Canadian and Dominican Differences | laura

Hey everybody,

So I’m Laura aka Dora and I was told in order to receive a co-op credit I need to write this, SOO here we go :) I’m currently listening to Jon Pardi (shout out to Monica, Rebecca and Allyson miss ya’ll), and I have been thinking about what to write my blog about all week. My blog is going to be a squish between two different but yet the same things. The ideas I wanna talk about is how the Dominican idolizes the US which ties into the huge differences between home and here.

I want to write this kind of chronologically, so I will start with the minute we walked off the airplane. I was one of the last people off our little plane so I got to see a group of predominately white teenagers with grey shirts reading “Dominican Republic 2017” walk down between two yellow lines on the tarmac. I passed by a man working at the airport said hello and instantly felt guilt. I had no idea where this guilt was coming from at first, but it was from the simple thought that the second we left the plane we had a superiority over them. The “Americans” were here to save the day.

After trying to get the airport workers to let us carry our own bags, we grouped into a bus waiting to bring us to the base. While sitting on the bus beside Nadine taking it all in, there was this house that caught my eye. It was this little cabin-like, probably two bedroom house which was so insanely nice, but I didn't think much of it.  A few minutes later I had this crazy realization, my worldview had changed in a matter of just one hour. At home in Canada that house would have been rundown and trashy, but here it was just the top of the top. That was the first of my many big realizations.

As we continued to drive to the base we were told we could wave out the windows, so obviously that’s what we did as we sang along to camp songs. People would wave and smile the biggest smiles back to us. My heart was so full! Then the second realization of superiority hit, we were a big fancy bus in the middle of an old dirt road throwing ourselves out the window yelling “Hola!”. What must these people be thinking? That we were tourists making a joke of their everyday lives? Personally I know that if I saw a big bus of tourists with “Canada 2017” on their shirts yelling and waving, I’d think they were all insane! Dominican is such a warm country in the way they treat each other and outsiders. They most likely aren't thinking that way. They are just happy and welcoming to everyone all the time, which sadly is very different from the typical Canadian way of life.

My next little wow moment happened the first Monday in the Dominican. We were split into groups to go on a scavenger hunt which allowed us to leave the base for the first time. Rach put one boy in each group, and to be honest I was kind of cheesed. Like come on, we girls are quite independent, there’s no way anything could go wrong. At 4:15, only fifteen minutes before we had to go back to the base, I had as Liv called it, “The most innocent moment ever” I mentioned how I thought it was so polite that the cars honked before they passed one another, as they honk ALL THE TIME, which is so different than at home. Liv looked at me then said laughing and borderline sarcastically, “Laura, no ones passing each other, they’re honking at us.” It was in that moment I understood why we needed a guy with us. It was a symbol that we were virtually untouchable. This showed me that the Dominican is a male dominated society, and just having a boy with us made the rest of us three girls less of a target. Thanks Johnny you did great.

A couple of days after, a group of us were talking with Rachael and the chaps about why we need to be with a boy at all times when outside the base. As Canadian females (and males) we represent the “American dream” as seen in movies. You know the ones, the white picket fence, perfect family, dream jobs, and happiness with money in abundance. If a Dominican man could somehow marry one of us, he could achieve this standard of living, that little do they know as humans in a sinful world, even us as North Americans cannot achieve. Even the youth in this culture understand this mindset early on. On Tuesday, Chelsea went to teach and came to the dinner table with a story. That day, she had a grade eight boy boldly ask her to marry him and fly with her back to Canada. This is just a small taste of the so called “cat calling” us twelve girls have received.

Last Wednesday when driving to our third base of Guaymate, I got the opportunity to talk with the wise owl that is Max. I asked him how come so many of the store names were in English. His answer was a simple four word answer, America rules the world. Everywhere are signs of American power. We are not recognized as Canadian, but ‘Americanos’. American cartoons represent the lottery which is understandable as if they win, there’s the opportunity to leave the Dominican in a hurry. Another prime example is the Paso sign which is actually an American dollar. Believe me, the first breakfast noticing we were eating a $145 loaf cake was pretty crazy, then I learned, in reality it was only three dollars American. Again, America in itself represents a life of bliss.

Please don't get me wrong, the Canadian to the Dominican ways of life are also so very similar, Canada is in no way a better country than the Dominican Republic. Both societies on one hand have an abundance of wealth, but also experience great poverty which have their own pluses and minuses. After being here for fifteen days, I have learnt so much about cultural differences and how to attempt to fit in as a sixteen year old Canadian girl. The way to do so is to show love, interest, and mercy. We are here to serve and be blended into their culture by leaving ours back in Canada. What I have noticed and learned may have been shockers in the moment but they are just prime learning opportunities to reflect on and push us out of our comfort zones. The Dominican is a beautiful country with culture bursting out the seams, I think them idolizing the United States is such a shame. A life full of wanting can’t be the life they are meant to live. I hope in the next six weeks our little group of twenty-three has plenty of these little wow moments to share during circle time. Seems to be that wow moments are the best way to learn. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my about thoughts and experiences. :) 

View from the roof