Growing up Dominican has been the greatest thing for me. It has been something I've always identified with and has been the one thing I've always been proud of. Dominicans are strong, fearless, loud (sometimes), loving and always down for a great time. Here's what it's like growing up Dominican -
Acting up in a store as a kid and your parents telling you "Tu veras cuando lleguemos a la casa"
Better run now while you still can.
Waking up and hearing your mom blast some old school Bachata.
You know your whole Saturday is going to be spent cleaning.
El novio broke up with you? Got a cold? Got pain anywhere? Legit anything -
“Ponte un chin de mentol/Vapo Rub y ya”
Having to “besar la mano” to everyone at the family reunion.
because somehow they are all related to you.
Receiving money for your birthday and your parents saying “Damelo para guardarlo”
but never seeing those $50 ever again.
When you got hurt and your parents would say “sana, sana, culito de rana” in order to cure you.
Until this day you still do not know how that actually worked.
Not wanting to cook for your younger siblings.
But then hearing your parents say "Cuando yo tenía tu edad ya yo le cocinaba al barrio entero"
Having all your family members call your cat “misu, misu”
Sure Tia, it’s not like I named my cat Churingo or something. Misu is perfectly fine.
When you step out Las Américas International Airport or the Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao..
feeling like you’re walking down a runway thinking to yourself “Yeah, I travel, soy importante”
Locking the door of your room but having your parents tell you “Mira tu no paga renta aquí, que tu hace cerrando puerta”
Just because I don’t pay rent does not mean I cannot have a little privacy.
After dressing nice, having someone say “mira parece gente”
Nice, cause I did not look like a human before.
When your parents get mad at you and yell “Hijo de la -----”
But you do not say anything back because you know that “correa” or “chancleta” still haunts you.
At a family gathering, saying goodbye to everyone thinking you’re finally going home
Until you see your parents starting a whole conversation, now you’re stuck there for another 2 hours.
Not finding something but then your parents say “si yo lo encuentro vamos a ver”
Somehow that item appears and now you’re in deep trouble.
Trying to explain to your cousin in DR that you live in Connecticut and not New York.
But giving up because they still think every state in the USA is “Nueva Yol”
Above all, you know growing up Dominican has been nothing but a blessing. You would not want to have been raised any other way.
