A leap into the unknown

by Marie Schela Gedeon (Haiti)

A leap into the unknown Dominican Republic

Since childhood, she has always dreamed of traveling the world. At 25 she said to herself, I will visit another country at any cost. Adventurous but restricted by her parents and her financial situation Amélie had never left her comfort zone. Days passed quickly when She realized that her birthday was in 4 weeks. Amélie had a hole in her stomach. She gathered all her economy which was 100,000 gourdes, bought a Dominican visa. She didn’t have a lot of money left after purchasing the visa, preparing for her trip slowly because she had decided to look elsewhere before her 26th birthday. She contacted a friend to refer her to a place to stay during her stay in the Dominican Republic, no way to stay at the hotel. He referred her to a lady, Petuel. It was Sunday January 27 when Amélie took her small suitcase, her passport, some clothes, the rest of her savings (which she had changed which was worth her) 4,500 RD pesos, her cell phone towards the Dominican Republic via the border Haitian-Dominican. Without forgetting that she had taken with her the few Spanish words that she had learned at school. It was 4:00 p.m. and the last bus leaving for Capitale had already set sail. There was only one ferry for Barahona, it was not in Amélie's interest since she was going there for the first time, it was late, he had not yet bought the valid sim card to communicate with his host and she didn't speak Spanish well. How is she going to do it? That didn't stop him from taking the ferry for Barahona. No Haitian on the bus, Amélie was the only one. Embarrassed, not to speak Spanish but that did not prevent her from becoming acquainted with a native of the soil, what we especially didn't know about Emilie is that she is an extrovert. They spoke in slow motion. So that Emilie can understand. And in their exchanges fortunately for her, her new friend went to the capital of the Dominican Republic too. What luck ! People were courteous to him. She looked out of the bus windows, she felt alive, because she was making new discoveries. It was 7:00 p.m. when she arrived in Barahona to take another bus to the capital. -Do not panic ! It’s like you’re in Haiti. She said to herself in her head. Before getting on the bus, she wanted to buy a sim card at the pharmacy. Unfortunately there were none. Glances made her realize that life here was very different from home. Each country has its culture. Although they have an identical past. Amélie got on the bus and continued her journey. From time to time she spoke to Petuel. She didn't care about everything. The most important thing is that she wanted to jump into the unknown that will mark her for life. No communication, all she knew: Petuel lives in Las Americas, 10 kilometers away. She keeps that in mind. After a while she fell asleep. Then she remembered that she had to stay awake in case something happened. It was 11:45 pm when she arrived at the terminal. -Taxi Mademoiselle? Amélie didn't understand anything in Spanish. They were talking so fast. Finally a Haitian she cried -Mademoiselle where are you going? Is this your first time in Santo Domingo? She explained that it was indeed her first time here. The gentleman in return explained to the driver what Amélie wanted. In a few minutes She was at her host who was impatiently waiting for her and was afraid that she would get lost. She was delighted to have realized her dream and enjoyed her trip.