In college and even sometimes in high school there are opportunities to travel abroad. Many know that these trips can be insightful, humbling, and a chance to become more independent as we grow up. I was blessed earlier this year, back in March of 2016, to travel abroad. My trip was spent as an ASB, or Alternative Spring Break. It was not a semester spent abroad learning at a new university with a host family, but one that completely dependent on one’s own self. It was a week spent learning about the culture, language, and history of an area not many people are willing to go.

Instead of spending the week on an American beach, baking under the sun, and making memories with my friends, I chose to embark on a new adventure taking up an opportunity I probably will not have again. I went to the Dominican Republic, and received eye opening experiences that taught me much more than a week partying on a beach could have. Of course I am not completely dismissing a regular spring break experience, rather I am mentioning an alternative to the stereotypical week long party.

Traveling to the Dominican brought me many good opportunities, and many unfortunate events as well. As a white female from northern United States, I fall under many typical stereotypes: I only know one language fluently, I do not travel outside of the States, I have little knowledge of cultures outside of my own, and I often stay close to what I know – straying from people and events that I do not know. Although, as a Michigander, I travel to Canada quite often, but it does not seem as an entirely different country with border control and customs. I consider traveling to the Dominican as my first real adventure outside of the States.

Once in the Dominican, I instantly knew that I was in way over my head. I was on my own with what the future week held for me, even though I was with a small group of people, none of whom I knew at all. Being surrounded by strangers, in a new country, not knowing the language was overwhelming and stressful. I stepped off the airplane expecting some bi-lingual people to ask for help, but unfortunately expected too much. The capitol city of Santo Domingo was nothing like the more popular area on the East Coast, Punta Cana. The irony that the Dominican Republic is more known for its all-inclusive resort instead of its culture and history. Almost no one spoke English, and if they did, it was very broken taking time to get any comprehension from the conversation.

Beyond that the entire week, we spent the days roaming the streets, exploring historical sites, and eating domestic foods. We got to walk along street markets, support the locals, and view the landscape of history. I had to depend on myself every day, making sure my health stayed high and that I remained physically safe as well.

Each day, we got to choose what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go through the city and Colonial Zone. I learned simple phrases in Spanish, my most favorite being “No hablo Inles,” and I also learned to convert our USD to Pesos pretty consistently on the fly. I was exposed to new foods, which was an accomplishment for someone who has a very picky diet. Also having social anxiety, I managed to make great friends through the trip, while navigating with quite a few Dominican’s help. I gained leadership experiences that I never would have received by staying in the US for that week.

During the week, we not only got to explore but attempt to volunteer and really get to know some of the people of the Dominican Republic. It was not all hard work and distress, we got to travel to a more remote part, on the southern coast. La Romana and Bayahibe are beach towns, with many more outdoor, woodsy adventures. It was nice to have some relaxing time during the eventful week, which was supposed to be a break from the stresses of school anyways.

It was on the beach of Bayahibe that I had the most impactful experiences of the trip, among the final days as well. I met a Haitian boy whom I attempt to teach some English to, drawing the letters and words into the wet sand like an immediate chalkboard. We started over as each wave washed the previous words away, and we connected through a common language, Creole and English. I was blessed to have learned some French during middle school and high school, which is very similar to Creole. We could create some conversation and we did manage to get through a lot of English words.

Also in that town, I knew that I made a few friends that I would still to this day be very important to me. The conversations we had humbled me in realizing that there are so many people on my campus that I have yet to meet, and there are so many who could be potential great friends.

At the very least, for the awesome people who are still reading this, studying abroad is worth the expense and time consumption. If an entire semester is overwhelming like it was for me, consider a week like an alternative spring break or a few weeks during the summer. Once again, these opportunities are great during college and might not come back around once we are encompassed by full-time jobs and families. Even though the experience will not be 100% perfect, it will be more beneficial than not. Do not be afraid of the unknowns and fears, because it will be worth it all at the end of the experience.

I want to mention and give thanks to the people that made the trip so memorable:
particularly David,
the talker: Moe,
my only other girl: Ashley, and
Brian the leader of course.