Hi Friends & Family! This is Mohit and Phillip, the “Líderes del Día” of our second free day!

We started our day off today at 8 o’clock, however we spiced things up a bit by adding music to the usual wake-up call. As the name suggests, today was more of a relaxed day with less on the agenda and more time for Glimpsers to explore the amazing (but intensely hot) city of San Juan de la Maguana. After the wake-up call we headed over to Rosaura’s for a breakfast with potatoes, avocados, and a fresh cut bowl of mixed fruits. After breakfast, Glimpsers were released into the city (in groups of 4 or more) for free and explore time.

Phillip: Today was a very fun day for everyone on the trip! My group started off by heading to the local supermarket where we bought lots of snacks and refreshments. Then we went around town looking at various shops selling lots of goods and knock off merch. It was interesting to see how much fake Abercrombie, Gucci, Hollister, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ray-Ban etc. existed in the city. Some were being sold at rip off prices yet some were incredibly cheap. We later went to the top of the Cathedral where we got to see an amazing view of the entire city (as pictured!). The church was very nice and many Glimpsers overcame their fear of heights after overcoming a sketchy set of stairs. We ended our explore time by going to the local ice cream shop where the air conditioning felt simply magical. Huge shoutout to myparents, friends, the How Much Beef?! squad, and LouIsLitt. I can’t wait to see everyone again back in Cupertino and I hope things are going well for everyone!

Mohit: My group started off our free day by first going to the pharmacy to buy some bracelets. Thankfully enough, we found some very nice leather bracelets and bracelets with the colors of the D.R. After that, we went to lunch to eat some chicken noodle soup and rice. After having our delicious lunch, we decided to go to Helado Bon to please our sweet tooth. I had a cookies n’ creme and brownie milkshake while others just had a normal chocolate milkshake, ice-cream, or popsicles. After the dessert, we walked around the city as a group- we went inside a variety of different clothing shops and supermarkets. Some bought some nice clothes and others bought some food such as chips and soda. At around 3:00 PM we came back to the accommodation since everyone was tired due to the excess waking and heat. After resting, we decided to go to the cathedral so we can get a glimpse of the spectacular view, as well as witness the church from the inside. Despite the fact that we had to climb a series of stairs that ventured high into the sky, we finally made it to the top and in the end it was all worth it because of the breathtaking view. We ended our free day by taking pictures and eating our newly bought snacks *yum*! By the way, I love you Mom, Dad, Johnny and Ashley. Hope you guys are having fun and take care! See you soon in Cali!

For Dinner, we headed once again to Rosaura’s where we were served an astonishing Macaroni and Cheese Alfredo with ham flown in from the Cheesecake Factory (it was VERY good).

See you all in 6 days,

Phillip, Mohit, and the SDJC2 Global Glimpse Delegation

P.S. Happy Birthday to Lesley’s Mom!!!