Independence Day I Lauren

Note: Independence Day was a month ago, but I 

am posting it with today´s date to ensure it gets read.

Today was a celebration of independence for the Dominicans. Their biggest form of celebrating this was through a parade. Now when you think of a parade the word “marching” most likely comes to mind. I learned today that a Dominican parade is a different concept altogether.

For the most part it is like a parade you would see in Canada. The whole town gathers to take part in celebrating as people gather on sidewalks awaiting the oncoming parade. In the distance the sound of drums and music can be heard as the community of people makes its way down the street. The Dominican flag is proudly displayed on hand held flags in numerous numbers among the crowds. This can all be seen in both a Canadian and Dominican parades.

As this was a great opportunity to intergrate into the society we did just that. At promptly 10:30 we left our work stations and followed a group of school children out the school gates. In the middle of the street 12 young girls dressed in short skirts, with batons with pom-poms stood. They began their routine of dancing as twirling their batons to music blaring out of the back of a van. As I was saying at the start of this blog post Dominican parades are a very different concept then Canadians. This was all due to the fact that their form of marching or dancing is a lot more sexual than you would see at home. Twerking seemed to be a popular choice of dance for the day. Seeing ten year olds dance this way was definitely a new experience for our group.

As we entered the main street where the parade was to take place we were beckoned to a sidewalk to get the best view possible. People as far as the eye could see were marching towards us from way down the street. Once they eventually reached us we could not contain our excitement any longer and ran into the street and began to march with a school group. Instantly school children gave up their little hand held flags so we could wave them around as we walked. Walking down the street during the parade really made me feel accepted into the community. All the waves and smiles we got as we passed made me realize how much people appreciate us being here.

Once we made it down the street to the town square it was already filled to the brim with people. Group upon group were lined up perform in front of a big white tent at the far end of the town square. This tent contained the political people and most likely the mayor. Shortly after we arrived the main attraction seemed to be revolved around the tent so we promptly made our way over. Just in time to because group after group began to take turns marching in front of the tent and performing small dances. Dances with traditional dresses, salsas and other dances. It was incredibly hard to see over the crowds to get a glimpse of these performances, but a Dominican man soon came to our rescue. He beckoned us over to a roof overhanging the crowd and encouraged us to climb it. In order to reach the top of the roof you hand to boost yourself over metal railing then lift yourself over a cement ledge onto the roof. During this time many people turned around to watch the spectacle as we all struggled onto the roof. The struggle was worth it though, as the view was perfect. You could see all the way around the town square and watch all the performances.

I believe that many people walked away from the parade with different experiences and opinions. For me, it was an eye opening day. One thing that I took into consideration while watching the parade was this: Everyone was so happy. All the smiling, waving and greetings I saw made me realize how purely happy many people here are. Happiness is not just something I have come across here in the parade but everywhere. The culture here just seems to be so happy, warm and welcoming. Walking down a street here you will regularly receive hello’s from complete strangers. Imagine walking up to a complete stranger in our community and saying hello. While others may return your hello, many would most likely give you an odd look. This is because it isn’t a regular thing for us, but in the Dominican friendliness and happiness is a big role in their daily lives.

Like I was saying before the people here are so happy. Even though they have so much less, little education and harder living conditions. The cool thing I realized after thinking this through was that the people here embrace every opportunity they have that comes their way. No matter how big or small. Even if its just driving 28 Canadians to church their ecstatic.

The whole topic of “happiness” in the Dominican culture came to me all from watching the parade. It’s amazing how the littlest things in life can have such a big impact. For me it was just seeing an Independence day parade that opened my eyes to a new view of happiness.