Whew! What. A. Day! We started with a 7:00 am wake up call and were treated to a delicious breakfast of mini sandwiches of ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes while slightly toasted with some refreshing fruit punch. From breakfast we went through our mental warm-up, to get us ready to learn about the significance of culture and how it relates to the community.

We continued with a short 50 meter trek up the street to Dario’s, affectionately known as “Gato.” Gato was very welcoming and taught us all about the art of mask-making and the roles it has played and continues to play in Constanza and its culture, originating in other countries as a pagan ritual, but in the DR and Constanza in particular, it is a celebrated art in which the artists take great pride. Fun fact: Gato happens to be renowned for his mask-making skills in Constanza, winning competitions here and beating out artists from other towns and cities as well! After a great Q&A, we all became artists ourselves and created our own masks (of course with the help from the pro). It was an incredible opportunity for all!

Following our time with Gato, we came back, ate some lunch, then went back on the road, this time up to the dance studio. There we met Paul, a local PE teacher and dance instructor, and we were treated to an afternoon of learning bachata and merengue! Paul is a phenomenal dancer and has a real passion for it, which was amazing to observe, but we weren’t half bad ourselves (for beginners). The best part was that no one was afraid to give their best effort. It was a great, and sweaty, time had by all. Salud!

Following our dance lessons, we returned to the hotel to relax and freshen up before our first tutoring session. We made some final preparations to our lesson plans, and then it was showtime! We were a little nervous, but as I like to say, if you aren’t nervous then that means you don’t truly care about whatever it is you are doing. We had a little trouble getting some of our students to come to class on account of the rain, but all in all, the first day was a rousing success! As a teacher myself, I think I can say we’ve got more than a few future teachers in our delegation. Los estudiantes learned a lot and we are all very excited for what our future tutoring sessions will yield.

We walked the short distance home following tutoring, sat down for a wonderful dinner consisting mainly of spaghetti, and then had some great time in our reflection groups getting to know each other on a much deeper level than we could have ever imagined. It really set the tone for a great evening discussion and brought full-circle our day of culture and the significance it can play on building a strong community.

Tomorrow is a 6:00 am wake-up, so it’s time for bed! Gotta be wide awake to work in the greenhouse for Work Like a Local day! We miss all of our friends and family and love you all deeply! Buenas noches!

Andrew (GGL)