The Bonao June 30^th Global Glimpse Delegation made it safely to our new home for the next 3 weeks. We are all so excited to be here and start learning more about this beautiful country and developing as better leaders through reflection and community service.

After meeting at SFO last night at 7:30 PM, our flight left the Bay Area and we finally arrived in Atlanta, Georgia at about 7:30 AM. Then, after an over 2 hour layover, we boarded the plane that flew us to Santo Domingo. The students, without prompting, began playing “Get to Know Each Other” games at SFO and I am impressed with our delegation.

As we flew over the island of Hispaniola, I was struck by how lusciously green everything is – like a tropical paradise. The lush greens were occasionally accented by bright oranges and reds which upon landing I realized are amazingly gorgeous flowering trees called Flamboyans. They are all over the place down here and I love them!

We were met at the airport by our lovely hosts Roz and Leyri. Leyri is a native of the Dominican Republic and Roz is from Kansas. Both have worked for Global Glimpse in the past. Now, they have put together a pretty impressive itinerary for us during our time down here.

After checking into our charming hostel, which still in part serves as a working orphanage and school during the year, we got settled in and then had a spaghetti dinner. I particularly enjoyed the spaghetti “con queso” / with cheese.

Though I took pictures of the kids eating our first meal together and a shot of the sunset over Bonao from the deck of our hostel, as the internet connection here isn’t too fast and after a long day of travel, I’m pretty tired, I’m not sure if I’ll wait for them to make it through cyberspace back to me before posting this Blog entry, but I will share them eventually.

We had our first End of the Day Meeting, gave thanks for what went well, gave suggestions on how me might improve, and then ended the meeting with our Unity Clap.

Students then worked in groups of five on a self-reflection lesson and their first impressions of the Dominican Republic.

Wow, we all have so much to learn! After thinking about this trip for so long, since last September, I am so happy to finally be here! So are the kids! I am really pleased with the group of teenagers with whom Rosa, Roz, Leyri, and I will be working. They’ve already started to bond with a level of commitment, energy, and compassion that will help to bolster their spirits during this time away from home.

I can hardly wait to go out and explore more tomorrow. It’s going to be our focus day on HISTORY! Again, the itinerary is great! You’ll see what we’re doing day by day by reading this blog right here. We hope you stay in touch and appreciate all that these students are doing! Thank you Global Glimpse!