Alondra: Hola familia y amigos!!! I am Alondra Arambula, El Líder del Día along with my fellow Glimpser Amner Guzman. Yesterday we learned about aid and development with Scott Coppa, while immersed in El Barrio de Las Flores. Similar to Aid and Development day, today’s guest speakers, Gato and Paul, were very passionate about what they believed in and for what they contributed to the community. Our first trip for Culture day was to Gato’s workshop. There we enjoyed learning about Gato’s Carnaval masks that bring positive entertainment to the people in Constanza. We were so intrigued and stretched our abilities when we made masks, with Gato’s energetic assistance. A few hours after Gato’s presentation on carnival mask-making, we headed to dance classes with Paul Rosado. In his dance class we all felt such happiness, and a bit of shyness OF COURSE. Paul taught us Merengue and Bachata. He told us the meaning behind not just these two types of dance, but every dance he teaches. The meaning that I took away was that activities like dancing, or any other types of stress relievers, can help people who tend to have bad behaviors switch towards positive behaviors. For example, dancing will help people who do drugs to eliminate that harm that they do to their body, and focus their energy on dancing instead. These two field trips highly encouraged me to have more courage, compassion, and commitment towards this unforgettable Global Glimpse trip. I would like to thank Gato, Paul, and the Global Glimpse staff here in Constanza. I would like to also take the chance to quickly thank my family for supporting back home for this trip.
Amner: Hola Hola! I’ve been in Constanza for 4 days now, and have tried every possible form of greeting. Sometimes I’ll shout out a “Buenaaaaaas” to any roaming civilian (inspiration creds to Marahya), other times I’ll say an over the roof “Qué lo Qué?” (what’s up?). Since I stepped foot in the D.R. I have had and showed—maybe a bit too much— a high amount of enthusiasm which has grown since then. I’m a bit out there, finding inspiration and a spark of thought in anything and almost everything. This new land—to me—of Constanza has taken me out of recent inspiration gridlock. Moments with Gato, moments with Paul, are moments I can’t lead myself to forget. Gato, through traditional mask-making and winning first place national mask, inspires his community into having a pride for their city and its national achievements. Paul, through his charismatic personality and up and going dance lessons, inspires the youth to keep and hand down ages of culture, preserving the DR’s cultural beauty and leading young ones to make good decisions. Both Gato and Paul inspire Constanza, and me, an outsider touched by the impact one person can have on their community. Maybe I’m not the best mask maker, I’m definitely not the best dancer, and that’s fine. No matter what talent you may possess, or what you’ll work to learn, your skill has the potential to influence and positively impact your community. Throughout this wholesome day of learning, I was not alone as Líder del Día. I had Alondra by my side, doing an amazing job whether it was leading lunch lines, gaining the group’s attention, or reminding me to drink water. Being a leader doesn’t mean being alone, working alone; being a leader is coordinating a team, as a team. Creating a sense of unity is essential when leading a team; as close as I have gotten with the C2A delegation in just a period of 4 days, I can only see a greater future ahead. A future filled of courage, compassion, and commitment.
Buenaaaaaaaas,
Amner Guzman 2017
P.S.Mother, la quiero mucho, y sí, he aprendido bastante. Estos días me han enseñado a valorar la vida que llevó, que me han dado. Gracias por sus esfuerzos, el trabajo que pones día a día para que pueda vivir una vida mejor que la que tu has vivido. Te quiero Mom. Love.
Dad, los extraño mucho, a usted y a Valeria. Regresaré con bastantes fotos. Y sí, dígale a Valeria que le traeré bastantes dulces para cualquier video que quiera hacer. Cuidensen.
Marahya, thank you for your message, pensaba que no escucharía de alguien pero lo que me escribiste de verdad me sorprendió y estoy agradecido que conozco una persona tan cariñosa y de buen corazón como tú.
