Buenos tardes, from Gio and Soraya. We were the first student leaders of the day and we had to wake up earlier than our peers. We gathered everyone for the morning call and made sure to check in on them in 15-minute intervals. As everyone woke up, breakfast w

as being prepared. We ate pancakes, eggs, and watermelon.  We got the opportunity to work at the local coffee farm up in the mountains of Jarabacoa. As the first student leaders it was important for us to stay on top of making sure everyone had sunscreen and bug spray, it was also crucial to drink enough water while being in the heat working. While being on the farm we did weeding for the coffee plants, and we transported a soil and fertilizer mixture to the farms growing area.

Then, we headed to our accommodation for lunch. We ate chicken, potato salad, rice and beans, paired with pineapple and watermelon. After lunch we had our meeting. We did a fun bonding activity where we had to hold a conversation for 1 minute with someone who we didn’t get a chance to talk to yet on our trip.

Finally, we went to the coffee factory Café Monte Alto where we received a tour of how coffee is produced in its final steps. where we were able to buy and try the Dominican coffee. We came back to the accommodation and ate dinner. After dinner we sang happy birthday to Chloe. We had our nightly meeting and passed the torch to our new LDD (leader of the day), Tamer

ica, and Fiona. At the nightly free time we also learned more about each other, specifically about who likes Popeyes or Wing Stop. For use reading along at home, we are interested to know what you think is better, Wing Stop or Popeyes? Drop an answer in the comments below!

 

During out nightly discussion we reflected and realized that 300 pesos for coffee in D.R is a full day’s paycheck for the locals, which made us more conscious of how people work to keep up with the demand and our impact as consumers.

Lastly, a Happy Birthday to Ms Chloe!