These pieces of advice have emerged from conversations and meetings during orientation courses with students from Lewis & Clark College who have already been to the Dominican Republic and those who are getting ready to go there.
~ flashlight , there are always problems with the power.
~ money: bring more than what they tell you to bring. It's true things are cheaper than here, but if you want to travel and go places for the weekends, you need extra money.
~ clothes: bring nice clothes and not only jeans. Remember in Latin America the way you dress is very important, it tells a lot about you and people pay a lot of attention to it. If you want to bring shorts, do it, but don't wear them to go to class or downtown, wear them to go to the beach, or when you are at home. Do not bring clothes with holes or stains this is an insult to people and a big embarrassment to your host family.
~ special needs: women's hygiene stuff and solutions for contact lenses are usually more expensive. You will find everything you need, the same exact brands you get in the USA, but three times more expensive.
~ ear plugs: some students from previous programs have complained about noisy streets, just in case have a pair of ear plugs handy.
~ Bring some gifts to your family. Try to find something typical from the area you are from. It doesn't have to be expensive, it's just a way of telling them you appreciate them having you at their house.
~ Learn how to dance, take classes.
~ Try to take classes not offered to the group, it is the best way to learn more and to meet Dominicans.
~ Talk to your professors to take you on field trips, to work in the community (práctica comunitaria)
~ Check your final grades with all your professors before you leave the DR, go over them together.
- Make sure you count the money in front of the clerk before you leave the cashier's window, even if he/she already did it.
- Remember you will need your passport.
- Never deal with people on the streets offering you a better exchange rate.
- Never bring too much money with you.
- Always try to get and carry small bills.
- Don't exchange more than what you need, remember the rate varies from day to day.
Take a look at this list of words that are very common in the Dominican Republic. Most of them have been imported from Indigenous or African Languages.
Be careful with the use of the word "American", remember everybody born on the American Continent is American. Some people get offended when you use this word only referring to people born in USA.
Survival Kit for Overseas Living. For Americans planning to live and work abroad. L. Robert Kohls. Intercultural Press, Inc.1984. (ISBN 0-933662-59-9)
These are comments related to passages from the book. I thought some of them might be of special interest to you. Read the book and the following comments carefully, we will have a discussion during the orientation meeting.
People who have gone before you may give good info about things, but remember it's going to be their perspective based on their own particular experiences and how they've perceived them.You don't have to know everything before you go, learn some basics and then be open-minded.
What people need most when they go overseas is to understand themselves better as Americans. ("So you're going overseas" page 2)
Other Americans have already been there and they have set the stage for your arrival... Yes, your way has been paved ... with bad impressions! ("Others have gone before" page 3)
All over the world people think they know all about Americans. ("Others have gone before" page 3) And Americans think they know what's the best for the rest of the world.
"Stereotypes are natural; they are one way people everywhere deal with things which are too complex to handle or about which they have inadequate information"..."You will be confronted often with stereotypes". "Others have gone before" page 3) Also keep in mind "Stereotypes are not always wrong" ("The stereotyped American" page 6). How would you react to somebody saying: "Americans are such racists, such imperialists, loud, rude, boastful, immature, confident they have all the answers, ignorant of other countries, wealthy, all American women are promiscuous..." ("The stereotyped American" page 5)? Each person must figure out how to respond to these comments in the best way possible. "The following are useful guidelines: Resist becoming angry or defensive, avoid fitting the stereotype and persist in being your (sweet old) self". ("The stereotyped American" page 6) What stereotypes do you have of Latin Americans? (Check the list of stereotypes from the book on page 5)
Throughout the world there are many different ways of doing things, most of which are intrinsically neither better nor worse than our own. THEY ARE SIMPLY DIFFERENT. ("The stereotyped American" page 6)