Waukesha West Global Citizenship Club

If you like todays weather, then you will like our 2020 trip to the Amazon! 🥵🌴

Almost home! Families, thank you for trusting us to take your students on this trip. It was an amazing experience and we're pretty sure your students feel the same. After they get some rest, here are a few conversation starters to help ensure you hear all about it...
- What did you find most surprising, interesting, or intriguing about life in the Dominican Republic?
- What did you learn about the culture of the DR?
- What did you put in your dream journal? (This is what they lovingly called their travel logs.)
- What was your favorite service project? Why?
- Tell me about Daniel. Tell me about Porfilio.
- What do you think it means to be a global citizen?

For those of you playing at home...we're back in the United States. Landed about 40 minutes ago. One more flight to Chicago and then heading home. Looking forward to sharing our experiences with friends and family! 🇩🇴✈️🇺🇸
(photo credit: Laney, before takeoff in Santiago)

Breakfast and gratitude. Thank you notes for our amazing tour guide, Daniel, and our wonderful bus driver, Porfilio.

We had our last dinner in the Dominican Republic tonight in our hotel overlooking the city. We reviewed the goals we set for ourselves on our second day here and were able to say we achieved them all. In addition, our tour guide, Daniel, shared very kind words he received about our group. People at the institute said our students were the most professional group they have had. They were impressed with our consistent timeliness and hard work.

We were up early (6:30 a.m. breakfast) so we could make the most of our last full day in the Dominican Republic. Headed to the coast for a snorkeling excursion. En route we learned about the significance of rice production in Dominican culture, along with the influence of the price of rice on Dominican politics. After, we took a quick detour to see the mangroves and learned about their importance in the ecosystem. We continue to learn that traveling (and learning!) is fun.

Cheers to another great day in the DR! 🇩🇴

One last project and one last adventure in Jarabacoa before we head for Santiago for the remainder of our stay...

We put all of our new service skills to work today at Instituto del Ambiente. Cleared some grounds in the morning and worked in another greenhouse in the afternoon. Lots of learning and lots of fun. Check out the pictures of our day below! 🇩🇴

Got to work at Instituto del Ambiente yesterday where they focus on reforestation efforts. They grow between 800,000 and 1.2 million trees here each year. Their mission is to teach the process so such efforts can help other communities. We did our small part to start -- moving dirt, weeding, and preparing soil for planting. We also painted a mural on the grounds, hiked to a nearby river, ate fresh mango, and loved life. 🇩🇴