The 3rd World Country: dramaroni

dramaroni

The 3rd World Country

Jun 19, 2005 02:30

This is a very long entry about my trip to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic that I think everyone should really take time to read... there's pics at the end...

WOW! So my big summer vacation was to the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo near Boca Chica. My initial reaction when I arrived was "HOLY SHIT.. IT'S EFFIN HOT!" Soon enough I got used to the heat and I always looked like I had a shimmery glaze on my body.
Day 1 was basically settling in. Our rooms were on the top floor do we decided to switch to the bottom floor which got us a top of the line view of the gorgeous pool with a balcony. The room electricity runs the same as in Europe; you place your room key in this slot to start the AC which saves money and when you leave you take it out because you'll need it to get back in your room. Luckily, each room gets two and since my sister and I are always together, we always left the card in the slot to keep the room cold. Otherwise, everything would be wet from the humidity. Each day, the service man would come put in 2 new beers and 2 new cokes (in the bottle) in the mini fridge as a part of the package which was cool.

Food was great. There were about 5 or 6 restaurants that were all inclusive with great service and hospitality. Each guest is supposed to wear a wrist band that says you are on a package plan and the dark blue was for 18 or older and the light blue was under 18. My dad was cool and said I was 18 so I could get the dark blue one. The drinking and gambling age there is 18 or older so I was able to drink whatever the hell I wanted when I wanted because there were so many bars at the site. I also did my share of slot machines and lost -$50 and did the night club from 11PM-2AM ish every night.

The activities were all done by a group of people called 'The Chocolate Friends' (pretty racist) who were all black but so much fun. They did activities on the beach daily, put on shows at every night, and after went to the club until 4 AM. They were really awesome and made the stay very fun.

So the daily routine was eat breakfast, go to the beach, eat lunch, come back to the huge pool with the bar in it and stools to sit on, then shower, eat dinner, watch the show, and go clubbin. It was fun for the most part.

The sadness of the trip came when my dad decided it would be fun to go on these 4-wheeler things that seat 2 people and tour outside the resort around the town. This was devastating. The roads were made of clayish dirt. Stop signs, signals, lanes were nonexistent. Roofs were practically un heard of. Doorways were more like windows without the glass, transportaion was a good pair of shoes or a bike, clothing for children was bare skin. There was misery everywhere. The kids would dig out holes in the ground and let it fill in with rain water and use it as a mini pool that looked like mud. Dogs were anarexic digging for food in garbage cans.14-year-old girls would be piling out of mens' cars to stand on the sides of the street waiting for their next customer. The children would run out in front of the runners and say "Money! Money!" or "One dollar!" This only made me feel like such a hypocrite for paying to ride these stupid cars and watch the lifestyle like it was a freak show. I was completely embarrased and I felt like I couldn't do anything to help. I would rather be blinded and not know it was happening rather than knowing and not being able to do anything to help.

The next day we went horse back riding on what we thought would be the beach but turned out to be the same sites we had seen the day before. Huts, cans, hay for homes. Being told about a horse who got stuck in a ditch and fell in backwards on his back who cant get out so they will have to let him die because they have no equipment or cars strong enough to pull him out. The entire town was like something you would see in a movie like Hotel Rwanda where you have this one beautiful hotel for tourists with destruction and misery right outside the gates. Looking at the optomistic side, horseback riding was fun.

One day we did get out of the gates on the other side of the wall and walked to the strip where there were markets and sales. We were walking when out of nowhere 2 kids popped out and started talking to us and helping us. There was a 16 year old named Luis and a 14 year old named Eduardo (Edward). These have become our new best friends. They walked with us all day helping us shop and telling us where we would be ripped off or not. Whatever we would buy they would carry. It was a way they would make money for their families in a clean safe way. The only problem was the security of the hotel would capture any of the residents who crossed to the hotel and chastised tourists. Of course I fell in love with these kids and ended up visiting them every day after that. We would sneak them some food from the resort buffet and give them money for every time they helped us with something. They hugged me as if I was their own sister. They would do anything for us. On our departure day they came and handed us a bag of fruit after getting caught trying to sneak and see us one last time but getting away. We exchanged numbers and addresses and we are now going to become pen pals. We have made a promise to send them a little bit of money monthly and anything we have no use for. They were the coolest kids I have ever met in my life and I'm going to miss them like crazy.

So on this trip I learned so many things. I realized how fucked up our attitudes are in America. We are the ones with the luxuries and we have the worst attitudes and least hospitality but they people that are suffering and should be angry at the world are the sweetest people you will ever meet because it is a life they appreciate because it is all they have ever known. Every person over there is amiable, hospitable, always trying to make you feel comfortable and on top of everything speak Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Dutch. I admire them so much. I'm glad I went and saw for my own eyes how much I have to be thankful for. We truly take what we have for granted. Santo Domingo was appropriate for one visit but I would never go back. I feel too guilty trying to enjoy myself when just behind a wall they is so much calamity.

I have never ____________ as much as I have in Santo Domingo:

-sweat

-been attracted to so many black men

-been so devastated

-realized how spoiled I am

-seen such beautiful beaches

-met such amazing people

-been hit on

-realized how asshole American men are

-wanted to consider adopting children