Dominican Republic

As a daughter of Dominican parents, I am consumed in the Dominican culture.  It was instilled in my head that I am Dominican-American and I must be proud.  I was raised in a predominately Caucasian neighborhood and I could have easily lost my identity as a Hispanic-American.


The last time I went to Dominican Republic was in 2006.  The trip was just for fun with my parents and my brother and cousin.  The Dominican lifestyle was so different from what I was used to for example, dinner was at four pm.  I was so used to dinner at six or seven pm that my mother had to cook for us again because we did not stuff ourselves at four.  The people would think about dinner at ten am and prepare it for hours.  Every morning a man would come around he neighborhood selling live chickens.  If you purchased one, it would be assumed that you know the excruciating process.  The chickens head must be twisted off,which lead to its death, feathers are removed and further cleansed in lemon juice to clean the chicken.  In America, I would have just gotten a Big Mac!

We went to one of Dominican Republics famous tourists sites, Punta Cana.  Punta Cana was paradise to me, the sand was nearly white and no sign of imperfection.  I was shocked when I was able to see my feet because the water was crystal clear!  My brother ,cousin and I, got on jet ski's that blew me away.  That was my first time and I was honestly scared for my life. 

Our return home was a four hour trek but it was all worth it.  We took a back road for about one hour and I was scared for my life.  The back road was on a cliff with out any rails in case anything happened, one little mistake and we would have been history.

All in all, I would not trade my ethinicity for anything else.  I am Dominican American and aside from their ironic habits I am still proud! I had the bet summer in 2006.