I have mentioned this before, but I don’t think I expanded on it enough. The people you meet while studying abroad tremendously shape your experience. I have met some amazing people that probably don’t quite understand the magnitude of how much they have affected my life. The first couple of weeks away from home, all you can think about is how much you miss your family and friends, but as the weeks go by you begin to build relationships, forming your own special family of friends. Traveling provides the opportunity to meet people from many places of the world. Some are places that we can only dream of going or seeing. Despite the differences, you find that you all have one thing in common. The desire to want more out of life than what some say or feel is enough. Not materialistically of course, but the fact that there is an entire world of different cultures, languages, and people that I have yet to see. Sometimes I wish I could just be a world traveler for the rest of my life, but I don’t know if that would work out too well. I guess we’ll have to wait and see....

Posted by Erica at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

It is very difficult to go throughout the day without noticing the amount of children working in the streets of Santo Domingo. This was one of the things that shocked me the most when I arrived. The first thing you think to yourself is that these children should be in school, playing, or doing things that children should be doing to enjoy their childhood. Let me first make it clear that this is not the state of all children here, but there are enough of them working the street to make this issue apparent. Most of the young boys make their money by shining shoes and cleaning windshields, while others just result to asking tourists for money. I have had many conversations with some of these children, and many times I receive the answer that they are working to support their poor families. I can´t help, but wonder if there are other means to do so. Why is it that the children are taking on the roles of the adults? These children are forced to grow up very quickly and already obtain an instinct of survival. People walk by them everyday without an inch of curiosity to know their story. So that just leaves me to do so, because if I dont tell their story, who will?

Posted by Erica at 05:23 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)