Greetings family and friends from Bonao!

I am Michael, one of the Global Glimpse adult guides, and I also happen to be el lider del dia; leader of the day. One of the responsibilities of el lider del dia is to compose the blog post for friends and family like you. We have done a number of fun things today, so I have a lot to write about.

We started the day bright and early at 6am. After a brisk shower and breakfast together in our common room, we had our morning seminar to better prepare us for the day. The topic of today’s seminar was culture. Specifically, we pondered what culture is and how it is transmitted and shared between persons of similar and different backgrounds. This mental warm up and discussion was a good way to get all of us thinking about the things we would later experience today.

After our seminar, we left the foundation and traveled by foot to our first destination, which was to visit Piro Espinal, a famous carnival maestro. We spent about 2 hours at Sr. Espinal’s workshop. We first learned about carnival and asked Sr. Espinal about his involvement in the festival. He then showed us a number of his costumes, which were modeled by his assistants.

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Now, these assistants didn’t just model the outfits, they gave us a full-on dance demonstration. We were all so energized by the sight that Sr. Espinal let the Glimpsers try on the outfits and shake their hips to meringue and other island beats. We had a great time and followed Global Glimpse in-country director, Carina, out to Parque Duarte to rest. Did I mention she lead that walk to the park on stilts?

After a brief reprieve in the park and a relaxed lunch at a hotel restaurant called Aquarius, (rice, beans, short-ribs and vegetables), we proceeded to the local cultural center where we first viewed a number of beautiful (blue!) paintings by Bido and then went upstairs to work off some of the lunch lethargy for where we had a team of dancers, lead by an amazing Ms Anna, teach us some serious dance moves. Everyone participated and it didn’t take long for the entire second floor to bounce and shake from the group’s kinetic energy. We danced meringue and we free-styled it (I use “we” here pretty liberally. After quickly realizing I had two left feet, I decided to participate by taking photographs of everyone having a great time.)DSCF6635

We departed the cultural center in the late afternoon and our leaders, probably sensing we were a little drained from all the physical activity, had a surprise and we stopped for an ice cream treat on the way back to the hostel. (I had tres leches, yum).

As we prepare for tomorrow’s activities and ready ourselves for dinner, I will leave you all with heartfelt buenos noches from Bonoa. Until tomorrow’s message from Lauren, all the best from me, Michael and the Glimpsers.