Post from Karen Weber

La Republica Dominicana

So I studied abroad this quarter in the Dominican Republic (which was awesome!!!). It was a six week program through the college of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. The program is for International Development, for which a student can receive 15 credits for a major or minor in International Studies. 

I lived in the city of Santiago at an agricultural university called ISA, which has a long standing relationship with several American universities, including OSU. Our days were divided between traditional classroom type lectures and field trips. We studied Spanish, agricultural economics, and the history and culture of the Dominican Republic. Sometimes our field trips took a few hours, a whole day, or maybe several days. For example, we spent a week in Santo Domingo, touring the Colonial Zone and visiting other places like the headquarter of the Peace Corps in the DR. It was great because I visited lots of places that are considered the "first" of the New World, like the first chapel ever built in the Western Hemisphere. I was at the Presidential Palace, which is where the Government holds its headquarters. It is the equivalent of our White House. Although, unlike President Obama and the White House, the Dominican President does not live in the Palace.

I also spent 3 days in a wonderful village called Jarabacoa, where we visited a coffee enterprise and one of its plantations. I now know all about how coffee is made, from the time it is planted to the time the beans are ground and brewed into the dark drink that I love. Our classes taught us about what it means to grow something organically, and how this affects a nation's agricultural economy in that particular crop. The Dominican Republic is small (someone told me smaller than the state of Ohio, to give you an idea...). Therefore, it must provide in quality where it cannot provide in quantity. To increase the quality of a product (and thus its price), many crops are grown almost entirely organically, as is the case with foods like coffee and chocolate. We learned also about how growing organically is helping Dominicans preserve their natural resources, as organic practices ensure the sustainment of the environment.

It is about 29 degrees C there these days, which is about 80 F for us (oh, how I miss it). The university includes vast stretches of fields where various plants are grown. There is a farm that hosts all sorts of animals (cows, bunnies, goats, pigs, etc.). Walking down the main road of the campus a person can see the mountains that surround the city. The campus also has its own herd of peacocks. Its kind of like being at a zoo in the US where there is a peacock walking around...except that there are at least 20 of them. They strut around on the lawns and fly up into the trees when they don't wish to socialize. 

So basically, it was amazing, and I really want to go back. Dominicans are some of the nicest people I have ever met, and they made me feel at home. If anyone out there studies Spanish, International Studies, or just really wants to get out of Ohio next winter and is interested, let me know. I'll answer any questions.