La Republica Dominicana Revisited

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In December 2011, my parents, brother and I stepped into our past in the Dominican Republic. Over 20 years before I had spent my junior and senior years of high school there at the Carol Morgan School -- for the wealthy Dominicans and children of international diplomats. It was there that I attended my first prom, acted in my first musical, became an avid jazz/modern dancer and experienced total cultural immersion.What an incredible experience and one that I would never have imagined if I'd stayed in the white, Republican suburb of Irvine, CA!

I took my parents there to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and my brother's 45th birthday. We had an amazing time visiting our old apartment, meeting up with our Dominican friends, walking down the Malecon on a Saturday night listening to the merengue beat, and hanging out at the casinos. D.R. had changed a bit since we were last there. The people had grown more prosperous as the tourist trade had bloomed, but the people remained down to earth as ever -- the chimichurri guys and zapateros were still plugging their goods on street corners just like in the old days.

Remembering all our favorite places -- La Romana, Altos de Chavon, El Conde, Drakes & Alexander's  -- it's like yesterday.

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