Day 3: Culture Day in San Juan de la Maguana

Well what an exciting day…it was my turn to do Student leader of the day.  I woke up early enough to get the whole delegation up by 7AM so they had enough time to get ready for breakfast which was at the hotel.  We had a light breakfast of papaya, banana, cheese and bread and us teachers had the option of coffee, which is always greatly appreciated.  

Thereafter, we conducted our second seminar on culture, and we tried something new as GG leaders.  We made small groups and had the students work on the specified questions for an allotted time and then brought them back in where each smaller group was to formally present on one of the four aspects of culture and then comment a positive, something I agree with, and something I would add to the group’s presentation.

After our seminar  we had our first field trip was to City Hall where we were treated to a dance recital and learned about traditional Dominican Republic dances.  After the nice dance recital, we were given the opportunity to learn and participate in the dancing ourselves.  It was a great opportunity for each one of us to participate and for some of us to step out of our comfort zone.  That being said, it amazed me as to with what ease the students just jumped right into the event and learned the steps the dancers were teaching them.  I also felt that it was great for the adults—James, Marcela, Gloria and myself—to participate to let the students know that we’re on the same playing field!  

                                            

After the dance recital, we headed to lunch at our usual hangout (Restaurante Onanei) and we were yet again not disappointed as we were plated with the succulent eggplant and rice, along a potato salad and beef with onion and glazed with a yellow sauce…bon appétit.

After lunch we had our program seminar about our tutoring English classes where the students were students answered questions and witnessed scenarios as to what they may encounter in their classrooms as they teach English to the students.  Thereafter the Global Glimpse leaders introduced some strategies as well as reminders that we found helpful in our own classes that may make their experience a bit less stressful.  They were given about 90 minutes to start lesson planning their first English lesson and it was just amazing as to how “gung ho” the students were into devising their lesson plans and were asking the GG Leaders for help and clarification.

We then left for the Palace of the Fine Arts where we were able to play authentic Dominican Republic instruments and it was just awesome as to how musically inclined our students are as they were able to play el palo (type of drum/bongo), la tambora (tribal drum) and the guira (washboard type instrument) and were able to play some music with some Domincian Beats and flare.  What was also a nice treat was that  Ezekial and his counter parts were able to play a few pieces of merengue, bachata, and bolero music so we were able to hear the difference in the rhythm and the beats. 

After the great performance and experience at the Palace of Fine Arts we went to dinner where we ate Pizza!  We were a bit rushed as we heard thunder and saw lightning really close to where we were eating and decided that we wanted to bet back to the hostel before we got drenched…as we walked through the streets of San Juan de la Maguana and heard the thunder and saw the lightning it was as we were characters of a movie as we had one goal in mind---getting to the hostel without getting wet!

 

That lead us to the nightly meeting and “the passing of the torch” or should I say “passing of the crown”

Overall it was truly a memorable day that I am sure that none of our Glimpsers will ever forget!

Day 2: San Juan De La Maguana

Our second day in the DR was one of relaxation, per se.  We got up early this morning to have an amazing breakfast served by our wonderful staff at Hostel—Casa Grande.  After breakfast we had a culture and safety seminar where we were divided into two groups and get ourselves out of the human knot…yeah you can imagine how that went.  Although no group got completely out…our group by far had many more people out of the knot…yeah group 1!

After our seminar had finished we literally had to pack our luggage and prepare ourselves for the 3 hour bus ride to our home city of San Juan de la Maguana.  It was a long but scenic bus ride, and getting know a little more of what the Dominican Republic has to offer.  Of course we stopped half way at rest stop for a pit stop…LOL! Once we made it to San Juan de la Maguana we arrived to our temporary hotel for one week—Hotel Tamarindo.  There we were situated into our rooms and had a brief time to have some down time to relax…even though it was 30 mins, it felt awfully short.  Thereafter, we made our trek to the restaurant Onaei where we had an amazing lunch and had welcome drinks waiting for us, decorated with a  fruit slice and umbrella…SWEET! The drink if you are wondering was an all natural fruit punch blend.

After our lunch we had a city walk tour of San Juan de la Maguana where we visited el palacio de bella artes, city hall, the first church of the city and a local park that was dedicated to Prof. J. Bosch…a president of the DR whom only lasted 6 months!  Then out of the blue, we decided to watch and little league baseball practice at the local park, where we met Don Victor who coincidentally is a PE teacher at the local public high school and university and he gave some history and background of the DR and their national pastime, or shall I say their way of life—BASEBALL!

It was an amazing opportunity for us to interact with the locals and get to know more about them and the city itself.  Some of us even got the opportunity to play catch with some of the kids and ask them questions.  After our time at the baseball field it was time to get to the hotel and prepare ourselves where we GG Leaders conducted the first seminar on history.  Although we were limited for time I think we did pretty good, but know as a team we can definitely do better.  After our history seminar we went back to the restaurant to have dinner and were able to relax and have some needed rest.

After dinner we had to get everything ready for our regular nightly meeting where the next student of the leader had to prep themselves since they were going to get bestowed the “Crown.”  Yeah, and as the luck of the draw would have it…it would be me! Yeah, I’m the leadership coach this time around on the trip and therefore will be the ELD—El Líder del día. 

The nightly meeting went pretty well, the students got to see a different side of me…and we wrapped it up with a unity clap and of course the word I chose…was “rhythm” since we’ll be taking dancing lessons tomorrow!

After the nightly meeting the students had the opportunity to conduct their self reflection and that led to bedtime and nights out.

The overall experience is good thus far, not the same as the Nicaraguan Global Glimpse experience, it truly is a new adventure that we are all a part of.

Time for bed…it’s 1 AM here in the DR!

Buenas noches!

Day 1: WE MADE IT...Santo Domingo!

FINALLY MADE IT SANTO DOMINGO….DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!

So let’s be real, probably the most awful flights I have ever taken with everything that went at SFO yesterday and running like Home Alone in Newark…but at the end we finally made it to Santo Domingo.

As we approached the island of Hispanola you could see out the window the blue water and other small islands of the Caribbean…but had the most interesting arrival…when everyone cheered and clapped as we first touched soil, it was a completely different feel.

As we got off the plane and made our way towards custom the colors were vibrant and the people were friendly.  I did neglect to mention that on the plane I wasn’t given all the declaration forms, because apparently the flight attends thought I was Dominican?!?! Which I got a kick of, because that has never happened.

After we purchased our tourist card and got our luggage and went through customs we met our wonderful Global Glimpse in country director and coordinator.  We trekked through the airport to the parking lot to find our guagua…which is bus by the way and fill our water bottles packed our luggage and headed to the hostel.  

Once we arrived to the hostel for our one night stay in Santo Domingo it was all business but we were given some much deserved rest…for most of us (myself included) weren’t able to sleep on the plane so we were dead beat tired…luckily lunch was nice went through logistics and had some down time until we went for our city walk tour of Santo Domingo…beautiful sites, humid weather, and one could totally see the French/Creole influence in the city with its infrastructures.  The walking tour although nice was long and since we were tired some of us were “zoning out” unfortunately. 

We came back to the hostel had down time, ate dinner and did our first nightly meeting, which was long but yet so informative since our delegation is quite large.  We ended just about 30 minutes ago…I’m running on less than 3 hours sleep…so I seriously need to take a shower and hit the sack.  It’s currently 10:30 PM our time…but will totally need to get some rest since we have a 2.5 hour bus ride tomorrow to our home city where we will be housed—San Juan de La Maguana.

Hasta luego…primer día en la república dominicana…hecho!

T-minus 2 days before we take flight to the DR!

So what can I say other than we’re t-minus 2 days before we embark on our trip to the DR.  We haven’t even made it to the DR and there is a lot of stuff happening and unforeseen circumstances that have occurred.  I guess the most shocking news as of now is that we’ll have a brand new program coordinator in training, and that one of our out of state students will no longer be joining us on the trip.

That being said, I am sure that with the enthusiastic leaders we will make do and roll with the punches that are thrown our way.  Being in communication with the GG Director and the GG Program coordinator has helped and definitely has given me more insight into this brand new program in a new country.  I am stoked to witness as well as experience what they have in store for us and hearing from my students that went on the first delegation, it is well worth it.

Will see what tomorrow brings as I finish my last day of summer school…just have to make sure that I have everything packed though…double and triple checking my list!

 

Packing & Logistics

So the start of a second trip with Global Glimpse...yeah one can say that I am excited, I guess now that I hit 30...the travel bug has hit me, better late then never...right?!?!

The reality is that in less than a week I'll be in the Dominican with a group of yet again 19 juniors from the US...yeah the US not just the Bay Area, this time around.  This year, there will be three students that will meet us in Newark, New Jersey, one from Washington, Pennsylvania, and New York.  Although I have communicated with all the students via e-mail, haven't met any of them face to face...except the 4 students from my school.  To further add to my quandary I haven't been able to reach my co-leader and the fact that most of the delegation comes from his school, is going to be interesting.

I've found that packing has been easier this time around, and knowing how the program runs helps a ton...I'm just hoping that this group of students clicks and jives just like last year's--but who knows, can't have the same expectations, since this is a different group--only time will tell, only time will tell.

T-minus 6 days and counting...the Caribbean here I come...AGAIN!