Party at La Playa!!!

The dawn rose on another bright and sunny day. We find our Glimpsers still in Juan Dolio where they have another adventure-filled day ahead. 

We started today off early waking up at 6:30 am frantically but excited to explore our hotel’s maze of rooms. After everyone got up we enjoyed a wide assortment of breakfast foods such as toast, eggs, orange juice, hot chocolate, and coffee. Following breakfast, everyone walked down to the beach but upon finding a blanket of algae covering the sand and a flea ridden dog (which we admired from a distance lol) we instead drove to a different part of Juan Dolio beach.

The beach was marvelous and the water was perfect (not like hypothermia-inducing waters of California Bay). Most of us immediately got into the water and spent time collecting shells, floating, and splashing. Most of all everyone got a chance to unwind and relax. After swimming we dried off and refreshed ourselves with juice boxes, cookies, and crackers. Many of us also had a chance to bargain with vendors on the beach to buy jewelry. After that, we packed up and returned to the hotel.

Before leaving we had a delicious lunch which consisted of beef, rice, salad, and beans. Then we left and embarked on a four-hour journey jam-packed with more karaoke, laughter, and sleep (big love to Ms.LeMay for allowing us to steal her phone for our 16-hour-long Spotify playlist).

Once we arrived we got settled again and had our first Community Action Project meeting. During this meeting, we started planning to speak with community members of Jarabacoa which we plan on collaborating with tomorrow. We learned the importance of understanding the community’s needs and delegated the responsibility of translator for tomorrow’s activities.

After the meeting, we had eggs, mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and fresh fruit for dinner. We ended with our daily nightly meeting where we passed the torch to tomorrow’s LDDs Mimi and Iris.

And so the sun sets on our seventh day in the Dominican Republic and our glimpsers return to sleep recharging for the long day ahead. 

messages:

Dear mama, dada, mira baby, kylo, mummy, papa, all the chawdas, and everyone else reading,

I miss you all a lot. It’s definitely weird being away from you guys for so long but I have learned a lot and I am taking a lot of pictures. I can’t wait to show you everything I learned and tell you about all of our adventures. I hope you guys are not having too much fun without me. Please continue to tell Mira baby about me and make a list of everything you guys are watching right now so I can catch up when I get back. I love you all so much and I cannot wait to see you guys again in person.

love,

maya

To my lovely, darling parents and dearest brother,

I miss you all sososoososo much, words cannot even express it, but I am also making the most of my experience here. I can’t wait to be home soon to spend time with you all and to also be reunited with poke and boba hehe. Be sure to hug Eames for me. I love you so much, see you in a few days; I can’t wait to hear your voices soon. <3

Love, Malaya