My DR Global Glimpse trip

If you are a junior high school student looking for a trip to expand your horizons, gain global experience, give back to a community in a different country, meet wonderful people, immerse yourself in a different culture, or maybe learn more about a culture you already know, Global Glimpse is the perfect opportunity for you. I am Manaia Peeler, a rising senior from the Bay Area in California, and this past summer I had the opportunity to attend a Global Glimpse trip to a wonderful town called Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic. And I can truly say it changed my life for the better. The experiences I had and observed while on this trip were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'm grateful for. While on this trip, I was able to learn so much about the Dominican culture from its cultural dances, traditional food, history, work ethic of its local coffee farmers, first responders and their limited resources, the everyday life of the locals, their immigration issue, and more. Although I learned a lot from every experience I would say the one that impacted me the most would be their immigration system and the current ongoing issue with Haitian immigration. Another one would be experiencing the locals' everyday lives and being able to fellowship with them and see how communal and welcoming they were to us Glimpsers. Additionally, an important aspect of our trip was our community action project, where we started the building of water ducts to supply water to over 15 homes in a community in Jarabacoa. And to see the joy and gratitude of the locals was an experience unmatched. If I could sum up my global glimpse experience into one word, it would be impactful because of how it truly made me reflect on my life and the privileges I have. It also made me want to do more for my community and those in need around the world.