Hola, fellow Glimpsers and blog readers!

My name is Angelina, a Bay Area student from IHS, who was given the wonderful opportunity to be the El Lider Del Dia for EDUCATION Day!!!

Despite the fact that many students in the DR are currently on their summer vacation, we were given the opportunity to talk with English immersion students at La UASD, the 1st public university established in the western hemisphere! Antonio, one of the students I had the opportunity to speak with, was truly the most inspiring person I met today. I was really impressed and admired his capability to balance not only the extensive English workload, but also his night classes for his engineering major. I really appreciated how attentive and open he and the other students were to our questions.

Along with visiting a public university, we toured the local library in Bonao. This library was so historically rich with its archives of past newspapers and books by well known Dominican authors.

The one thing that we were excited, yet anxious about, was our FIRST English class! It went pretty well despite a lack of attendance from summer vacation. Many of us are pumped to teach the next upcoming class.

The question of the day was How important is education to success in the DR? From the compelling discussions with inspiring English immersion students to a historical library tour, I believe that my fellow Glimpsers have realized how valuable education is in this beautiful country. To many of us back home, school is seen as a troublesome aspect in ones life. To Dominicans, pursuing a higher education and learning English is truly the key to success and a door full of better opportunities. I hope that what we have experienced and heard today about education will remind fellow Glimpsers how blessed we are to have so many educational opportunities. With education, we can truly change the world.

Until next time,

Angelina Dith