“You have to look at history as an evolution of society.” – John Chretien

 

Hello everyone! This is Elias here, Program Coordinator for San Cristobal, writing as today’s “El Lider del Dia.

Today was our History themed day! And what a day it was!!

After breakfast, the Glimpsers had their first Academic Seminar where, in one portion of the activities, they were given 30 minutes to organize a set of historical events in chronological order by matching a set of events with the appropriate date. Our team got right to the task at hand; with a bit of collaboration and a lot of critical thinking, they were able to complete the task in record time! The students had a great time and were super engaged, and I could tell Ricardo was having a great time too as I caught him smirking when the students challenged him with their first guess. They only had a few wrong but they were quick to explain why they thought so. And little guidance was needed before they came through with the perfect order.

20150612_112651The academic seminar was followed by a tour of San Cristobal, a place that has a special history and connection to the infamous dictator, Rafael Leonadis Trujillo Molina. The tour started at the Monumento de la Constitucion and wound its way through looking at murals done by Accion Poetica, talking about the history and urban legends surrounding the main cathedral, observing all the on-goings around the main public park, meeting a local tutor, and walking through the informal museum, “Jamas to Olvido Sera to Recuerdo,” where the group was introduced to Jose Miguel Ventura, aka El Hippie!

DSC00013All throughout, I had the pleasure of engaging with different students, such as Eric who showed appreciation for street art with a mission, Josue who showed a keen interest in understanding politics and history, and Shea who spent the better part of an hour learning about life in Dominican Republic by bonding with one of our SC Ambassardors, Mariledy.

But the best part of the day?? Definitely when Shariff and Josue initiated a pick-up game of20150612_134251 basketball. Those two thirteen year old Dominicans schooled our Glimpsers! The score was close, but with a couple of impressive 3 point shots, the DR kids managed to defeat (though not outshine) the Glimpsers with a score of 22-20. Definitely my “Rose” for the day.

Another highlight was our first night of reflections. I could tell the Glimpsers really appreciated the time to sit in these small groups where they were able to connect and reflect on these past two days. It’s still early in the trip but they have already experienced so much! And there’s still more to come.

Signing out.