JA1D Community Day

Hola guys from MJ and Emely! Two roommates who had a wild time being leaders of the day. 

We woke up at 6:50 am (which is far too early for any sane being – MJ) and woke up our fellow glimpsers to be ready by 8:00 am (It took us three years to wake up Tricia, Ashley, Destiny, and Melinda, but we persevered- Emely). Then we had a beautiful breakfast of eggs, eggs, toast, and cereal. 

We then warmed up our minds with food for thought about the community we would be visiting later and posed questions to marinate throughout the day. Then we hopped, skipped, and jumped onto the open truck to start our adventure. 

We visited a local community-Sonido Del Yaque-and walked down a massive hill (which was lightwork -MJ & Emely). We then met Esperanza and learned the history of their community. Sonido Del Yaque has been an entirely self-sufficient community since the 1990s.

They are continuously developing and adding to their community. They reach out to international foundations and organizations for grants to improve their community so they can become entirely self-sufficient. Esperanza gave us a tour of the community and we saw the houses they rent for visitors and they showed us the resources they learned to grow (platanos, passionfruit, coffee, limes, and so much more). We saw their water filtration & heating system (which is completely sustainable. They even had a fish farm… (My dream – MJ) (Something that the city would never do – Emely). We made a human chain to bring rocks up a huge hill in order for them to fence their garden. (Dani was throwing rocks at me… safely – MJ) (People should start stretching – Emely)

We met our host families in the community and we got to know about their stories. We ate with them and they made us INCREDIBLE food (and coffee).

MJ- I chatted with Carmen and she told us about the history of the community, her lifestyle, what brings her joy, and her family. Carmen loves chores and loves the visitors of the community. She told us what it was like living in an isolated community as well as the bright side of having really close neighbors and community.

Emely – I spoke to Juana and she spoke to us about her lifestyle, the reasons why she is still in the community, which is to help others and for the betterment of the community. She was also working to take care of her mother, who has cancer. Her job is a beekeeper, so we were able to see the bees (Pedro clarifies that they saw it from a safe, far distance). 

RIVER TIME!!! 

We then took a dip in the river. We thought the current was going to take us OUT! (Mommy, why would you let me do this? You know I can’t swim. – Emely) It was cold, but it was beautiful… buuuuuuuuuuuuut, once again we got rained on (It felt like the sky fell – MJ). 

After the dip in the river, it was time to start the trek back up the bus (NOT LIGHTWORK)! We were all dying, huffing, puffing, blowing the house down (Ms. Silva’s coffee cup rolled down the hill and she had to get it). We all took breaks, and it stopped raining while we walked.. UNTIL we got back on the bus. We decided it would be a GREAT idea to drive back in the rain and we got soaking wet in the open truck. 

We made our way to El Limon, where we will be doing our CAP project. We met Olmedo, our coordinator, and the family that we would be helping. We will be cementing the floor in a family’s home, who currently have dirt floors. We asked Olmedo several questions about the organization and how we would be supporting them (There was a baby cat as well, I was so sad I couldn’t hold it- MJ). We were smacked by so many branches on our way up and to the Rancho. THEN… guess what… the truck broke down(again)… but we really ran out of gas. We played some poison dart frog to pass the time, then we were saved and got back to the rancho (How many times are we going to break down? Let’s count – MJ) (Chris, can we stop jinxing it? – Emely). 

We got back to the Rancho and we reflected on our day. We got a little emotional and then ate some good food. 

We retired our LDD hats and are now passing the torch to Cloey and Bella. 

We are such active baddies. 

Emely & MJ, signing off. 

Note from GG staff:

Comments submitted on this blog are reviewed by the Global Glimpse team before appearing publicly. Approved comments will be visible on the website within 24 hours. Thank you for your patience and for supporting your student’s journey!

Los comentarios enviados en este blog son revisados por el equipo de Global Glimpse antes de ser publicados. Los comentarios aprobados serán visibles en el sitio web dentro de las 24 horas. ¡Gracias por su paciencia y por apoyar el viaje de su estudiante!