Lagrimas y sonrisas!

Que lo que? Today was our 10th day of the trip, and we started off with a delicious breakfast, which consisted of a sandwich, fruit, and juice (plus the hot chocolate was amazing)! After breakfast, our GGL Steven guided us through our journey maps. At the start, we wrote letters of appreciation, and then we did an end of trip reflection. Some tears were definitely shed. Moving on, we all sat down in our seats, until the first group of six people (in our roll call order) stood up. This activity was about tapping people on their shoulder, anytime a statement was true to them. For instance, one of the students would tap on another’s shoulder if they genuinely believed that they wanted to get to know the other person better, and the part that made it super special was this: the love was given anonymously. In addition to that, our PC Daniel, explained to us our next activity. Basically, there were three papers hanging around the dining area and we had to reflect on our commitment, courage and passion as a glimpser. We had ten minutes to do this and after the time was up, we had another five minutes to do a gallery walk. This allowed for our delegation to share what stuck out to us, and it truly emphasized the amount of insight we had gained.

Not only that, but we had our Big Love activity that was explained by the LDD, Kathy Phan. There were papers that were passed around to every single person, and all of them had a circle in the center. People wrote their names in the center of the circle, and Emmie, our PC, set a timer. Every minute we passed their paper around and wrote a Big Love on each of them. Before looking at our individual paper, we had to set them down, and then we flipped them in unison, appreciating the kind words that were personalized for us. After getting a chance to read our Big Loves, Our GGLs spoke to us about the new found potential we gained as Global Glimpse alumni. They informed us about the opportunity of becoming an ambassador and future Global Glimpse leader, while also doing a plug-in for the GG Instagram (where you will see some familiar faces in the videos)!

Later on, it was time for lunch (deliciosooo)! Our meal included rice with vegetables, chicken, fried yuca with egg, salad, salsa, fruit, oat milk, and apple juice. Without a doubt, it lifted our spirits, and that was when Emmie enlightened us with this quote, ” Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one continues the journey.” – Alex Noble (author & poet). Each person reflected on the quote with the person to their right, and then the whole group shared their opinions on it.

After all these activities, everyone had time to get ready for the highlight of the trip A.K.A THE WATERFALL!!!! Once our bus arrived, we loaded up and headed to the site. Eventually, we arrived to Salto Baiguate, which required us to hike up, step by step. Some of our group members also filmed a video that was perfectly executed, by the Hollywood Legend, Steven. Everyone was having a blast at the waterfall, however, something unexpectedly disturbed us. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The sky gave us three big booms… curated by the lightning from a distance. Our lives flashed in front of our eyes, and the haze in the atmosphere shifted. And as Sasha puts it, “bye, Felicia!” At last, we zoomed out of there faster than the lightning. We learned our lesson; don’t go chasing waterfalls, because some might say that the epiphany struck us!

We all got on the buss quickly as it was still raining. The drive back to the villas was similar to a water ride at an amusment park! We were blasting music, some were hitting the Nae-Nae, and cracking jokes. We made it back safely to our accommodation and prepared for a yummyyyy dinner. We went to Pizza y Pepperoni where we got 4 different types of pizza (Pepperoni, Hawaiian, cheese, and Chicken BBQ). To celebrate Autumn’s upcoming birthday we were treated to passion fruit cheesecake, thanks to the adult team.

Per usual, we ended with a nightly meeting, one that was simply unforgettable. Kathy and Sasha, the LDDs, started off the meeting, and passed the torch to Steven and Denise, once they presented their unique talents to the group. They presented the agenda for the departure day, we shared some Big Loves and then the veracious waterworks finally came in. To end the day, our unity clap phrase was “Big Love,” and then we wrapped up by signing Dominican Republic flags for both Steven and Denise, in order for them to hang in their classrooms. Lastly, hugs and meaningful messages were exchanged, and we danced the night away!

Sincerely,

Sasha Romero and Kathy Phan

Note from the GGL’s:

Google Drive Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/187HFurJtGJ_zn1FQHVWuN7D6FdvJKCrj

Hey so our Internet actually went out so we won’t be able to upload new ones till we arrive at the airport so stay tuned

Flight information: We will be heading to their Airport at 2am (our time), so you might receive some early text from your kiddos letting you know we are on our way home. As of know we are scheduled to land in SFO at 4:30pm (your time), so really we’re talking about being ready at around 5pm (after un-boarding the plane, custom’s check, and baggage claim). We will have the kids send you updates throughout the day. Please remember to contact Thea, as we will be keeping her posted with updates as well, and it lets us stay focused on the kids during travel. Thank you for trusting us with them and we’ll see you back home.