elina esparza, Glimpser
Student Trip Blog
Hellooooooo families, after having a great time at the beach, we completed the sixth day of our trip, we got to experience different subjects that benefit the world more than you could ever know! But first the beginning of our day, we woke up our fellow Glimpsers bright and early at 7:00am to get ourselves rejuvenated and hyped up for the 3-4 hour drive that would be waiting for us following breakfast. There were a variety of choices that were eaten among us from a traditional Dominican breakfast, fruit bowl, and finally for those who wanted a taste of home, pancakes with bacon and eggs on the side. MMMNMMMMM SOOOO YUMMMYYY…right? Don ‘t worry, we were very entertained with the vast amount of music genres that were played throughout it. Daniel helped the sleepy campers by playing his electric and also hype inducing Dominican music which definitely caused some movement turning our bus into a real fiesta lol. After we arrived back at the villa, we appreciated the windy and honestly colder climate compared to the beach believe it or not. We got to eat a delicious lunch that consisted of rice, steak, ensalada rusa, y ensalada verde. Making our way to la escuela de sordos y mudos (deaf and mute school) after eating, we learned how to sign various phrases in sign language as well as our names which was pretty tricky, but we got the hang of it pretty quickly with the help of Nariely Leonardo, the secretary for location based in Jarabacoa as well as the nation based secretary. Nariely, spoke about the history of the school that has transpired over the last 39 years, which seeks to teach students of all ages. It was an eye opening experience as we listened to her personal experiences, having been involved through the up’s and down’s of the program. This is to say that finding the proper education, teachers, and resources for these kids in need has proved a big challenge due to the lack of government funding or support. Despite this, this school situated in Jarabacoa and three other locations that extend over four provinces here in the Dominican Republican, have successfully fought back and found access to specialized educators and materials, so the students receive their rightfully deserved opportunity to be prepared to serve in the community in the future. All the Glimpsers in the end, felt so moved by this experience, and signed “Thank you,” in sign language and said it in Spanish! A quick ride back to the villa surprised us with a two hour block of free time, which we used to relax and socialize with other Glimpsers, while a handful chose to get some ice cream!!!! MMMM…icy. Towards the end of our break everyone met up to have our Community Action Project seminar where we embarked on creating our designs for the mural and hopscotch we’ll be painting for the school we’ll be working at. We also discussed the proper safety precautions before we began the manual labor aspect of our work as well. To begin the conclusion of the day, we had a great dinner which was beef, chicken, ensalada, y pico de gallo to create a scrumptious burrito. Finally, we ended our day with our daily nightly meeting with everyone where we shared our many positives that followed us throughout the day. Thank you to all the families who’ve been leaving their detailed and loving messages on every blog, we can’t express how much they mean to each and everyone of your kids, so please continue to leave them!
Sincerely, Julian and Cassia
Photo Drive: Link Here
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/187HFurJtGJ_zn1FQHVWuN7D6FdvJKCrj
Comments (8)
Marie Amboy (Mia's mom)
Another incredible day of learning and growth (and delicious food)! I’m so proud of you all for embracing these experiences with such open hearts and for gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges many communities face in accessing education and resources. The resilience of the students and the school community is inspiring, and I hope this perspective will stay with you long after this trip. ❤️
@Mia – you’ve officially made it past the half-way point! I’m so proud of you! I can’t wait to hear your stories and everything you’ve learned. Keep soaking it all in and making the most of these last few days. Love you! 😘
Reed Wilson
Wow it sounds like you guys are doing lots of traveling around while you’re there. Thanks for the blog and the new pictures, some of them are pretty funny. Hopefully the weather is nice enough while you’re working at the school.
Madeline, your brother returned from FLA yesterday, and he says he wants to be an A Team member next year.
Miguel Angel Martinez Toscano
Glad to see and hear everyone’s awesome experience throughout this beautiful journey. For all you young adults its import to see other parts of the world and experience how blessed you all are. This trip should definitely be an eye-opening trip. I’m sure speaking for all your parents we can’t wait to hear more details when you all return. Just remember, the impact of a compassionate heart and the way we make others feel leaves a permanent legacy.
Berenice Guzman (Esdras' mom)
I loved the name of the blog. 🙂 , thanks for your blog. I was imagine every word.
I wanted to enjoy with you the real fiesta at the bus. (hehe)
It was a blessing to visit the “Escuela para Sordos Maria Auxiliadora”. Now, you can understand a lot of challenges they have, and hopefully how can we help them from the distance. Maybe we can mail some materials from US.
I can not imagine the challenges of that program.
Sorry for my ignorance, do you know if the sign language is universal? or is different depends of the native language?
I believe that you mural will be inspirational. I can’t wait to see the pictures.
Please, enjoy every second there.
Notes:
Tomorrow will play Mexico. We are excited at home.
I was worry about the food, but your meals sounds delicious. (please, take pictures of those traditional dishes)
@Esdras: Disfruta mi amor! Conecta y disfruta. Esta experiencia se vive solo una vez. Te amo!
Shilpa
What an incredible, jam-packed day for you all! From turning a long bus ride into a full-blown Dominican fiesta to the deeply moving experience at the school, you are leaning into every single moment of this rewarding experience.Time is flying and can’t wait to see what’s in store tomorrow!
Claudia R.- Julians Mom
As I read each blog it feels as if I was living the experience with you guys. The blogs are very detailed and full of information. Thank you so much to each of you for all your efforts.
It sounds like you guys are having a great time out there eating yummy food 🙂 but besides the fun times my hope is that you learn from this experience. Sometimes we have a different perspective of life, but when we experience things like the ones you guys are living right now, we realize that there are deeper issues in the world that we are unaware of. So, as we move on something to reflect on is what is there for us to do next? What’s something, we can do to make a change in this world. I will say this, since the moment you guys agreed on taking this trip, your journey began. It takes a lot of courage to do what you guys are doing at the moment. Give yourselves a pat on the back. You guys are making a change for those communities. I’m sure all your loved ones are very proud of you all.
Julian thank you for this blog loved hearing from you. It was good to see you in the pictures. I love you and miss you!
Cassia thanks for the blog as well 🙂
Irene Peters (Cassia’s mom)
What a wonderful journey you are all sharing in and embracing whole-heartedly. Your dedication to understanding the local traditions really shines through in all of the posts.
My teacher heart is proud to see that all
of you growing as Inclusive Collaborators, Global Contributors, and Effective Communicators. Cultural service is so much more than just the physical work—it is about the relationships and the cultivation of compassion. Continue to make meaningful memories as it is incredible to see young leaders making such a positive, respectful impact abroad.🥰
@Cassia, we are missing you. I hope you are prepared to share all the stories with me before you hop on the plane for your next adventure.
Sara West, Devin's mom
I was able to read this not too long after you posted it, but didn’t have time to comment, so I am back — and I hope that you all have a chance to see this, even if I am a little late to the party here 🙂 . I was just going through the pics again, too. I just want to share that it sounds like this was such an eye-opening and heartfelt experience, and that really shines through in your writing. Thank you, Cassia and Julian, for sharing. I always love the descriptions of the delicious cuisine, too. At the end of your hard days, sometimes long and filled with much sweat, it can be so comforting to come “home” to such delicious meals. That’s universal, right? 🙂