My Experience In Las Rosas, Dominican Republic

When spring break began my parents gave me the opportunity to have 2 weeks of spring break, where I would spend the first week hanging out with my and fiends and the week they go back to school I go on a cruise. While I was on the cruise me and my family visited 4 different islands over the 8 day voyage. On the third day on the boat we visited the Dominican Republic, on the fifth day we visited St. Thomas, on the sixth day we visited Puerto )Rico, and on the seventh day we visited are final island Grand Turk.

In 2015 my grandmother died. When I received the news I was on the couch and my mother told me “Miguel we have to talk” I was sweating because my mother was so serious and she told me that my grandmother was dead, and in that moment all I could think about was being back in the Dominican Republic, growing up with her, imagining the moments I spent in her house and the mornings that I sat in her living room, watching TV and smelling her amazing food wafting through the pass-through window from the kitchen. Then I snap back on reality and realize the future my grandmother would want for me.

Haiti, the small country located west of the Dominican Republic, is a unique and beautiful country with its own unique culture and geography. The people of Haiti are proud of their country and their culture. Even though the nation is plagued by earthquakes and storms, due to its geographic location, it does not stop the Haitian people from continuing their unique culture and happy lifestyle. Taking a look at this country’s culture and geography, anyone, civilian, military or political personnel can fully grasp and understand the country’s uniqueness.

“No te quede en el sol por mucho tiempo te va poner negro” Don't stay in the sun for too long you’ll get black.Those are words that I have heard while growing up. Growing up in a Dominican household the culture and beliefs are really strong. A culture that has been passed down through generations. A culture that has been accepted, however just because it's my culture doesn't mean that I have to accept it. In my family, lighter is better, more beautiful. It's not only my family, in Dominican culture being light skin tone is usually related to beauty and success. However, I don't agree with that, the color of your skin doesn't decide if you will be successful. It is who you are that decides that. It is hard to try to talk to the family about

The moment I arrived in Quito Ecuador, I threw up. After hours of delayed flights, I was confident that I had made the wrong decision leaving the country. Regardless, I trudged on to my destination: a remote village hidden in the rainforest of Ecuador. The occupants lived with next to nothing, not even a decent bathroom. In fact, that’s why I was there. I was part of a group working to bring a plumbing system to the natives. We worked for hours every day, digging trenches and hauling rocks from a river. With mud caked into my pores, my only relief was a rinse in a cold, dirty river at the end of every day. I had never felt better. The community was so thankful for everything they had, even if it wasn’t much. Through them, I learned

The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. It is slightly larger than Denmark, or about twice the size of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The central mountain range, Cordillera Central, boasts the highest point in the Caribbean, Pico Duarte, at a little more than 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The Cibao Valley lies in the heart of the country and is the major agricultural area.

Even though the Dominican Republic is a beautiful country I was very disappointed with my stay. Before even entering the Dominican Republic I was put all the way in the back of the plane where the toilets were even though I paid $50 so I can be in the middle and the front of the thing. The representative that was there for Vacation Express try to manipulate and robbed me to buy a tour package that he said is worth $640 before asking him about the different tours I asked if there's an ATM or bank nearby he said yes there is ATM in the lobby which I was in but did not notice I asked him how much a hundred dollars is converted to pesos he said 4800. Then I proceeded to ask him about the tours which said would cost $640 and it will be best to use my card which I declined to do because that was a ridiculous amount of money for 7  tours. A couple of days had passed I was heading to the lobby to go to the beach so I decided to stop by the booth again and ask this time it was a different representative a woman to be exact so I asked her how much the tours are and she said they're $99 I was very shocked about

Feeling the cool breeze,the palm tree moving back and forth I knew I was home.From

Famous for its endless beaches of pristine white powdery sand beaches lapped by gin-clear warm Caribbean waters and world-class shopping in Puerto Plata, it’s no wonder the Dominican Republic is fast becoming a global holiday destination.

Realizations come along with every situation, you may realize more than one thing in a certain situation whether the situation is good or bad. Realizations are meaningful because there are lessons that will be learned in the middle of it. My realization was realizing that I should not take anything I have for granted and to be thankful for everything that I have in my life.

The Colonial Zone is unique in many ways. It is the historic central part of Santo Domingo and the first permanent European settlement of the Western Hemisphere. The area is home to the many of the first’s in the Americas being built such as the first cathedral, cathedral Santa Maria la Menor; the first paved road, Calle las damas; the first hospital; and many others. Due to its high number of landmarks and along with many modern comforts built like favourable restaurants and nightclubs, the Colonial Zone is one of the most popular tourist attraction in Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic has shown many improvements in recent years and will continue to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world. There recent political leaders have brought some stability into the country and have made positive changes to their monetary and fiscal policies. Unemployment continues to be a major hurdle and they need to make some drastic changes if they wish to address this issue. They need to focus a little more on the well being of their population and increase the number of jobs available to support their growing population. The government need to continue to work on obtaining their Millennium Development Goals. By redistributing income among the population they can reduce poverty and famine. They need to put more money into their education system to improve the availability of education throughout the country.

After sitting down on the porch with coffee in hand, waves of nostalgia washed over me. Staring into my coffee, flashbacks ran through my mind. The old, yellow school bus rocked back and forth over the worn dirt path on its way to the orphanage that would be my home for the following week. The scolding South American sun beated down on the school bus as I began to question why I chose to spend my service requirement here. I tried to imagine the following week which would be wifi less, family-less, and air conditioning less. After a two hour bus ride, my team of 20 people and I arrived at Orphanage Emmanuel. Orientation and assignments filled the following hours until we all climbed onto our plastic mattresses and attempted to get some sleep.

    It was December 22nd, 2016 in the middle of a cold miserable winter, my extended family and I took a trip that we will remember for a lifetime to Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is a Caribbean country that is well-know for their beautiful beaches. After our long, stuffy plane ride we landed in the Punta Cana airport, right as we stepped out of the plane we felt the sun dazzling on our pale, white Minnesota skin. Arriving in the country, at first I was overwhelmed with everything. Seeing the crowds of eager people coming and pushing against me to get where they wanted to be was overwhelming. I finally grabbed my heavy luggage and rushed to the exit to get to our taxi. Driving through the city was such an experienced, I observed how much difference it is there then Minnesota. I looked around and noticed little kids walking around with no shoes on or supervision I also saw families riding a tiny motorcycle with no protection and drove unsafely it gave me anxiety watching it. I observed trash everywhere lying on the side of the streets, it was such an eye opener to me to compare where I live to how they live and how thankful I was where I live and how I was raised. After, driving through parts all around the city we arrived at our resort that we stayed at which was such a jaw dropping sight. When, we got in we met some people who work there. They greeted us and were so generous and beyond

It was December 22nd, 2016 in the middle of a cold miserable winter, my extended family and I took a trip that we will remember for a lifetime to Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is a Caribbean country that is well-know for their beautiful beaches. After our long, stuffy plane ride we landed in the Punta Cana airport, right as we stepped out of the plane we felt the sun dazzling on our pale, white Minnesota skin. Arriving in the country, at first I was overwhelmed with everything. Seeing the crowds of eager people coming and pushing against me to get where they wanted to be was overwhelming. I finally grabbed my heavy luggage and rushed to the exit to get to our taxi. Driving through the city was such an experienced, I observed how much difference it is there then Minnesota . I looked around and noticed little kids walking around with no shoes on or supervision I also saw families riding a tiny motorcycle with no protection and drove unsafely it gave me anxiety watching it. I observed trash everywhere lying on the side of the streets, it was such an eye opener to me to compare where I live to how they live and how thankful I was where I live and how I was raised. After driving through parts all around the city we arrived to our resort that we stayed at which was such a jaw dropping sight. When we got in we met some people that work there. They greeted us and were so