Dominican Republic Summer High School Leadership Program

Global Glimpse was of the most eye-opening experiences of my life where I was able to meet with like-minded individuals who shared similar views yet diverse and distinctive backgrounds. The internet-free environment of the trip creates a stress-free environment to keep everyone in the here and now. The most valuable part of the programs was the ability for students to meet with members of the local communities and witness firsthand the culture of the country. Community Day, Fun Day, and the Community Action Project were just a handful of days where students had the ability to speak with members of the community and grow their global perspective. Despite not having anyone else from my school, I was able to make friends that will last a lifetime as well as connect with people I would have never met otherwise. The environment of Global Glimpse allowed for everyone to be included regardless of personality or interest. In terms of information, the Global Glimpse team was able to work effortlessly to ensure that ALL communication was sent out in an orderly and organized manner. All concerns were heard, and any problem that could be thought of had a solution that was solved efficiently.

In my experience with Global Glimpse, I went to the small town of Constanza and it was an amazing trip!! From running in the hot sand on Beach Day to the CAP, Community Action Days, constructing a community center for the rural community of Caña de las Palmas the experience was truly invigorating. On the trip, I truly expanded my global perspective of my home country and reflected on how much we waste in the United States and to conserve what we are very fortunate to have. Big Love for everyone!

This trip was really a once in a lifetime experience for me and it was amazing. All the preparation meetings that we had before the trip really helped me make sure that I was ready and had everything that I needed. When I first heard that we were not going to be able to have access to our phones for 2 weeks I was stunned. But once in the DR I was somewhat glad that we didn’t have our phones. I feel that if we did have our phones we wouldn’t have gotten to know each other the way we did and we wouldn’t have really taken in the experience. Though we had no phones we did have all types of cameras which we used to document our experience. Even though a majority of us did not know each other we all managed to get along and build new friendships amongst ourselves. Everything about the Dominican Republic was a huge culture shock for me and I loved every moment. Our GG leaders made sure to always check in on us and make sure that we were okay. Big love to everyone who made this possible and everyone who was apart of JA2A <33.

Being able to travel to a country that I've never been to was one of the most funnest experiences I've had so far. What started off as a group of people who didn't know each other ended up as one big family, traveling and living together for two weeks helped us create a bond that none of us want to leave behind. I'm happy that this program gave me the opportunity help out a community we helped create a recreational park for the community called Los Higos and knowing we created something that they will have for a long time made us all happy and proud of our hard work, this program also helped me break out of my comfort zone and be a leader because we all got to be leaders of the day at one point during our trip and when I was leader of the day it was the final day of our CAP project so we were all tired but me and my partner were able to make sure we all finished off strong. Although our CAP project was a lot of work it's one of my most memorable experiences because we got to use pickaxes and shovels to dig out the hole where the benches were going to be placed and I got to admit even though I've never used a pickax before my trip it was the funnest thing ever I got to break through all the stone and honestly it was fun, even though we were all working hard we did have our good laughs and when we took our little lunch break some of us were able to play either baseball or basketball with the community members and even if I didn't play with them it was so funny to watch. Throughout our trip we met so many new and interesting people who shared their stories with us and it made me think about all the things we take for granted like our jobs here in the US people may think that they don't get paid enough because they only get paid minimum wage but that is way better than how much farm workers get paid in the Dominican Republic, there the farmworkers get paid roughly 234 Dominican pesos a day which is equivalent to $4.11 in the US. At the end of everyday we would have nightly reflections and it was a great way to just do a recap of the day and take a sneak peak at what was in store for the next, the meetings were held by the leaders of the day and sometimes the leaders of the day would make the meeting fun by cracking some jokes here and there to just liven up the mood. While most days we did work really hard we also had a couple of free days where we were able to go out into the city and shop or our program coordinators would take us to a beach where we spent the night, we were also taken to a waterfall on our last day at the Dominican Republic and for our last dinner together we went to a pizza restaurant and it was sooo good. During the free time we had in the day we either played cards together or we went swimming in the pool we had at the ranch we stayed in, sometimes people would get homesick and all of us were there for one another which brought us al closer and helped us gain empathy which is apart of Global Glimpse's mission for us. Some of us had digital cameras so we were able to capture all our best moments. During the trip I personally never encountered any areas were improvement was needed but I did see that there was a lack of food options for people who were lactose intolerant so there's that but other than that this program was amazing.

This trip was was out of my comfort zone, but helped me develop in every way. I found that I was challenged everyday with new experiences, knowledge to process, and language to learn. With the "leader of the day" program, everyone acted as the leader with a partner for one day of the trip. I found this experience got me to speak up to the group, gaining confidence in my voice and finding who I am as a leader. Also being around such different people than me, not only the locals in the community we stayed in but my roommates and fellow students, taught me so much about who I am within my community and opened my eyes to experiences outside my own. I learned how to go about helping other people, and what I can do for those around me.

My experience was very interesting since I meet such a good people who help me make this trip better. Meeting new people from a different country and see how they live and their culture. In the first day I was very shy because I was the only student from Holyoke High School, but after I start taking to other student and we share some things about our schools it was better, everybody was so nice and kind to others and this make me feel confortable and part of the group. It was a beautiful experience that I will do again.

It was an amazing opportunity and i’m so happy i went!! i meet some incredible people and learned so much new things. I was able to fully connect with the people in the Dominican like when we went to the community and all did face paint with them. i loved learning about the people and culture there but i also heavily enjoyed working with to rebuild their community house. to make help make a difference in their lives made me feel great and joyed that i could help in the ways i could. i highly recommend.

My experience with Global Glimpse can be considered a lifetime experience. I was able to participate and learn more about new things in life and the outside world. Never did I think that this trip would allow me to become more open to myself and those around me. Despite being a leadership program, we were also able to have fun regardless. The program allowed us to be comfortable with those we do not know in a short amount of time, allowed us to explore the city, and apply what we have learned to life.