TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Written by Greta, Nilsa, Warren, Diego, Junior & Katherine
Dear students,
¡Hola Amigos!
It is a little crazy to think about how much time has passed since our adventure in the Dominican Republic ended, it feels like just yesterday we were there together! We hope you are all thriving in school and having a great year so far and we hope this letter brings back a few great memories for you!
The time that we spent working with the communities in the Dominican Republic truly made an impact here, you planted a seed. The hard work that you put in to help each project improve and get better made a difference, whether you were working on the water bottle insulation for the bathroom or mixing cement to complete the walls of the houses and bathrooms, each project has grown because of your help. During the medical brigades you all used your different skills and strengths to assist the doctor and learn a lot about the medical field. The team from 7 Elements and all of the community leaders are very grateful for the service you provided and your great attitude while being there. More importantly, we hope that the knowledge that you gained from these projects and these communities will serve you and the communities that you will be a part of for the rest of your lives. Have you shared what you learned from this experience with your own community? If you have, we’d love to hear about it!
Do you remember the One Meaningful Goal (OMG) that you set for yourself? We want to remind you to work towards that goal throughout the year and share what you learned from our time in the Dominican Republic with others to BE THE CHANGE! Continuing working hard towards these goals – you will achieve great things! We believe in YOU! Don’t forget about the letter to yourself that you wrote!
We can’t forget about all of the fun that we had together too! There wasn’t a day that passed where we didn’t laugh a lot or find something interesting to talk about! Whether we were having pool time, playing card games, or having a movie night, you guys always made everything more fun and entertaining! We hope you continue to bring your positive attitudes and sense of adventure everywhere you go! Just to remind you of the good old days we compiled our top 10 Moments of the trip for you!
Top 10 Moments from the Trip
1. The beautiful beach sunsets that we got to see from our beach next door!
2. Jumping into the crystal clear Dudu Lagoon!
3. Visiting Playa Preciosa and riding all of the waves!
4. The first medical brigade when we got to understand and learn more about health care in the Dominican Republic.
5. Playing lots of card games together!
6. Going to visit the Damajagua 27 waterfalls and going down the incredible natural slides! Also watching each other jump in was hilarious!
7. Visiting Puerto Plata and sightseeing in the colorful city! Shopping for souvenirs too!
8. Trying the tasty chocolate at the Chojoba chocolate shop and meeting the wonderful women who run the business!
9. The boat ride and snorkeling adventure where we saw all of the stunning coral reefs and cute fish!
10. Our final appreciation circle and mentor group reflection where we remembered all of the awesome moments we shared together!
This experience together was incredibly fulfilling because we worked hard, learned a lot, and had a blast at the same time! Thank you for bringing your unique personalities and leadership abilities to the trip and making it so special for all of us! We miss you and wish you the best of luck in all of your future adventures!
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Here are a few things you can expect:
- We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.
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 26
Hola from the Dominican Republic! Most of our group is here and made it safely to our home base, we had a few flight delays so we’ll be a complete group tomorrow! We are excited to use this blog to share our adventures over the next two weeks with you!
After arriving from the airports we unpacked a bit and gathered as a group to have dinner. We had a delicious Domininican meal for dinner and started to get to know each other!
After a few icebreakers and name games (there’s 29 students so these are necessary!) we felt tired enough to head to bed! We are excited to see what tomorrow has in store! Stay tuned…and enjoy the pics! 😊
Written by Greta Shanley, International Director
BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
Hello everyone, greetings from las Canas, the amazing neighborhood that’s hosting our Home base! Today, we kicked off the day at 8 AM with a delicious breakfast of toast, eggs, fried cheese, ham, fresh fruits, and hot chocolate to energize and get everyone ready for the day.
After breakfast, we had our orientation with the GLA staff, including Greta, Katherine, Warren, Nilsa, and Diego!
Next up, we took our swimming test to make sure everyone is ready for our upcoming water adventures. Then, we had lunch before heading out for our first service day at @Los Martines. We got busy cutting bottles for wall filling, and the students mixed up some cement to cover them. Teamwork was on point, and in just two hours, we made a lot of progress.
Back at home base, we had some free time, and everyone had a blast swimming in the pool or just relaxing in the hammocks.
At 5:45, we gathered for our first chow circle, where we showed some love to those who absolutely rocked it today with their hard work, great vibes, and leadership skills – you know who you are!
For dinner, we all got together as a whole group and enjoyed pasta, chicken, tostones (fried plantain), fresh fruits, and juices. The staff announced the schedule for tomorrow and introduced the leaders of the day! To top it off, we took a walk to the beach to catch a stunning sunset and attended a lecture on Global health from Nilsa, our local Director.
We can’t wait for tomorrow and all the new adventures, experiences, and opportunities to grow. Stay tuned for more updates!
Written by Diego Angeles, Local Mentor.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 28
Written by Delilah, Molly & Saumya
We started our third day off by getting an early start and having breakfast before we left for service! We spent most of the day at the service location, working there. We built a bathroom using cement and painted a house for a local community. We worked very hard and got to interact with locals and kids. This was all a part of helping public health and providing sanitary spaces. We had a great day, allowing us to bond as a group. We then had the opportunity to go to a supermarket and get snacks!!! We returned to home base, where we got daily free time to swim, read, relax, and more. We had a great dinner and then had a medical brigade training where a local doctor came and educated us. It was a great way to prepare us for tomorrow when we will do our first medical brigade!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 29
Written by Olive, Christian & Grace
We woke up to another beautiful morning in the Dominican Republic with the sub shining and a nice breeze blowing through. Today was our first Medical Brigade and we were all very excited! We all participated in different stations such as: registration, vitals, clinical history, pharmacy, and shadowing the doctor. At registration, we had the opportunity to interact with patients, filling out important information about every person coming into the clinic, including measuring the weight and height of the patient, as well as asking for the name, age, and the reason for visit!
At vitals, we had the chance to use the medical equipment we learned about yesterday in our Medical Brigade Training, using these equipments and tools to measure each patient’s heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure, using stethoscopes, manual and electrical blood pressure pumps, and thermometers. At clinical history, we interacted with the patients and asked about any past or current medical problems, including the possibility of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, any pains they were having, along with known allergies.
At the clinic, we also had the opportunity to shadow a local doctor, seeing live how he interacts and asks specific questions with each patient, used different tools to get more informational about the patient, prescribed medications and doses based on symptoms and diagnosis, and we even had the opportunity to perform a blood glucose test on patients by pricking their fingers to measure their blood glucose level to diagnose diabetes. At the last station, we packaged prescriptions for patients, based on the doses and medication the doctor prescribed!
After spending the day volunteering and seeing patients in the clinic as part of our medical brigade, we returned to our home base for an afternoon filled with relaxation, fun and games. In the evening, we ventured to the beach to play team- building games, like the human knot and elbow tag!
Coming back to home base, we watched a movie- a perfect way to end a day filled with learning, collaboration, and having fun!
Can’t wait to see what our first excursion tomorrow will look like!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 30
Written by Franny, Sienna and Angelena
We started the day a little later at 7:30 this morning and had a good, filling breakfast. We departed the lodge around 8:30 and headed to Dudu Lagoon. We split our time at Dudu between two beautiful lagoons. We enjoyed jumping, swimming, and diving into the bright blue water. We ate lunch buffet style at a local restaurant before departing again for the beach. We spent an hour or so at La Playa Preciosa swimming, tanning, and drinking pina coladas. When we got back we enjoyed taco night. We ended the night with a friendly debate about Dominican infrastructure. The day ended with many people tired but ready for tomorrow’s adventure!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 31
Written by Sophie and Elle
Today was our sixth day in DR!! We started the day with breakfast at 7:30 that consisted of pancakes, oatmeal, fruit and more. We then headed to a women run chocolate factory, while listening to some reggaeton and Bad Bunny. We were able to see how the chocolate is processed and made starting from the cacao pod, all the way to the final products. We were able to test out various products, from cocoa butter to different chocolate treats. Next, we made our a way to a local bee keepers house, and helped out building new bee boxes and then painting them. We were able to talk to some locals, who let us try star fruit and some kids that helped braid our hair! We ended the day with dinner and group activities, a lecture from a doctor about malnutrition, and an ice cream run.
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 1
Written by Regan & Liam
Hello everyone! We started off today with some delish breakfast and got ready for service! On the way to the service site, we dropped off our dirty clothes for laundry day! Today we continued to build the bathroom from Day 2 by stacking bottles and cementing. After our hard work, we headed back to the home base to eat lunch and prepare for a Domestic Violence Lecture by a representative from the Women’s Ministry. We were educated about the violence women face in the Dominican Republic and the consequences this has. After this lecture we got some free time to swim, play games, and relax. We then ate dinner and did our pulse check to insure everyone on the trip is feeling their best! After this, we played charades and mafia. It was a fun filled day and we are excited for tomorrow!
Regan & Liam!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 2
Starting the day with breakfast, we got on the bus for a 2 hour bus ride to Puerto Plata. Once we got there, we got to go on a cable car that took us all the way up to Mount Isabel de Torres. The views were so awesome and it was a great chance for us to see the city from a different perspective. After that, for lunch, we headed back down to a buffet style restaurant with AC! We then got to see the amber museum! After that, we got to go shopping through different streets and get ice cream and coffee if we felt like it. There was this pink street that reminded many of us of Barbie. We finished the day with some delicious hot dogs for dinner and mentor groups where we did an activity to get to know how other people see us.
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 3
Written by Eliana & Emilia
Hello everyone! Today we got an early start to the day with a delish breakfast and prepared for our medical brigade. We then traveled to the site in La Vereda and prepared to care for patients. We took patient history, vitals, and shadowed the doctor. After a full day of working at the clinic, we headed back to home base. We then rested in the afternoon, playing card games, reading, or hanging out with friends. We then all came back together for a delicious dinner and nightly meeting, preparing for the next day!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 4
Written by Anders, Hannah, and Jennifer
Today was our last full day of service for the trip! At 7:00 am, we kicked off the day with some pancakes, eggs, and other tasty snacks. Afterwords, we set off on our journey to la boca to finish what we started last week: painting the house as well as cementing the bathroom. After a long morning of hard work, we sat down to have a nutritious lunch of chicken, rice, and beans. Afterwards, the groups switched places, and we got back to work.
After completing the project and cleaning up, we returned to home base for well deserved free time and got to reconnect with our sick friends. Many of us went to the pool, and others took some time to nap. Before dinner, we reflected on our day during the chow circle, then had a delicious dinner of tacos. After dinner and our nightly meeting, we went to the beach for a surprise bonfire and to watch the sunset. We also got to make s’mores, which was a nice treat. Then we came back and are now writing the blog for all you lovely family members! It was a great day!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 5
Written by Abi, Lexi, Melissa
We started out the day early, with a good breakfast. We then had a long drive to head to the waterfall adventures. We got to jump off the cliffs and slide down the water slides! We then went to lunch and had a really good Dominican lunch. We then headed back to the lodge for an hour of free time then we had dinner. To end the day, we had a lecture about human security, then lights out at 10!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 6
Written by James & Prableen
Today we woke up to a buffet style breakfast of french toast, oatmeal, cantaloupe, pineapple, something, something, something. We put our phones in the bins before eating. Following our meals, everyone prepared for the medical brigade, donning their long pants and clean shirts before boarding the bus. After a 50-minute drive, we arrived at La Boca. We had helped paint a house and constructed a bathroom on a previous day within this community.
There was a large tent set up with a couple of tables placed under it, with four scattered around its perimeter, most in the shade of trees or within the church the locals had graciously provided to support our attempts to help them. Each of these had a group assigned to them to ensure proper medical practices were conducted, such as identification, vitals, medical history, a doctor’s attention, and then, finally, the pharmacy.
Here the patients would be provided with any medicines that were required to treat each patient’s particular diagnoses. The locals also kindly harvested and provided us with their delicious fruits in thanks, keeping us all hydrated and our morale high.
Once all the patients were seen, we ate lunch. Here we were served delicious chicken, lentils, rice, cantaloupe, pineapple, and a salad. Following this, we returned to the bus to relax at the beach. It was quite beautiful, with blue waters and small grains of sand.
After about an hour, we once again departed upon the bus, returning to the lodge 30 minutes after said departure. Then we had free time, where the majority of our group enjoyed the pool maintained and located in the premises of the lodge(after rinsing off, of course). Then we gathered for chow circle where we commended each other for our deeds and actions. Following this, we ate a delicious meal of fried chicken, french fries, fried yams, salad, watermelon, and pineapple.
The leaders of the next day would then be announced, with the schedule for that same day provided soon after. We would then meet up with our mentors and proceed to partake in the, fun, entertaining, and self-educational. Finally, we would be given free time before going to our room at 9:30.
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 7
Written by Braylee & Kira
We woke up today and had breakfast at 8 am. Then we packed and had free time to prepare for our snorkeling adventure. We then hopped on the bus and made our way on our journey. The group went to a beautiful sand beach and visited two snorkeling places. We then had free time at the beach to relax, eat delicious pizza, and shop. We made our way back to the lodge and enjoyed our last chow circle and went to the beach to watch the sunset. Then we ate dinner with the locals and ended the night with ice cream.
“Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened.”
