Monday, July 29, 2013

Burros have bingos

Dominican-American children flock to the DR in the summer. It makes sense. Where did I always go in the summer? Off to visit an aunt or a cousin or something. Summer was the best. You had a month in an exotic location (California, Alabama, Wyoming, and Texas were some of mine), and your parents get like a month without kids!

It's almost the worst time to be here though. The month has been so hot I literally don't want to function. I'm trying hard to work on a presentation, but in the morning when it's over 100 degrees I tell myself I'll work in the afternoon when it's cooler. I guess I forgot it would be hotter.

Back to the kids though. They have been floating in and out of my life for the past two months. They usually stay over a month here in the campos with their parents and end the trip with a week or so at an all inclusive resort before jet-setting back to the land of hot water and Netflix subscriptions. (Did I tell you I can't even convince the CBS website that I'm in America. Isn't Florida close enough to count?) These kids are really interesting to me because many of then were born in the states and their English is pretty good, but they still ask me things like, "Is Colorado in Texas." And when I say no and ask why they thought of Texas they respond with things like, "Well, Texas is a pretty famous country."

Okay. So you're American, because you were born there, and you have been in American public school, because you told me you didn't want to go to the charter school, so what does that mean?

When did I study the states in school? How do these kids still ask me if Colorado is a country? Have I been misjudging Dominican children, do the American children also have no idea what a state and what a country is?

Here I will admit; I'm not totally sure what's up with Puerto Rico and the whole territory thing. I googled it when I was in the capital, but I still don't quite understand. I'm going to need to order a book for my kindle to understand that one.

Any way, these kids have me thinking.

And my food arrived so I should go. You know the food I didn't order, but if I sit at anyone's house for too long I have a plate or 5 in front of me.

1 comment:

  1. Peurto Rico is a territory like Guam or the America somoas. We fought the Spanish for it in like 1898 n teddy rosevelt fought in it before he was president. It was part of imperial expansion. Hawaii was the same but actually wanted to be a state. I say get ride or Puerto Rico n America somoas there useless. The basically govern them selves are curropt as hell n drain our economy to support. No Guam we can keep or make a state it is actually useful to the military. The others completely useless

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