Dominican Republic: Elisa Shaheen (Local Interactions)

I lived in a small community called La Ciénaga in the Dominican Republic where everyone’s homes were right next to each other. Due to the close proximity of everyone and the help of my host parents, I quickly grew a close network of individuals in the community that allowed me to engage with the environment.

One moment I will always remember is a day in which I stopped at my host mom’s “variedad” or store to say hello on my way home from work. What intended to be a quick greeting turned into something much longer. As we talked about our days and she taught me new Dominican slang or “palabras barriales”, she stepped out and introduced me to a group sitting outside of the store next to hers where we all laughed together as she teased them and me as well. Afterwards, she took me a few steps over to her brother’s pharmacy to share a cup of coffee with him in the thermos she always had on her.

We drank our coffee and finally stepped out to start heading back home together. We walked back hand in hand when she stopped me once again to watch her two friends play a game of dominoes outside their house on a makeshift game table. They finished up and without even asking, we played the next game with them. While standing up and still with my backpack on from work, the four of us enjoyed each other’s company in a game Dominicans adore.

That day showed me how special this community was; each individual supported each other as if they belonged to one family despite no blood relation. I got a taste of these community member’s lives that day and felt even closer to the community as I understood their collective values and ways of life.

Elisa Shaheen

Hometown: Orland Park, Illinois

Major: Spanish; Communication Sciences & Disorders

Program: 3 Mariposas Montessori Children’s Programming & School Internship

This opportunity offers me the chance to improve my Spanish and gain exposure to a culture and dialect I am far more unfamiliar with. It also combines my language learning goals with my career goals in Speech Pathology in which I’ll gain a better understanding of working with children, especially those of a different background than mine.  I hope to expand my understanding of how a community’s environment and lived experience all influence the culture that they share.