¡Buen dia! It’s Sam and Katy with the daily blog update. Today was an emotional day. In the morning, we spent a few hours in our final reflection seminar: we created journey maps to share our trip highlights and lessons learned; we showed gratitude and appreciation for each other in a powerful “Touch Someone Who…” activity; we reflected on things we wanted to Start, Stop, and Continue doing once we return from the trip, and we wrote big loves to each Glimpser to further uplift each person’s strengths. For us Global Glimpse Leaders, it was amazing to hear the thoughtful, sincere, and heart-warming comments. We reflected on the moment that we went from a group/class to a family (our spontaneous dance party), we reminisced about our moments of fun (the beach, the card games, the inside jokes, mask-making, etc), and we realized how these 14 days have changed us for the better (in thinking about food waste, in remembering gratitude, and in pushing ourselves to be unapologetically ourselves while stepping out of our comfort zones). Between processing our personal journeys and reflecting on the bonds we formed, both laughter and tears were shed.

After filling out evaluations and eating lunch, vieja ropa (beef), we were surprised by Dei Gato with our máscaras that we created earlier on the trip. Then, we completed our souvenir quest with the cherry on top – revisiting our fave bakery A Punto de Nieve. Students tried really hard not to spoil their appetite (Katy says HAH) because we had our first Dominican pizza for dinner! It was such a treat to have a little reminder of home. Students worked off the pizza on a playground where they ran amuck. We then had our final nightly meeting, where we passed the torch to our talented two PCs, Ruth and JC. The highlight of the meeting was reading the big loves out loud; so many students said sweet things about their roommates, their experiences with the community, and Dilenia’s family. We couldn’t hold in the emotions any longer; tears started to flow and group hugs ensued after our unity clap. There was something so powerful about sharing the moment together in compassion and global recognition of others. Us leaders feel incredibly privileged to be just a small part of their journey as they expand their world view.

Now, the students are watching In The Heights, the story of DR immigrants in New York City. They are engrossed, and packed, and ready for the next adventure (to see their families again, hibernate for three days, and eat In-N-Out). We are so excited to see you all tomorrow. ¡Hasta mañana!