Dear Global Glimpse Family & Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I write to you from here in the San Cristobal site on behalf of our last delegation, Delegation 3, representing all walks of life from my own home town, NEW YORK CITY!!

DSC05057Today, we had an amazing start to this journey. After a light breakfast, we had the students perform their first academic seminar where they got a brief overview on some key moments in history that shape the present life on Dominican Republic. We followed that by our first tour of the city of San Cristobal (located in the province of San Cristobal) where the students were presented with some key historical and social sites, including one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the Dominican Republic, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Consolacion. Our first tour concluded with a stop at the house/museum of Jose Ventura, who goes by the nickname “El Hippie.” Mr. Ventura told the students about his limited time in New York but also about an alternative perspective on life during the era of Trujillo.

We followed up our city tour with a tour and lunch at the Castillo del Cerro where the students saw the mural that Jose Vela Zanetti exiled from the country (an interesting story that I recommend everyone look up as it speaks to the level of control Trujillo tried to have over the country).DSC05068 DSC05060

DSC05077After a delicious lunch, we came back to the Ranch for some much needed relaxation. That bus ride gave everyone, including our GG leaders, a chance to catch up on some much needed rest. But I’ve got to say, my personal highlights happened during the nightly meeting. One, the New York delegation went above and beyond during the reflection of the Question of the Day; the level of intellectual maturity of these students was college level, and even though only  4-5 are required to give their thoughts, the groups energy level and points of discussion were so deep that I let it run for a good 20-25 minutes. I hope they keep bringing that to all our future meetings. And two, I was a bit concerned with whether or not they would engage with our Big Love exercise (basically, shout outs in NY speak), but they were definitely with it, too.

I’m glad my last delegation is from my hometown and I think we’re going to have an amazing experience here in DR together.

Looking forward to the next two weeks.

Ok, I’m out!