PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
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.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
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 JUNE 13
Bienvenidos a Republica Dominicana!
Today, we welcomed our 15 amazing young leaders to the beautiful country of Dominican Republic! Batches of students arrived at Santiago, Puerto Plata, and Santo Domingo airports at different times of the day!
They went straight to the homebase where they found their rooms, had some initial health checks and swim test, and got to know one another. We finished the day with a delicious traditional meal for dinner and some icebreaker activities.
We look forward to the orientation day tomorrow and learning more about the service projects we will be participating in. Also expecting Rida and Nejhae to join us tomorrow by noon and Yemaya who’s arriving on the 16th.
It was a challenge to take a group photo today as most students came pretty late at night because of the cancellation and rescheduled flights from Miami. We will definitely take one tomorrow morning!
Dear parents, family, and friends! Please keep supporting our leaders’ journey here in Dominican Republic by following our blogs and commenting below! We appreciate all the efforts of being so flexible and patient with all the flight changes! Muchas gracias!
RJ, GLA Mentor
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 14
Today started with a fantastic breakfast, where we mapped out our day’s schedule. Afterward, we dove into GLA orientation, refreshing our brains about our code of conduct. Mentor RJ led a lively game of “I Like To Party With” to break the ice. Our lunch was a delicious spread of rice, beans, chicken, and fresh fruit.
Next, we made our way the Las Canas worksite. Dividing into teams, one group tackled recycled plastic water bottles while the others hammered and wired up the bathroom. Returning to homebase, we enjoyed some well-deserved downtime after a productive day of service. We gathered for our first official chow circle before dinner, and to top off the day, Rida and Nejhae joined us during dinner! Woohoo!
In the evening, we engaged with local Director Nilsa Espino to discuss Global Health initiatives. Wrapping up, we split into mentor groups with Nathaly and RJ for insightful discussions. Stay tuned for our adventures that await!
Nathaly, GLA Mentor
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 15
Hello! Today was an amazing day for all the students here at GLA in the DR. We started the day off with a lovely breakfast, and then transitioned to working on a service project from 8 to 3. Everyone worked really hard and got an amazing portion of the bathroom completed.
Afterwards, we all got ice cream(It was delicious) and went back to the lodge. During free time, a majority of us went to the beach, and others swam in the pool or napped for a bit. Then, at Chow Circle we all stated our Flowers, Buds, and Pollinators (the best part of the day, something we look forward to, and a shout out). Then, we had a delicious dinner. After dinner, we were briefed on our service tomorrow at the medical brigade by Dr. Coho. We also had a videocall with Yemaha who’s arriving tomorrow! That was Day 3, an we are all excited for more! -Navnith
Today at 8 a.m., we went back to Las Canas to continue working on the bathroom our group was building. Some people were cutting bottles and stacking them to use as insulation, while others were hammering nails to attach the chicken wire to the foundation of the bathroom. At some point in the future, when we continue, we will put concrete after having the bottles and chicken wire done.
At 12, we took a break and had lunch (rice, pork, platanos, and some other healthy options). We then went to the beach, admired it for a while, and went back to work, trying to do as much as we could on building the bathroom. At 3 p.m., we returned to home base and had some free time after the long hours of working and sweating. After that, some people went to the beach and some went into the pool at home base.
Afterwards, we had dinner, which consisted of chicken, potatoes, fruit, and more. Finally, we had a doctor come to introduce us and have us write notes on words we will use and any other useful things. The doctor also passed around equipment we will use tomorrow. -Laz
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 16
Hey! Isa here! Today we went and woke up at the crack of dawn for some yummy breakfast followed by our first medical berate! It was so much fun and we got to help out and learn new things about the community and medicine! We had a fun bus ride there and back too where the best nap ever happened! Then we learned about the power of a single story and learned to not judge and stereotype!
Hola, soy Lauren. As Isa was saying, we went to the medical Brigade today where Rain, Nejhae, and I shadowed the Doctor. Then we rotated after out burrito lunch and Nav, Anne, and Kian took our places with the doctor while I moved to Clinical History (where we talked with patients about their medical history for the Doctor’s referenced) with Bianca, Laz, and Josephine. Olivia, Rain and Isa registered the patients to go through the process; Sidney,Carly, and Isa took the patients vitals; and Andrea, Lana, Alex, and Rida helped out with passing out medication after patients saw the doctor. All in all it was a good day!
-Isa and Lauren
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 17
Today was an awesome day!! We got up and ate breakfast and 7am and then headed to Laguna Dudu at 8am. It was about a 1 hour and 30 minute drive and we spent a couple hours there. It was so much fun! We did lots of swimming, feeding fish and lots of other exploring! Then we headed to Playa Grande to eat lunch by the beach! The food was delicious and many of us got some fun drinks! Then we spent some time shopping around and swimming!! Around 3:30pm we headed back to the home base. We had an hour or so to relax and shower before our chow circle where we debriefed the day and our favorite parts! Then we ate dinner and had a malnutrition talk with Dr. Coho which was very interesting and informative!! We finished off the day with a mid-program pulse check and are off to get a good nights sleep!!
-Olivia and Rainhard
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 18
Our day started off with breakfast at 8am, which the hot breeze of the Dominican Republic air and we all woke up super refreshed after having a late morning start. We drove 45 minutes to La Vereda where we went and saw a chocolate factory owned by women. The women’s chocolate collective was a beautiful experience to see as we saw the machines that are used to make chocolate, wine and oils and butter for our bodies. The experience was amazing and we all had a blast tasting chocolate and buying things from the shop! we then went back onto the biscuits and got back to the home base at 12pm where we had some lunch!
After a good lunch of rice and beans with chicken and plantains, we departed to a short 15 minute drive to Canadulce. In Canadulce, we made bee boxes with the help of Johnny, a beekeeper. We sawed wood and then nailed it together to create a sturdy, four sided box. The box was then coated in two layers of yellow paint. We worked in teams, each alternating jobs so we could try each thing.
After we finished making 12 boxes, Johnny took us through the woods to his area where he has all of his bee boxes. We had to walk across a rope bridge to get to it which was a bit scary but we made it! We got to try fresh honeycomb and Johnny climbed a palm tree and got us all coconuts to drink and eat! We then drove back to home base and had around an hour and a half of free time where some students went in the pool or showered or just relaxed in a hammock. We had a delicious dinner in a thunderstorm which made it even better. The fries were especially a big hit within everyone.
We then completed a “Where are you from?” activity where we brainstormed things that made up where we were from. We answered some prompting questions and then created our own poems that described where we were from. Overall, it was a beautiful and successful day!
-Rida and Sydney
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19
This morning we woke up early for our 2.5 hour drive to La Grua for our second medical brigade. We greeted, registered, and treated 50+ patients suffering from illnesses such as diabetes, the flu and gastritis. After lunch we drove to a Haitian village where we learned about the history and living conditions of the community there. On the drive back we stopped at a Dominican store called Jumbo and stocked up on our favorite snacks (the frozen yogurt was a highlight). After a delicious dinner we played a game of would you rather and jeopardy. We look forward to another amazing day tomorrow!
Lana and Annie
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20
Today we took a leap of faith and splashed into the many waterfalls of Damajaguä Waterfalls! Hiking across the humid terrain, seeing the surrounding wildlife and beautiful nature, and of course jumping and sliding down multiple waterfalls was exhilarating! What a great way to start the day.
The afternoon was a relaxing one, a yummy lunch followed by free time and a fruitful mentor group meeting!
Maya Bruce and Alex Kim
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21
Hola from Andrea and Annie! Today we got up for a delicious 7am breakfast and then promptly left for the Las Canas worksite! At the beginning we worked as a group to finish cutting bottles, stacking them in the bathroom, and adding chicken wire! We then took a refreshing lunch break and went to chill on the beach (we got super sandy!) Then we started our afternoon with cementing on the bathroom and made great progress…and we hope to finish it tomorrow!
We walked back to home base, stopping for some cool ice cream on the way. Then, we had some free time until dinner which was a delicious curry! We ended our night with a bachata lesson and some fun karaoke where we uncovered people’s hidden talents, ambitions, and confidence! Buenos noches 🙂
Andrea and Annie
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22
Today we started the day off with a rich breakfast with eggs potatoes and much more delicious foods. After breakfast we walked to the worksite for the last time and started mixing cement to use for the day. We finished a number of tasks like finishing cementing the exterior of the bathroom. We started and finished cementing the interior of the bathroom. We also worked on filling some of the gaps inside the house with cement and smoothing the walls. It started raining which felt nice since it was hot. At lunch we had stir fry and sat with the dogs and chickens. After lunch the majority of us went to the beach to relax, take a nap, and enjoy the scenery, I know I did. We headed back to the worksite and pushed to get the house finished. While that didn’t happen we still made a lot of progress. We walked back to hombase and some of us stopped to get ice cream. – Bianca
At free time, lots of the kids slept and went to the beach and pool, I was asleep during most of it. Then, at chow circle, we shared our highlights and shout-outs of the day, some people said finishing the bathroom or filling in the gaps, others was just helping or being helped by others at the work site. Around dinner, we had quesadillas along with potato salad and fruit on the side.
We participated in a GLA Anchor Activity/ Debate. It was really fun and interesting especially with everyone’s role in this activity. After the debate, everyone was now in their rooms with their phones until it was time to go to sleep.- Nejhae
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23
Hola amigos!
It’s Carly and Kian!
Today was very exciting and eventful day! First we started off with a delicious breakfast and then got ready to head to the city of Puerto Plata.
When we arrived at Puerto Plata, we went to the “Fortaleza de San Felipe” and learned about the history of the Haitian revolution and the Spanish colonization. After that, we visited the amber museum where we learned the creation of amber and its use in the Dominican Republic. We got the opportunity to explore the amber crystal and souvenirs. Later, we shopped around a vibrant colorful street with hanging rainbow umbrellas. After doing some fun shopping in the city we had lunch at a delicious buffet restaurant. Then we departed to Sosúa beach! Where we had some fun beach time in the beautiful clear blue water and got some tasty food and drink.
After a relaxing time at the beach we drove back to home base where we had free time and a delicious dinner. After dinner we had a lecture about human security, which was engaging and educational. Today was a super fun and active day and can’t wait for tomorrow!
