Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures Custom Group program!
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.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 8
St Francis High School students have arrived!
It’s day 1 and this group is already engaged in meaningful conversation and activities.
The students are particularly excited to get to know the resident dogs at Home Base, and there have been more than a few requests already to take them back to California (don’t worry, that’s not happening).
The village of Las Canas is alive with festivities for Easter. We took a stroll through town to get a feeling for the place before stopping into a local home to get homemade ice cream.
To top things off, there are amazing fireflies gliding across the night’s sky!
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 9
Written by Mahlia and Mia
Happy Easter! We got blessed by this awesome priest today! Church music in Dominican Republic touched our souls. After mass we cleaned the beaches.
After lunch today went on a short walk to the beach where we were able to help clean the beach and pick up trash. We broke up in groups to cover more ground and picked up 10 bags worth of trash. I am so glad I had the opportunity to experience this and do my part in making our oceans cleaner. Happy Easter!
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 10
Today we went to a local community and worked on a house that was being built for a mother and her two children. We filled the walls with recycled plastic as insulation and applied cement. The children were running around joyfully interacting with our GLA team. One of the things that kept me working wes the smiles on the childrens’ faces. By the time we were done working, we were all exhausted and ready to get back to the lodge, but we were happy to change someone’s life.
-Cameron
Today we got to immerse ourselves in a small community in la boca where we were able to aid in the building of a home for a mother and her 2 daughters. We used recycled plastic water bottles to use as insulation in the walls and cement to cover that. these materials were used to keep the inside of the home cool. One of my favorite parts of the day was meeting one of the daughters who’s home we were building, we were able to comunícate with her through broken spanish and made an international friend. She was so sweet and worked really hard (better than us) to build her home. We didn’t start or complete the house but it is expected to be completed in the summer. Today i had an amazing experience!
-Emmy
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 11
Today we visited the town of … We left early on the bus and got to … where there was church which 7elements had a medical clinic set up. We had multiple stations in the church set up, including registering patients, taking vitals, finding out the patients symptoms, shadowing the doctor doing diagnosis, and helping out the pharmacist. Faith and I took on the role of taking patient’s vitals. We had a station of taking patients weight, height, temperature, blood pressure, and pulse ox. Faith, Mia, and I were at this station for about two hours, checking patients in that ranged from toddlers to elders. After this station Faith and I moved to the registration station where we were checking people in. Taking their name, age and birthdate on paper. My favoritie experience today was all the little kids who were very friendly with us. Faith and I attempted to have conversations in Spanish and played with them. A little boy named Juju clung to me and we had multiple arm wrestle competitions. It was my favorite experience so far.
– Carley
For me today I had a similar experience. Doing the vitals of the locals was a fun challenge. Since we don’t speak the languages they do(Spanish and creole) we had to be very creative. We knew very little words so we resorted to using hand gestures which ended up working very well. I was taking blood pressure and pulse. We all worked well as a group and helped a lot of people. The best part was talking to and hanging out with the children. One child named Milka hung out with me almost all day and was very kind to me. One of my favorite parts of today was arm wrestling with the children because they were so little yet so strong. On thing that intrigued me was how curious the children were when it came to my bangs. Today so far was my favorite day yet and a day I will remember forever.
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 12
Today we got up early and went to a lagoon. Bella and I thought it was a really cool experience. We got to see an ancient cave where the people did sacrifices and rituals. We learned some pretty interesting facts about that. After that we went and checked out the lagoons. It was pretty cool because when we went swimming we were able to jump off a little deck and we did it a bunch of times because it’s not a time to forget. This day made Bella and I realize how much we should cherish this trip, this is an experience we’re never going to forget. Today was one of my favorite days because we got to just be out and go swimming. We went to both lagoons and got to do a bunch of random dives and tricks jumping in the water. We thought the lagoon was a pretty good thing to explore.
After the lagoon went to to the beach. The water here is so gorgeous, we noticed some strong rip currents, but found our way around them every time. The one thing i found pretty cool was that the water here is like way for salty so our eyes were burning. We got to have piña coladas in pineapples from a local venders. We thought they were so good because here they aren’t blended like back home so you can really taste the pineapple. We went to all the shops at the beach and bought jewelry and other things. When we came back to the lodge we had a good talk as a whole group and we all laughed and got a long. We also got to have a bonfire and I thought it was really peaceful because we all just sat around the fire talking, laughing and making memories with each other.
– Damaria
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 13
Written by Clare and Arthur
Hello future volunteers! We hope you’re having fun so far. We were the group before you. There were 11 of us, from St. Francis High School in Watsonville, California. At the time of this being written, tomorrow is our last full day before we leave. We worked in the medical brigade and a house, the same house you’ll continue working in. It’s hard work, but we definitely had a lot of fun on this trip. Today was our last day in the house, where we finished the bottles and a good portion of cementing the walls. The next section will tell you more about what you’ll be doing to add your part to the house.
When you get to building the house, you’ll be greeted by the lovely family you’re building the house for. You’ll be mixing cement for a period of time and loading them into buckets to bring to the house you’ll be finishing up. You’ll be cementing the walls and after that, you’ll be filling up the floors with cement right after. It will be a difficult task to accomplish, but with a positive attitude and with people to support you along your way, you’ll be able to look back at the moment you were able to contribute to the creation of a house for people in need. Good luck next GLA successors and I hope you’ll do your best to contribute to Dominican Republic society.
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 14
Today in the Dominican Republic, we winded down from the week’s work and prepared to head back home. The trip had a positive impact on our outlooks, and us students are more appreciative than ever. As a reflection of our progress, each student has shared their thoughts on the trip with a statement of something they’re grateful for.
“I am grateful to be able to use my skills to help out those in need, during my time here.” -Arthur
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to use my spring break to help out those in need.” -Cameron
“I am thankful for the opportunity to learn about a culture different than mine.” -Clare
“I am grateful for my parents for allowing me to come on this trip to immerse myself in a new culture and environment.” -Mahlia
“I’m thankful for being able to experience this trip and being able to see how people live in a different country. This trip made me more thankful for my life and everything surrounding me.” -Damaria
“I am grateful that I got to go to the health brigade on Wednesday because it allowed me to experience what I am interested in doing in the future.” -Emmy
“I am grateful for this opportunity to go on this trip because it has inspired me in multiple ways to become more aware and gracious for the things I have.” -Carley
“I’m thankful for being able to experience this heart touching trip, especially helping a family build their house.” -Bella
“On this trip I experienced so many things and was immersed in so many cultures and am just so grateful for the opportunity to be on this trip.” -Faith
