By: Danny Magrans
“In order to achieve great things, one must be willing to live on the edge of what’s uncomfortable.”
Sunday–
What an exciting day. After a good night’s sleep we started the day. Our first true excursion was to a beautiful area called Damajauga. Here we scaled a moderately intense mountain to get to the first of 27 different waterfalls. Our mission was to get to the bottom of the mountain by using water as our main source of transport. In other words, we had to jump off the top of the waterfalls and swim to the next jump. Due to time restrictions we jumped off 12 waterfalls. The tallest was close to 23 feet tall. I am happy to report that the entire group faced the challenge and their fears with extraordinary courage. After a two hour excursion the students and adults left with tremendous joy and pride.
We ended the day at our new hotel in a new city. The hotel is called Kite Inn. We quickly learned why. Here we witnessed one of the neatest sports I’ve ever seen–Wind surfing. The skies were full of individuals from beginners to experts. It was simply amazing to see. Also, the students competed in races and an intense game of soccer versus a group of locals.
We finished the day with a wonderful dinner at a very cute beach side restaurant. While eating dinner I noticed an energy the I have not seen before. In fact I told the chaperones and our guides that in just a few minutes our students were about to turn this evening into a Latin American Disco. So much fun.
The students have blended so well with the DR culture. It’s so impressive to watch them interact (including speaking, dancing, playing soccer, and so much more) with the locals. They have achieved great things in such a small moment of time. It’s been remarkable to see how much our students have stepped out of their comfort zones.
Tomorrow will prove to be filled with many challenges and opportunities to push our limits and live on the edge. Wish us luck!
The following photo is from our visit to the Monument of the Revolutionary Heroes.
