Dominican adventures: The start
July 24, 2007
I will be moving in 15 days to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. My Facebook has been dutifully counting down the days for the last two and half months. The poor souls who have been getting my profile updates. (Melissa is excited about her move to the DR in 17 days,..Melissa is excited about her move to the DR in 16 days…Melissa is excited about her move to the DR in 15 days…) I have packed up about 2/3 of my stuff. I’ve thrown out a LOT, packed about 15 boxes of books, CDs and clothes to store at the parents’ abode, and have filled bag upon bag of “space-savers bags” with the clothes that made it through the first two elimination stages and will come with me to my new home.
Do I have expectations? Hell yes! I’m looking forward to the blue, blue water, the amazing mangos and fabulous coffee! I can’t wait to hike the trails and listen to the wonderful music! I am excited about hopefully learning to speak Spanish, to learn about a new culture, to train young musicians, to meet the need for trained music teachers. But…I’ve never been to the Dominican Republic. Will it be what I expect? Doubtful. Will it be better? Probably, but not in the ways that I can imagine. It may be like in Budapest where to my inexperienced eyes, the city looked dirty, unfriendly and worn-out (in comparison to my last stop in Vienna, Austria). But, after visiting the Terror House and learning about the history of the city--all that the people had gone through being hit on both sides from the wars--I came out loving the city, seeing and understanding the deep beauty that only comes from pain. Understanding the shadows on the faces of the people not to be hate, but wariness of change. I learned because I was willing. I loved because I learned. I changed because I loved. Perhaps these memories will help me learn, love and change as I experience my new home of Santo Domingo.
Do I have expectations? Hell yes! I’m looking forward to the blue, blue water, the amazing mangos and fabulous coffee! I can’t wait to hike the trails and listen to the wonderful music! I am excited about hopefully learning to speak Spanish, to learn about a new culture, to train young musicians, to meet the need for trained music teachers. But…I’ve never been to the Dominican Republic. Will it be what I expect? Doubtful. Will it be better? Probably, but not in the ways that I can imagine. It may be like in Budapest where to my inexperienced eyes, the city looked dirty, unfriendly and worn-out (in comparison to my last stop in Vienna, Austria). But, after visiting the Terror House and learning about the history of the city--all that the people had gone through being hit on both sides from the wars--I came out loving the city, seeing and understanding the deep beauty that only comes from pain. Understanding the shadows on the faces of the people not to be hate, but wariness of change. I learned because I was willing. I loved because I learned. I changed because I loved. Perhaps these memories will help me learn, love and change as I experience my new home of Santo Domingo.
