Hey everyone! My name is Skyler Gin and I was leader of the day for today’s Free Day.

First, a little about myself. I am an incoming senior at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon. I am very active and love to play sports. I am also apart of Dougherty Valley High School’s choir. However, today was a day to try different things and relax a bit.

Today we started with a great late wake up at 8 AM instead of 7 AM. From then on it was all relaxation. Free time included going to a watercolor class to playing Apples To Apples. From there we traveled to Yaguate with our G.G. ambassadors. At Yaguate we shopped, ate, got hair braided, and went to the internet cafe. We ended our day with a pool party and a lovely American dinner (yummy hotdogs) that the cooks graciously made for us. Overall though, my favorite part of the day was being able to learn how to paint using water colors and to get a chance to have my hair braided in a Dominican Salon.

Truthfully, we were so blessed to have this free day to ourselves. Our question of the day was, “How can I make this a productive and great day? Does everyone get a free day every now and then?”. In the Dominican Republic, I have personally learned that in order to make a living and provide for your family, you must work hard everyday. And as we all discussed in our nightly meeting, we believe that hard working people deserve a break from time to time. But most of the people in the Dominican Republic are not able to have a break. So on our day of rest, we were thankful to have the opportunity to relax and unwind.

As we say in our G.G. meetings in the Dominican Republic, I would like to give big love to my family (Mommy, Daddy, Craigy, Grandmama, and Rufus). I really love you and miss you. Being away from home can be sad without you guys but at the smae time has made me more independent. Another big love to my loving neighbors for always caring about me especially in a time of need. And finally, big love to the families with kids here on this trip. Things can be tough being miles apart. So far though, everyone has had a great time learning about the Dominican culture, making new friends, and even trying different things. No matter what though, just know that everyone here is thinking about their special someone/family/friends back home. So far, so good. 🙂
With great love from the Dominican Republic,
Skyler Gin <3
P.S.
Shout out to my back of the bus buddies! (Van, Sabrina, and Jensen)