives outside of GLA.
– Daniel and Mya F.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
Hey everyone,
Today we went kayaking in the Jamao river! First we woke up and had a nutritious breakfast before leaving for the river. Jaime, our beloved bus driver, took us part of the way before we switched to a safari vehicle for the more rough and bumpy parts of the road. The safari bus came equipped with a giant speaker and we were listening to Latin party music for the entirety of our 45 minute drive. Lots of fun!
We finally arrived at our destination further up the river and were ready to start paddling. We stopped a few times for snacks and refreshing swims and jumps. After reaching the end of the kayak tour we had a delicious lunch at the top of a small mountain overlooking the river before heading back to the homebase.
This was followed by a quick trip to buy ice cream and other snacks, as well as a talk on global health and our mentor group activities.
Overall it was a very sporty and enjoyable day!
Pato and Ibk
