Dominican Republic Summer High School Leadership Program

When I first applied for Global Glimpse, I’d had the assumption that it would be an organization with ill-intentions and little credibility, but I soon came to realize that the I was being prepared for potentially the greatest adventure I will ever experience! From the start, Global Glimpse provided consistent communication with Glimpsers to inform us about our trips and the expectations in place, but truly nothing could have adequately described everything that I would learn on my trip.

Upon arriving in country, my first observation was the incredible strength of the Dominican heat and humidity, enough so to the point where I began worrying about my stability. When we reached our accommodations, I was somewhat taken aback by the canopies hanging over our beds and the fact that we were essentially living in houses near each other. As the program continued on, I gained such a fondness for my house and the slight constant warmth that filled me, that is, once I’d gotten used to the heat more. As the necessity of the many fans and canopies became increasingly more apparent, I found myself developing a new fearlessness towards pests such as cockroaches, moths, and spiders, all while my legs rarely ever felt the effects of the mosquito bites that speckled my skin. Additionally, our accommodation had a pool that we would typically be able to swim in or dangle our feet in during any available free time we had throughout the day, making the heat and our itchiness much more manageable.

As for the program itself, each day was organized with a theme (culture, history, immigration, etc.) that we would learn about either the night before or the morning of. Throughout that day, we would visit places and listen to local speakers explain various aspects of their lives. For example, on one of the days, we learned about the life of a coffee plantation worker by working in the plantations and weeding the coffee plants before visiting the coffee factory and learning about the coffee making process from a worker there. Each day was formatted similarly to this in the first week or so with activities scattered throughout the morning and afternoon, and in the evenings, we would have time to relax or walk to downtown to get ice cream and shop. We also had a few days that were designated for our free day and our beach day, the former being open to anything nearby that we wanted, and the latter being a two-day getaway to the Dominican coast for a change of scenery and the pleasures of being at a tropical beach. Finally, our last few days were centered around our Community Action Project (CAP), where my delegation was able to visit a community and build a water system for some of the houses that connected to a central well. This project required everyone in the group to put in the physical effort to make a difference in the life of the locals as we dug pathways and laid down pipes under the dirt behind the houses. Aside from the focuses of each day, we consistently always ate every meal together and often had a fair amount of free time to be able to bond with each other through talking, card games, singing, or simply watching others pass by on the street outside (as plain as it sounds, this last one became quite popular in the second week of the trip). We also had a set schedule including a wake-up time and a bedtime, yet these times were never too strongly enforced as long as we weren’t being too loud and we were still safely inside of our houses. Because of this freedom, a lot of my bonding with the others came late at night after each nightly meeting, since a few of us would gather in my living room and share stories about ourselves to get to know each other better.

As for what I learned during the trip, most obviously I gained information related to the topics of each day, such as the history behind the Dominican Republic and its separation from Haiti, or the sense of family built within self-sustained communities. I also quite literally had a taste of the types of foods that are popular in the DR, such as plantains or the super fresh fruits. However, the thing I expected the least was to learn so much from my own teenaged peers. Through our casual conversations and downtime topics, my understanding of their lives grew rapidly as I started realizing just how differently we were each living from each other; people that I’ve attended high school with for years already were mentioning important events in their lives that had never even begun to pass through mine. Primarily, my peers grew comfortable around each other to discuss the disadvantages they faced due to their race or their financial status, which I have never seen before within my own home community. These conversations led all of us to connect on such a deep level and be able to properly set expectations and boundaries for each other that otherwise may have been voided. Of course, the extent to what I learned could reach as far out as new card games, like Thirteen and Desmoche, or even the trivial topic of which family members would regularly comment on our trip blogs. Yet throughout the entire trip, the growth I will carry the most with me will be my new sense of a global perspective and a true understanding of what it means to be less fortunate than others, whether that be due to race, nationality, financial security, socializing ability, or pure interests.

My experience in the Dominican Republic through Global Glimpse is something that I can’t imagine I will ever entirely forget about, and the memories I shared with my fellow JA2A friends will never be tarnished as long as they are held within the bubble that Global Glimpse created for us. Since my mother went on a similar type of trip in her youth that she used to tell me about, I hope that someday I too will be able to pass these stories down to future generations to continuously inspire youth to make a change in a new location. Until then, I encourage anyone with the opportunity to pursue this program to do so and to follow the illusion that I traced to create this movie-like experience of a lifetime.

This experience is really made for the ones that love to help and love to share that help with others. With traveling to another country and helping a community but also being part of a community. An aspect of this experience I loved was not having a phone it was not terrible with no phone this help be more present in the group and helped me grow more Into a leader. It as well made me be more vocal with the group and making friends that will last a life time I appreciate this experience and would never trade for the world.

I recently had the incredible opportunity to embark on a life-changing adventure with Global Glimpse to the Dominican Republic, the heart of the Caribbean . This immersive trip turned out to be a remarkable fusion of cultural exploration, community engagement, personal growth, and unforgettable memories. From the moment we landed in Santo Domingo, the vibrant energy of the Our dedicated group leaders seamlessly facilitated our immersion into the community, ensuring that we embraced every facet of this beautiful country. The heart of the trip was undoubtedly the community action projects we participated in. Working alongside local residents, we collaborated on projects that left a tangible impact on the lives of the people we encountered. Other trips had different projects then ours but ours was to construct a park, by the request of the people
But the journey was more than just labor; it was an emotional trip that changed our perspectives of our daily lives. We learned about the challenges they face politically and economically. On top of that, the cultural immersion component was equally enriching. Through dance workshops where we learned bachata, meringue and salsa, to language exchanges with locals, and daily Dominican meals. The highlight was connecting with local families who generously welcomed us into their homes and communities, offering insights into their daily routines.
Global Glimpse also ensured that we explored the stunning natural beauty of the Dominican Republic. From the lush waterfalls and beaches to the quiet inland nature and sounds of the yaque river we explored the Dominican republic coast to coast. Not only were we focused on the enticing sights of nature, we were able to go into town and interact with locals in shops, bakeries and supermarkets.
This trip was able to build lifelong friendships with people I would not normally be around and helped me grow as a person.

I am a student's going to be a senior this year in my high school. One of my teachers recommended me to join the global glimpse program and at first I was a little bit hesitant cuz I didn't know what it was about it wasn't until I did more research that I grown more interest into it. After attending all the meetings and everything I need to know about my trip I headed to Dominican Republic I headed to that country because I had no knowledge about anything within the country. After meeting so many people and some of them that I still talk to to this day I've learned to grow out of my shell and learn how to expand myself as a person. I would recommend this trip to anybody. Regarding the safety everybody who is in charge prioritize safety the most which is pretty nice to know that the people are doing their jobs. The country that I was in and specific is pretty safe there's nothing bad that could happen. Overall when it came to where we were living it was more or less but it still was for walls and a roof so as long as all of those were fine I think the living arrangement was up to code. if you're a parent reading this I recommend that you should let your child to go on this trip because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I personally found that a grew a lot on my trip. I no longer am constantly on my phone or cooped up inside for hours and instead find myself outdoors much more often as well as willing to spend time with others. This trip helped me over come a lot of my fears and step out of my comfort zone a lot too. Beforehand I was an incredibly quiet person who kept to myself in every group gathering I was in, throughout my trip I noticed I was more willing to make conversation and learn more about everyone else who was there without it seeming like a chore. I really became appreciative of everything I have at home when I was able to see how some people can live such simple lives but live them with so much fulfillment. seeing the comparison of my living situation and some peoples there made me want to help people in more ways then just donations but real volunteer work that you know impacts people. this is also a great way to meet new people. personally my roommates and I got really close over the trip and still talk pretty often, this is definitely a great way to meet some people you would never have before that you may really want to get to know. overall its a wonderful trip and I really would recommend it to anyone who is offered.

This was my first time leaving my country and I couldn't have asked for a better "first time". Our Global Glimpse coordinators did an amazing job fostering a safe space for all of us to become close and made it easier for us to seize any leadership opportunities that came up.

Having the opportunity to explore Jarabacoa, Republica Dominicana was so much fun and made me want to travel abroad more often. The atmosphere was always so lively too. The food, the language, the culture, the history and the people will forever leave a lasting impression on me and I thank Global Glimpse for giving high schoolers like me the opportunity to even do this in the first place.

My trip to Dominican Republic was outstanding remarkable and memorable as it was my first time leaving the country and state, it was a life time experience to explore amd meet new people from different backgrounds and culture which was really existing. In addition Global Glimpse guarantee safety at all times through the 2 week trip and you will learn a lot about other parts of the world. Including strong bonds friendships with your group. I would highly recommend going and experiencing yourself.

Being a kid who’s always went to public schools for my entire life, I never imagined traveling with others my age to another country. But Global Glimpse provided me with an affordable & life-changing experience to a country where the average household income is about 1/8th what it is in the US. I was part of the JA1B cohort which traveled to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, where the environment was completely different compared to the US. Though we were all homesick at first, my cohort eventually got to know each other and we became something of a family. One favorite day of mine was Community Day, where we went to Sonido del Yaque, which is a self-sustaining community. We felt the strong sense of family while we walked through. Every member treated each other like family, some took care of children that weren’t theirs, others cooked for many people. We also got to know the kids, we gave them piggy back rides and face painted them. It was an overall fun and interactive experience. Another important day was Immigration Day, where we went to ASCALA, an organization that helps Haitian immigrants establish a life in the DR, a sugar cane field, and a family who lives in the bateyes, a settlement that housed the workers of the fields. It was a very humbling and emotional experience, but it opened the eyes of everyone by showing the reality of people from other parts of the world. One other thing I enjoyed about this trip was our Community Action Project (CAP) to which we helped construct an aqueduct that provided potable water to families that previously did not have easy access to. This trip always kept us interacting in some way, there was never a dull moment where we got bored. Anytime we had free time, we got to know each other better and our GGLs were always there to support us. This trip helped my cohort and myself develop leadership skills as well as accounting for others that were previously not noticed. I will forever be grateful for having this experience provided by Global Glimpse.