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In
this case, DR does not stand for doctor or drive. In this case DR is an
abbreviation for the Dominican Republic. We took a trip to
the Dominican Republic that showed the
importance of attitude.
We
flew from Detroit to Miami without incident.
After walking all over
the Miami airport due to
several gate changes we
ended up at the departure gate. There was the airplane and the flight
crew. The
time came for boarding and there was the airplane and the flight crew,
still at
the gate, not on the plane.
A
representative of the crew told us that there was a mechanical problem
and the
plane was being taken out of service for that flight. We were not to
worry, the
airline is large and they would get us another plane. An hour later and
he
turned to us and said, “Are you ready for an
adventure?”
The
airline had decided to cancel that flight and offer us two options. One
was to
take to take the first flight out the next day. The other option was
fly into
another airport and be bussed to our hotels. That flight was only five
hours
later, but it would be an adventure.
We,
and must of the people booked on our flight, chose the adventure. Five
hours
later we boarded the plane. Six hours later we pulled away from the
gate, a
little matter of airline scheduling and FAA rules held us up the extra
hour.
The
plane made it, gaining back some of the lost time. The Dominican Republic made it easy to go
through immigration
and customs. We had our luggage and found the bus that the airline had
chartered in very little time.
We
then sat for two hours. The airline had misplaced the luggage from ten
people.
So instead of getting to our rooms at 3:30 PM we arrived at midnight. Instead of a
disaster it was and
adventure, the difference was attitude.
The
second largest island in the Caribbean is the island of Espanola, Cuba is the largest. Two
countries share the
island, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Christopher
Columbus landed in the new
world in1942 and established a colony on the island on the side that is
today Haiti. When he returned
everyone from that
original colony was dead. He established a permanent colony on the
North side
of the island. Although no part of that original encampment is left,
the
village is still inhabited.
The
Spanish intermarried with the natives. Between disease and the cruelty
of the
original colonists the population dropped. They then imported workers
from Africa. Over the years the
population has
increased and continued to intermarry. Among people we met, there was
no sign
of racism. In fact, they did not distinguish between the person who was
born on
the Dominican Republic and the person who
came to the island and decided to stay.
When
you arrive you notice a difference in attitude between the Dominican Republic and many other
places where tourism is
the major industry. In many of the other places you are treated as a
commodity,
a source of money to be drained as much as possible. Others treat you
as an
invader. In the Dominican Republic, they treat you as
an honored guest in
their home.
They
are proud of their country. They are proud of their environment. They
want you
to know about themselves and their heritage. They love to show the
progress
they are making. The<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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pride, friendliness and openness are the best
examples of
the difference in attitude.
As
we traveled away from the hotel center to the cities and deep into the
county
side the attitude of the people changed little. Away from the cities
the amount
of land around each house grow from several feet to several acres.
Nearly every
home, even in the remotest place we visited, had electricity and cable
TV. Many
of these areas the people had to carry water, sometime over a mile.
Their
attitude explains this to. Education is very important. Communications
is based
on electricity and so electricity is brought to every home. Relatively
few
homes have telephones. That would seem to be at odds with their high
emphasis
on communications. It is just a symbol of the times. Most people have a
cell
phone. Indeed, most cell phones from the US work there.
Another
of the oddities we noted was the complete lack of competition between
the tour
guides. Talking with one of them about another subject he gave us the
key. The
tour guides do not work for the tour companies. They are all
independent
contractors.
As
he said, one day a tour operator will call him to take a tour to a
location.
The next day he may be taking a tour to the same place for a different
operator. The next day he will be taking a tour to another location for
yet
another operator. The following day he may just feel like relaxing at
home.
The
people are reliable. They seem to dislike rushing. They would rather
arrive
early and wait than to come late and rush to make up time. The end
result is
that they have heard of stress, mainly from Americans and Europeans.
They say
that they have no stress and do not want to experience it.
The
attitude is the key. There are hundreds “how to”
book on reducing or relieving
stress. Many are full of list of does and don’ts. Watch the
stress of the
people worrying about following the check lists.
Following
a list does not reduce the stress. Changing the attitude reduces the
stress.
Most people who have had a heart attack and been told to reduce their
stress
can reduce the stress because they find out what is really important in
their lives.
This realization causes a change in attitude.
DR,
the Dominican Republic, is a state of mind
as much as a location. The laid back
attitude, the pride and the warm inclusiveness are part of the entire
experience. Finding a warm smile in every face is the very heart of the
county.
We
are people who love the water. For those of you, who have a fear of
water try
to translate this into another media, like a feather bed or a sand
beach. One
of the tours we took was to the 27 waterfalls. The water came down from
the
mountains. It was clear and cool, even though the temperatures were in
the
nineties.
For
us, there were two highlights. One was siding down or jumping off of
three of
the falls. We have not found another location in any of our travels
where we
were allowed to slide down a natural waterside. The other was more
spiritual.
We floated in pools of clear, pure, natural water between waterfalls.
The pools
were deep and calm.
The
water surrounded us. It supported us. It connected us with Earth and
with all
of life. The waterfalls infused the pools with energy. Laying in the
calm of
the pools we could feel our energy levels increasing.
DR,
for us, was revitalizing. Our energy levels
increased. Our faith in the possibilities of people finding peace
within themselves
and within their communities increased. We all can find such a place.
It may
not be a physical location. It will become part of your attitude. Enjoy
that
place of calm, hope and energy.
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