17 Days in the Dominican Republic

What if you had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to and live in a developing country? I am very blessed to have had this chance. During the summer of 2016, I traveled to the Dominican Republic. Living in a vastly different world for 17 days, I collected rainwater in buckets for showers, survived through immense heat and became a target of countless mosquitoes. Whereas I had to adapt to these surroundings, they were nothing out of the ordinary for the Dominicans.

I had so many new and humbling experiences. Washing potatoes alongside a forty year-old Haitian worker with a wife and three children, I learned that he was only able to see his family once a year due to his low salary. I immediately felt immense sympathy for his struggles. I also taught English to Dominican students, which I was anxious to do at first. However, I soon felt the rewards in helping them as I witnessed their English slowly but surely improving. While visiting a local Dominican family in a small village, I asked the mother a simple question: “Are you happy?” She replied saying that as long as her family was happy, she was happy. Her house was swarmed with flies, her bathroom was a little shack behind the house, her clothes were torn, but she was happy. At that moment, I realized that happiness is not achieved through materialism, but rather through being content with what you have.

With all these eye-opening experiences that were happening to me, I wish I could have had a way to communicate with others around the world about them. Fortunately, I recently discovered Jetzy, a global social network app that allows travelers to connect with each other virtually! Not only that, the app rewards people who enjoy travel and unique lifestyle experiences. I will now be able to share my former and future trips, along with the value of traveling with others easily. To find out more useful local tips for travel, check out: www.jetzyapp.com.