Today everyone experienced something different; those who love nature enjoyed hiking up muddy trails, planting cacao trees, and trudging through a cold river, while others felt…less comfortable. We rode to the community Bejuco Aplastado, which is about 20 minutes outside of Bonao. There, everyone met the Green Brigade, a group of people that have been working to reforest areas in the Dominican Republic.

 

The Green Brigade taught us how to plant cacao trees in order to benefit the land. In the past, the Green Brigade has had many accomplishments; for example, they plant an average of 100,000 trees each year. As leaders, we feel that this experience was educational and truly opened everyone’s eyes to the importance of trees throughout the world. We got only a glimpse of the hard work the Green Brigade does every day–it was extremely tiring but rewarding. Additionally, it was an honor to witness how tireless these men and women worked and how willing they were to teach us about cacao plants.

 

It was visible to all of us that they valued nature greatly, which is something that more of us should carry on for years to come. After presenting the Green Brigade with a gift on behalf of Global Glimpse, we returned to La Fundacion for lunch.

At 7pm, nearing the end of our English tutoring, it started to pour. The kids receiving classes outside began screaming and ran inside for cover. Meanwhile, we all grabbed our rain coats and rushed outside to the playground. Shoes were strewn across the grass while we organized a game of Frisbee. The remaining students and residents of La Fundacion looked on from inside and laughed along with us. Luckily, we still finished dinner on time and passed the torch to tomorrows leaders of the day.