Day 5 – Immigration day

Hello parents, guardians, family, friends and loved ones today we had the privilege to visit another community called the Batey in Sosua. There we learned about the program called the Kerolle initiative from the director Dr.Kerolle. He explained that this was created in order to spread awareness as well as the greatness of their community through giving us a taste of what their day to day lives looked like. To give some background a Batey is where Haitian descendants can live without the fear of deportations to a country they do not know as many were born here in the Dominican Republic.

With this community we were able to learn just how difficult it is for Haitian descendants to live normal day to day lives. Although resources are limited for them, they still show great appreciation for what they have and what others do for them. For example, today we saw the excitement from the children when they received something as small as juice. To us it may seem simple as we can easily look in the fridge for a variety of different drinks yet to them it was a privilege and a treat. Through this we can see the difference of the gratefulness they have towards the things we see to be small things in life. Not only did the community welcome us with open arms, they were also very intrigued by us just as much as we were of them. Visiting them today really showed all the Glimpsers how close-knit these communities truly are and it became a very inspiring moment for us all.

Another exciting part of our day was getting to experience a different part of the DR by going to the beach (Playa Alicia). While our group is very close nit due to the hectic traveling we were able to create even more memories and bond with those who we may not have been able to interact with as much throughout the past couple days. Our group did a mix of seashell hunting, swimming, chicken fighting, running into waves, and even covering each other in sand. We will definitely have lots of pictures to share when we get home.

Once we returned back to our hotel, we had the chance to spend even more time together and bond by spending a few hours in the pool. Just like at the beach, there was a mix chaos going all around as some were having belly flopping contests, handstand challenges, or something as simple as just talking and taking pictures by the pool. During this time we also had the opportunity to call home, even though it is just the LDD’s ( Anahi and Mia), we can say talking to all of our peers, we all miss our families very much and can’t wait to share all the wonderful experiences that we have been able to be apart of.

To my Family and Friends, it’s Mia. I want to thank all of you who have given me the privilege to be on this trip, even through the ups and downs of getting to the DR or the difficulty from being away from all of you I have had so much fun being able to experience this new community and culture that comes with it. Even though I count the days down to the day I get to go home to see you guys I can also say that I have made so many new friends and I have also gotten to get to know my classmates even more. I want to keep it short because writing this will make me miss you all even more but I can’t wait to share all of the stories with you once I get home. I have vlogged every day so far and can’t wait to show you the small clips of our days. To my mom, dad and sister, I miss you all so much I have found pictures in my digital camera that remind me of all of you. Since I didn’t get to say hi on the phone, Aya I heard about your birthday surprise and I hope you had lot’s of fun sorry I missed your birthday but i’m sure you had lot’s of fun. Again, I miss you all so much and the hardest part of the trip has been to enjoy the moment because I know this will be a trip I will remember forever. Thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity. I love you all so so much. (P.S. I wish there were some tree frogs out here) – Mia Kuwabara

To my family, I miss you guys so much, I know it has only been a couple of days and I didn’t expect to miss you guys this much but unfortunately I do. Some days have been rougher than others, I just wish all of you guys were here to experience this with me, it’s been super eye-opening to me and I hope y’all can see the change when I get home. I’ve made friends don’t worry gyals and I am having fun, just sometimes get sad because I’m homesick. I’ve been an island gyal for awhile and have been taking as many photos as possible so I can show all of you when I get home. I am super appreciative for this opportunity and just want to thank all of you for making this possible, I love you guys so much. I miss you Mami & Papi and I’m counting down the days to see you guys and give you your gifts. Ziraili, I spent the whole afternoon trying to find your seashells so you better appreciate them when I get home. I really do love you guys so much!!!!<333