Hello, relatives and friends of us Glimpsers!
This is Alex and Kweko, your student leaders for day 6 of our trip to San Juan in the Dominican Republic. Today was a very relax and calm day compared to the past few days. Unlike the past few days, today we didn’t have a very filled schedule. Today was the first time we Glimpsers were able to go out on our own in groups with our local student ambassadors and explore the city. It was borderline chaos as we were all rushing around the city to various shops and landmarks before our check-ins or curfews. It was especially hard for us leaders today since both of us have come down with a semi-severe cold also causing us to lose our voices but it was a fun and enjoyable day overall for everyone.
Alex: Kweko and I started the day by waking up everyone at 8:10 AM to get ready for breakfast. Originally, we were going to get breakfast delivered to us and let everyone sleep until 8:30 AM, however, there was a miscommunication between the leadership and our provider, so we had to wake everyone up earlier to get to the restaurant on time. We had cereal and yogurt for breakfast and then headed back to our accommodations to begin our first free day. Glimpsers had around an hour and forty-five minutes to explore the city before our check-in for lunch. Most groups decided to use this time to search for souvenirs to bring back for loved ones. Some souvenirs Kweko and I decided to pick up were keychains, bracelets, and necklaces.
After our first block of free time finished and we had a lunch of rice, beans, and chicken, we returned to the accommodation to meet up with our student ambassadors and go out for our second block of free time. My group was joined by Saory, one of our most knowledgeable ambassadors. She led us to some amazing shops and stores that would have been hard for us visitors to find. Other people, like Lauren or Sergio went to the local church and climbed up to the highest tower giving them an incredible view of the city and the surrounding communities. Some of our more ambitious and active students, like Wyatt, Mohit, and Allen, went and played basketball in the sweltering heat against some of our ambassadors and Sixto. Sadly, the students were defeated 14-21 and 17-21.
After everyone returned to the accommodation at 5:45 PM, we had another forty-five minutes to rest and hang out with each other. We then headed to Rosaura’s for a simple dinner of hotdogs. Following our return to the accommodation, we began our nightly meeting where we happily passed off the role of being a leader for the day to Lauren, Rhea, and Julia who will be leading the next day’s activities.
Kweko: Overall, everyone had an incredibly fun day and had new experiences unlike anywhere else in the world. We enjoyed beautiful architecture, local sweets/treats, Dominican culture such as music/dances, and got to experience the city life more closely than the days before. Also throughout the day, many of you relatives and friends were called as each student was given time to reach out and tell you all about the trip and how much they miss you. (Unfortunately, I am quite ill and am unable to write too much today)
Alex and Kweko: We hope you enjoyed reading about our delegations adventures and experiences today and we all can’t wait to come home to tell you even more stories and memories we have made on this trip of a lifetime.
Alex and Kweko
Sorry about the lack of a photo for the trip. We were unable to upload any photos to post but we will all be sure to show you all the photos when we get back to California.
Thank you Alex and Kweko for the detailed updates! What a fun day! Hope you two feel better.
Allen, so nice to hear your voice yesterday. We miss you but we are all glad you have this opportunity to learn and experience a different culture. Thanks to Global Glimpse!
Love, mom and dad
Hi bb when you’ll be a student leader, I’m so excited to read about your own experience. hope you are happy and learning with this opportunity. xoxo
Hi ma, day 12 can’t wait too. Love you xoxo
Allen,
hey bro, sucks to not see your face but just wanted to update you that the asian dude on world of dance is performing tonight. i’ll update you on whether they make it through. hope you’re having fun
becca
Hola Rhea!!
It’s Brendan from Academy. 🙂 So proud of you for following through on this trip! Keep engaging with the DR community, your fellow Glimpsers, and the world around you, and make sure to push yourself as a leader as much as possible! It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and you all will get out as much as you put in. Can’t wait to hear your stories and about your CAP project. Big Love!
B
Lauren climbed the top of the tower , proud of yiu cause i know yiu abd heights dont go together lol love you Lauren
Hey Tess! It’s maria! I hope you’re having an amazing time, and I can’t wait to hear everything once you get back! I also hope you’re staying hydrated and goofy ?. (idk if you can see emojis or not but that’s something i really missed when i was in Guaranda). I just got back to Davis and let me tell you it’s still boring ol’ cow town. Can’t wait to hear your experiences! xo
Hi Alex, While I am concerned that you have a bad cold, I’m happy that you are getting this opportunity to see how other people live. Traveling has opened my eyes to other cultures (I’m in Cairns, Australia today), but it also makes me appreciate what we take for granted living in the Bay Area. Enjoy the rest of your time in DR.
Feel better soon. Love, Aunt Lillian
Hi Aunt Lillian,
I’m fine now it was just a small cold so no need to worry. Traveling really is very eye opening and seeing all the differences between here and America is very shocking but it’s making me appreciate what I have more.
-Alex
Hi Shirley, how are you today ? i see that you are busy all day and that is good. days are passing really fast. you are lucky to see in person another culture and get in contact with other people that is a bless. Enjoy it. God bless you mija. i can’t wait to see you. besos y abrazos mi Nena Linda. we love you very much.
thank you tia love you so much. yes I’m almost going home!!!
Sounds like a much-needed rest day for everyone. You guys are working hard. Your blog updates are very much appreciated.