¡Saludo, buen dia! Ezra and Alex here as leaders of the Day.

We woke up at 6:30 am and had a lovely breakfast, which consisted of hot chocolate, toast, strawberry jam, and scrambled eggs. At 8:30 am, we left on a 4-hour trip on the minibus to Juan Dolio. We spent the long bus ride listening to a playlist made by all of us, in which many of the group members sang along with (carpool karaoke said by one of our GGLs, Sam). Looking out the window, we watched the verdant landscape of the Dominican Republic speed past until we arrived. After we stepped out of our air-conditioned bus, the heat hit us like a sledgehammer! The air was so humid, we felt like we were drinking it. We are staying at a hotel that donates most of its proceeds to educating girls in India.

After a hearty lunch of rice, beans, and beef, we got back on the bus to go to ASCALA, an organization that supports immigrants coming to the Dominican Republic, particularly those from Haiti. Abdias, a guest speaker and Haitian immigrant, describes the brutality and corruption of immigrating to a different country. He tells us about Haitian immigrants immigrating to the Dominican Republic for a better life, in addition to the stereotypes and discrimination faced just for being Haitian in the Dominican Republic. His experiences inspired the group that we should accept anyone for who we are – not based on culture or the color of their skin – but on their humanity.

After thanking (and taking a group photo with) the people at ASCALA, we drove to a nearby Batey, a shantytown where Haitian migrant sugarcane harvesters live to be close to the fields and saw miles and miles of sugarcane plants. Dictadura, the leader of the Batey, was our guide and showed us the process of cutting the sugarcane. Haitian immigrants work 11-15 hours shifts depending on the demand, to which they approximately make $10-15 USD a day in the hot & humid Dominican weather. Trying the sweet and fresh sugarcane was delicious, and one of the Leaders of the Day (Alex) ate 3 whole stocks of sugarcane before leaving back to the hotel! After relaxing and getting our rooms together, we discussed the questions of the day relating back to what we had learned about immigration as we came to the conclusion that we are privileged to have opportunities and success in the United States.

Dinner was delicious pasta with eggplant and dinner rolls. After dinner, we had an anonymous reflection about our fears for the trip and got to feel less alone in those fears. We then passed the torch to tomorrow’s Leaders of the Day, Bree and JJ.

Personal Messages:
Hi guys!
This is Ezra, I’ve been having a great, but exhausting, time here. I’ve seen so much and done so much that I can’t even really wrap my head around it. Absolutely crazy. I miss you all so much (yes, even Corbin).

What’s up! This is Alex, I’m having a lot of fun discovering new things about the DR. Hope to see you soon family!