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My friend and I were led through the narrow streets of the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with the help of a friendly guide. The pleasant smells of mangu and sancocho enticed us to stop and grab a bite of the local cuisine. There were gift shops on nearly every corner that basically sold the same merchandise. Noises of construction and loud conversations rang in our ears as we walked along the sidewalk. Locals whistled and hand motioned us to get us to buy bachata CDS and rosary beads. The distinct architectural features of the first cathedral in the Americas left us in awe as we stopped to take a picture in front of the gate. It was in the colorful and vibrant city of Santo Domingo that I discovered there’s more complexity to beautiful things than what immediately catches the eye. There’s a lot of hard work and intricate details that go into a making master piece, yet we only appreciate the masterpiece and not the artist. Throughout our trip, locals tried selling us the jewelry with larimar, the beautiful the native stone of the Dominican Republic. My friend and I each bought necklaces from a merchant when we initially arrived. During our tour through the Colonial Zone, our guide stopped at a jewelry store so we could look around. There were three women working behind the counter who greeted us and used their best selling pitches to convince my friend and I to buy some pieces. There were rings, necklaces and watches to choose from but the prices were definitely not cheap. We politely declined and stated we were just browsing. Our guide then motioned us to the back of the store. He opened the door to a small room of about six guys who looked no older than 18 or 19. They were each at machines working away so eagerly that they didn’t even lift up their heads to acknowledge us watching them. The sound of the machines was distinct and disturbing like the sound of someone scratching their nails on chalkboard. We saw silver and the larimar being manipulated into trinkets. My friend and I stood in amazement and took pictures of the workers. As we walked out of the store and continued on the tour, all I could think of was the amount of detail and hard work that went into creating the jewelry. When you walk in, all you could see was the glass cases of precious jewelry but most people don’t get to see the hidden gem; the blood, sweat and tears of the workers behind the creations.