Personal Narrative: My Vacation To The Dominican Republic

It was a hot, searing day as the sun beat down on my skin. The lush green palm trees provided me shade as I sat and observed my surroundings. Children, barefoot and dirty, wearing tattered and stained clothes were running around laughing and playing. Their joyous giggles put a smile on my face and warmed my heart as I watched them.

What do you think of when someone says “Dominican Republic”? Do you think of spas, hotels and beaches? When I think of it I recall dirt roads, poverty and dilapidated shacks. My senior year of high school I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with my basketball team with the simple goal in mind to advance our skills as basketball players and to help the people of the Dominican. Little did I know this trip would change my life completely.

The day has finally come to go on vacation. My family and I departed promptly from our house at 4:30 in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 7 in the morning at Pittsburgh International Airport. We had to arrive their early because all people flying international had to be their two hours before the flight would leave. We boarded the flight out to Punta Cana, which is located in the Dominican Republic. I can remember that I was so excited to go, that I was the first on the flight. I am pretty sure that it took about three hours to get to the Dominican Republic from Pittsburgh. It was a really long flight to me because I could not wait to get there and I just wanted to land. Finally, the moment has come and we landed. When we departed

a rich and diverse society in which I grew up and partook in work at.

This paper is about the time I went to the Dominican Republic and Nassau, Bahamas with my family and the wonderful lessons I learned or thought about even more. I learned a lot when I was in those two places because there were a lot of examples of the lessons I learned. Both places are very large and there are multiple people who show the lessons in their everyday life.

We had been waiting for this trip for years. Every 5 years we go on a trip to someplace fun. When five years passed after our trip to disneyland we were all waiting to go on some other adventure. I had done this twice, but 2 things about our trip this year were special.

Growing up in a Chinese family sharing their traditional beliefs and in a different cultural environment, Dominican Republic, have make me feel inferior to the ones surrounding me; since they are fill with expectations and judgments. In most of Asian tradition the oldest are expected to have more responsibility and be an example for the youngest siblings. My parents are business person, who are always working and didn’t spend much time at home. Indeed, I played my parents role and took all the responsibilities at home. Since I was 13, I cook, clean, and take care my youngest siblings.

When spring break began my parents gave me the opportunity to have 2 weeks of spring break, where I would spend the first week hanging out with my and fiends and the week they go back to school I go on a cruise. While I was on the cruise me and my family visited 4 different islands over the 8 day voyage. On the third day on the boat we visited the Dominican Republic, on the fifth day we visited St. Thomas, on the sixth day we visited Puerto )Rico, and on the seventh day we visited are final island Grand Turk.

Since returning from a service trip to the Dominican Republic in 2016, I have strived to be a leader in my school in nearly every way. On this trip, I learned the power that an individual can make on a community. Whether the work as pouring concrete floors, digging sanitary latrines, or building water filters, communities were overjoyed with our work, and since then listening to stories of how we changed lives is truly inspirational. Since then, I have applied this learning of the power of an individual to tackle numerous problems in my community. Last year, I learned of a food pantry in a local Latino community known as the Guadalupe Center. It was two weeks before Thanksgiving, and they were nearly entirely out of food. Only a couple small

How everything back in the U.S? Right now I'm in Panama visiting its different places and people. Over here is Panama it can get sunny and hot. Panama is a really fascinating country but I think the two things I have enjoyed over here was visiting the Panama Canal and learning about the Kuna Indians. Did you know the Panama Canal connects both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean? The canal is huge! Its 50 miles long and stenches deep in land! The canal according to what I remember was finished in April 1907 by Colonel George W. Goethals. To cross the entire canal took around 8-10 hours !! Though it was nice to see the land around the canal when the ride took off.

Realizations come along with every situation, you may realize more than one thing in a certain situation whether the situation is good or bad. Realizations are meaningful because there are lessons that will be learned in the middle of it. My realization was realizing that I should not take anything I have for granted and to be thankful for everything that I have in my life.

Like every other teenager my winter breaks are usually boring and I don’t do anything, but this break was the best one yet. My parents decided to take us on a trip that I have been dreaming for since I was 10 , they took us to Cancun , Mexico. I had been dying for this day , it was a dream come true. After a 4 hour flight I just wanted to eat and be on the beach but when we landed our car rental was waiting to be picked up and I was getting so impatient. Finally after 30 minutes of paperwork and waiting we were headed out of the airport to our hotel room. As soon as we got our hotel room I showered and watched tv , when I was watching tv I accidently fell asleep for 3 hours . I woke up at 7 and the sun was already setting , I was so mad because if I went to the

When you know, you know. The minute I enter Marist's campus, I fell in love. The beautiful scenery and peaceful environment reminded me of my hometown in the Dominican Republic. It brought back beautiful memories from my childhood as took a breath of fresh air. As I learned more about Marist and their ability to help guide me into a better and brighter future, I become more intrigued. As I walked through the classrooms I saw myself being part of something bigger than myself. I saw an opportunity not just to better myself but my parents and siblings. I want to lead my siblings by example and show them that where you come from does not define you or your worth. I want to show them, the importance of hard work and its amazing results. Here I see

Trying to find memories is like looking for treasure. You look at the surface and see something mediocre, but you dig deep and find something cool, pretty, and meaningful. It took a while to think of a fond memory, but once I thought of some, it was hard to choose a favorite. Growing up I have had many great experiences in the form of vacations. Between going to Disney World, owning a vacation home, hanging out with my grandparents in Arizona, traveling to Canada and more. They all make amazing memories that I will forever cherish. The vacation spot we go to the most, though, is Wisconsin Dells. A few times I have been allowed to invite friends to come with. When I am allowed to bring friends, it is always a ginormous amount of fun. We goof off in the hotel room, play in the arcades, and swim in the water parks.

As my eyes lit up like the fourth of July, I stood with my feet stuck to the ground, and my nerves tingle with happiness because of how marvelous it was. I didn't know a Mexico resort could be so nice.