Heeeyy families and friends of us fellow Glimpsers. We experienced the most – in our opinion – impactful days of our trip today.

We started the day with beautiful wakeup calls delivered by yours truly (included maracas and a very soothing voice – Steven). We traveled to the local orphanage/school in Constanza called Vida para Niños and were greeted by Wilkins, the former director of the school and current foster parent for ten children in the orphanage. He gave us a tour of the orphanage and we had the chance to interact with the children, playing soccer and reading books to them. We learned the powerful testimonies of the children in the program, which included their turbulent backgrounds, a contrast to their positive experience living in the orphanage. We bused back to the Hotel Vista de Valle and had a delicious lunch consisting of beans drizzled over rice, chicken with broth, and salad. Afterwards, we prepared ourselves, both physically and mentally, for our trip to the Constanza dump. Some of us decided to stay behind in the bus, with closed curtains to show respect to those living in the dump, while the rest of us got to meet Jose Miguel. He has been a worker there for the past 23 years and told us a little about his daily life. We learned of the glaring differences in lifestyles and economic status of the people of Constanza, who we thought were already less privileged than everyday Americans. After a mandatory shower coming back from the dump, we prepared for our usual English Tutoring and rehearsed for the upcoming talent show.

Melody: Reflecting back on today, I think I did the best of my ability to carry out my duties as Lider del Dia, although I may have stumbled on a few tasks. I believe I showed confidence when addressing the group, much more than I would have before today. I tried my best to speak Spanish both to the staff members of the hotel and to my English tutoring students. I feel like I could have collaborated more with Steven to communicate our ideas and deliver them together. I don’t know if many of you know this, but back home, I am a introvert and I hated speaking up in group discussions. I think coming back home, I’ll feel more comfortable in these situations and I am so very glad I had the opportunity to be Lider del Dia today.

Steven: I had the amazing opportunity to be Lider Del Dia with the one and only Melody Zhang (Aww you’re welcome -Melody). Through out the day as Lider Del DIa I was grrrreeeaaatt at rallying up the troops and demonstrating professionalism. I personally feel like I could have cooperated better with my leader in crime Melody. I grew from this experience as Lider Del Dia by being able to listen more than I talk. Mainly because today was a challenging day.

Keep an eye out for Gracelyn and Olivia’s post for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! (CAP day #1)

Overall, we have learned to be grateful for the privileges we unknowingly receive daily in the US and we have seen the difference in poverty definition for the US and developing countries like the DR. We’re really looking forward to starting our CAP project tomorrow so we can make a change in this community.

P.S.: Shoutout to our fellow glimpser Reetu! We miss you boo!

That’s all folks and thanks for tuning in,

Melody and Steven