January 14, 2015

Roalqui posing in front of Hotel Riazor
Photo Credit: Kirstie Geier

Selfie of Kirstie & Roalqui
Photo Credit: Kirstie Geier

Kirstie: Today was a day that involved a large amount of reflection on our experiences and classroom-focused learning. Luckily, I was able to find time to interview Roalqui for our cultural assessment interview project. I chose to interview Roalqui because he is a fellow medical professional, as he specializes in general surgery in the emergency room at a level three hospital in the D.R. I also wanted to take on the challenge to complete the interview in Spanish! In addition, Roalqui would be described as a very comical and personable man who I felt would give me a great perspective on the Dominican culture. The interview was tough due to the language barrier and took us over two hours to complete. However, I enjoyed the challenging task and hearing the information Roalqui had to share. Roalqui revealed many interesting aspects of his particular culture and health. I was surprised to hear that some of his ways did not align with the general public of the Dominican Republic. In addition, I was shocked that Roalqui did not participate in any kind of exercise routine, as he certainly knows the importance and great benefits as a medical professional. My interview with Roalqui reinforced some of my knowledge of the Dominican culture and deepened my understanding of the variations that exist within the D.R. culture. The material he provided helped me see the culture from a native Dominican’s point of view, which was a greatly enriching experience. I also loved practicing my Spanish and forcing myself to communicate in another language.

Trash on the streets of Santo Domingo
Photo Credit: Crystal Croom

Avocados in the D.R.
Photo Credit: Crystal Croom

Crystal: Today in lecture we were spilt into groups to discuss different topics about the D.R. environment. My topic was food safety in the D.R. compared to the U.S. My partner and myself could relate directly to this topic since we had been eating different types of cuisine in the D.R. We were always warned not to eat from street vendors. This was not because the food would not taste good, but because the people making and serving the food are likely not to use safe sanitary practices, which could lead to poor health issues. We already knew not to drink the tap water as it was not filtered and we could contract cholera. This also could harm the food because a street vendor could wash off his fruit off with the tap water, thus contaminating the food. Another problem that concerned me was the power outages. When power does go out, some stores may not have a power generator. This concerned me because many times I wanted to buy a yogurt, but was not sure if it was kept cold the whole time it was in storage. This could affect the health of the Dominicans as they could eat stale and sour foods due to power outages and fall ill from bacteria that grow on bad food. On a more positive note, the fruits are more flavorful in the D.R.because they are locally grown. In comparison to the US, we have very strict food regulations. There are food inspections just to see if a business is sanitary enough to run a business, and if not the public would be notified. Also, in the US there are expiration dates on everything, giving us a judgment of how long the product would be good for. Some of the downfall to food production in the US is the mistreatment of animals, and the diet they are fed. In addition, many of our foods have GMOs and we are not necessarily sure which foods contain them unless it is on the packaging. A few people did feel ill after they thought they had reached their limit on eating too much Dominican food. Through it all the food in the D.R. was tasty and was well worth the try.

Tisha & Rose in from of the billboard with a picture of 

Ulises Ceron Polanco, the father of Minerva Ceron 

Photo Credit: Dr. Andrea Brace

Billboard with a picture of 

Ulises Ceron Polanco, the father of Minerva Ceron 

Photo Credit: Rose Kalala

Rose: Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Minerva Ceron, a real estate agent and YouTube personality, who lives in Queens, NY but grew up in Santo Domingo. She was also staying in Hostal Riazor and I became acquainted with her early on in the trip. She could be described as an extremely caring person, that I felt embodied the Dominican culture, and she came from a family of strong leaders. Her father was Ulises Ceron Polanco, a revolutionary in the 1950’s and 60’s, during the Trujillo dictatorship and continued the opposition efforts against Trujillo’s successors until he was killed in 1971. When I mentioned that we had just watched the film In the Time of the Butterflies that was based on the time period during which her father was a revolutionary, Minerva got very excited and told me that she was named after Minerva Mirabal, one of the famous revolutionary Mirabal sisters. She said that being named after Minerva Mirabal had been very important to her not only because her father had given her the name but because Mirabal was such strong leader. Minerva shared so many stories from her childhood and young adulthood, which really gave me a whole new perspective of Dominican culture and what it was like to grow up in this country. She practiced Catholicism, like many other Dominicans, and because her father was a politician, her family was financially comfortable. Her mother moved to New York after her father’s passing to try to start a new life to provide for Minerva and her three siblings. Ten years later, Minerva and her siblings would follow their mother to New York. I learned so much about Minerva and her life as well as a lot more about what it was like to grow up in a Dominican society that is in many ways much different than what I have seen. She shared with us that when she was younger, Dominican people were much friendlier and open with each other, but now they seem to be more reserved. This was most interesting to hear because as a class we have been talking about how the D.R. is such a friendly and welcoming place so it is hard to imagine that it once was even more open and welcoming.