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Arriving in the Dominican Republic is similar to leaving a theatrical performance: everyone claps upon the plane landing, rushes for the doors and seems to have double the belongings they came in with. Living in the DR is more like being in the performance, spontaneous bachata and merengue bouts, eardrum shattering music coming from every large stereo strapped to the back of a truck, and mountainous jungle backdrops to take your breath away. While the beaches draw the tourists looking for a pina colada and a suntan, inner island life is so authentic, so Dominican, you'll go home sipping homemade mamajuana and humming the most recent Romeo Santos hit. Even with the somewhat predictable power outages, lack of sidewalks, catcalling, and mysterious food poisoning, I would not give up one day of my inland DR experience for a resort vacation in Punta Cana. I was teaching abroad for the first time, and I had a roomful of first graders with seemingly insurmountable cultural differences, but the relaxed, we’ll get there when we get there, lifestyle slowly grew on me, until I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I was teaching in Jarabacoa, a small city (or big town) in the mountainous central region of the DR. On weekends, you could take trips to the less populated northern beaches of Sosua or Puerto Plata. Being the adventure capital, white water rafting, waterfall repelling, paragliding and jungle hiking were also popular pastimes. The Constanza region nearby is home to field upon field of strawberries – motorbike trips through this area are unforgettable. In each direction you’ll find a new adventure, but there were many times when I didn’t want to leave Jarabacoa. This unique mountain town, which you have to drive 3 hours practically uphill the entire time to get to, is like a magical tropical village that emerged from the mountain it sits on. A river runs through it, and there are hidden waterfalls the locals have to show you how to get to. I’d ride a bike through the surrounding hills on some days, stopping to say hello to parents of my students or fellow teachers. I didn’t have a phone, or a digital calendar, or a specific place to be other than school on the weekdays. It was like some background static had been removed from my mind and I was able to concentrate on just being alive and feeling the sun on my face. My discovery of inland island life went beyond the beauty of the landscape; I made friendships that I maintain to this day. My landlady Juana was kind and sort of adopted me, bringing me food and checking in on me. My co-teachers introduced me to Dominican slang and local haunts. I’ll remember learning bachata in the local disco club, then practicing at friend’s homes while others played dominoes or watched baseball on TV. I’ll remember eating mangu for the first time and being able to buy mangoes for the equivalent of 5 cents each. My time in Jarabacoa is a sweet memory I can keep going back to for sustenance. Far from a beach, surrounded by life, there is more to the Dominican Republic than its coastline (but shhh, don’t tell anyone!).