Personal and Professional Growth
During my summer in Santiago, I was in a nurturing environment that allowed me to reflect and grow as an individual. The Dominican culture and way of life was a considerable contrast compared to life in the United States. The construct of time is different: the phrase “time is money” is encountered with confused faces. I have learned that while time is important, family and happiness are priceless. The Dominicans emphasize the importance of family relationships, as well as taking time to relax and enjoy life. In addition, Dominicans are amiable and affable by nature. They will stop to help a lost and confused tourist find his or her way or talk to a stranger during the commute on the concho just to have a conversation. These subtle but meaningful differences have changed my cultural perspective. And I have come to realize that my own culture has influenced my opinion on life. Learning about the Dominican culture has made me reflect upon my own life and my goals.
Also, my service learning experience with Accion Callejera reinforced the importance of being passionate in my work and career. Through the program, I worked with at-risk youth, helping them reinforce their reading and mathematics skills. The eventual goal would be to foster independent thinking and curious minds. This way, the students are more actively involved in their education and are also more likely to be invested in their futures. My experience only reaffirmed my desire to pursue a career working with children. I view each child as a source of potential: this potential only needs to be unlocked and nurtured, like planting a seed, watering it, and watching it grow. I would like to be the soil that supports and cultivates the plant’s growth. I am passionate about working with children because they are our future, and they will be the ones that have the power to change the world.
My study abroad experience allowed me to work on improving my Spanish skills, as well as my own personal goals. As a college student, I have wanted to be more independent and less reliant on others. In the Dominican Republic, I needed to communicate in Spanish with others when I was by myself. And the satisfaction of knowing that I am able to successfully communicate is an amazing feeling, as it bolsters my confidence. It is a reassurance that I am able to be independent. I also had to balance my time appropriately; I wanted to explore the country, but I also had to leave enough time for classwork, service learning, and homework. And after a couple of weeks, I settled into a schedule that worked for me. On the days I did not have service learning, I could do homework and go to service learning the other days. And that left me with the weekend to make travel plans to explore. By working extra hard and sacrificing free time during the week, I was free on the weekends. Overall, it reminded me that sacrifice and hard work are required to succeed.
After completing the six weeks in the Dominican Republic, I am truly able to see myself and my surroundings in a new light. I can see that my life in the United States left me with certain expectations--I realized that I was sheltered, and that I had not even begun to realize how different people’s lives were from mine. The first couple of weeks were filled with culture-shock for me: I was annoyed: the toilet did not flush right, there was never any internet, and air conditioning was a foreign concept. But as time passed, I adapted to these “inconveniences”, and I appreciate those moments more when I had internet or air conditioning. Living in another country was a humbling experience, and it truly opened my eyes to what I have. And as Gustave Flaubert said, “Travel makes you modest. You see what a tiny place occupy in the world.”
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