La Daijha

Hola! Today was Living Like a Local day which means we experience what it would be like to be from the Dominican Republic. We went to a rural community here and experienced what the typical everyday lifestyle is for the people in that community. I was the co-leader of the day and it was really fun to be able to have fun with everyone, but to also have the leadership capabilities to know when we need to get things done and to be focused. The group split up into different houses and did whatever the local people needed us to do, and I was in the group to cook lunch for the whole community. It was a great learning experience for me because when we were cooking, there was a lot of smoke in the room and Scout was chopping up the onions, so I started to cry from all the fumes. Since I have never cooked before I didn’t know what to do lol XD! But, it was really inspirational to see how close the families were and even though they had so little, they made the most of their situations.

The thing that surprised me the most today was the softball game that happened after lunch. During the game Charles was the biggest supporter for the team and even though his Spanish wasn’t very good, he still yelled, “Dale!” when the players hit the ball. I’m so proud of everyone for going out of their comfort zones and seeing the lives of people who are much different then anything we would see in the U.S. I’m very grateful for being welcomed into their homes and I hope to take their hospitality back with me to the U.S.

Cynthia

Hola! From the Dominican Republic. Today was an exhausting day. We were welcomed to a community that felt like one big family. In my hostesses house, Kaiyell, Martin and I were welcomed by Nena and her family. We assisted her by sweeping mopping and cleaning out containers, where her family would put the cows milk to transport. We even got to ask her questions about her life and I thought it was amazing that even though she didn’t finish school, she still makes the effort to learn now by attending class every Saturday. She had also explained to us that the community was very supportive of one another and that everyone respected each other.

My favorite thing of the day was that our Global Glimpse group and the community were all interacting with each other. Even though a few of us don’t know Spanish, I saw everyone making an effort to communicate by playing dominoes, card games, and sports. To me, it was very inspiring to see how the families didn’t live in the most luxurious conditions but they made the best out of it.

Being co-leader of the day was fun and different. La Daijah and I partnered up and we did a great job as a team. We shared our responsibilities and I enjoyed being partnered up with her because she made it fun. But also, when we needed to be serious, we were. Being a leader today, I learned that I work really well with a partner. I also learned that I need to practice speaking louder. But besides that I did a great job and I didn’t need to be nervous about being El Lider Del Di

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