By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
In my senior year of High School, I fell in love with traveling and I was somehow able to convince my parents to let me travel to the Dominican Republic for spring break. While in the Dominican Republic I worked with a group of Highschool students to build a house for a family in a poverty-stricken area. When I think back to this trip the first memory that comes to mind is an eight-year-old little girl that could hammer in a nail faster than anyone I know and climb around the frame of the house with the ease and skill of a monkey all while laughing and talking excitedly. Her name was Luciana and she was one of the daughters of the man we were building the house for, she didn't know much English and my Spanish skills were severely lacking thus creating a hurdle when we tried to communicate but with the help of the program leaders and even Luciana we were able to converse quite well. The Language barrier did not bother Luciana one bit, she would laugh as I completely butchered her native language saying things like "Yo estoy soy de el Oregon" she would then demonstrate the correct way of saying the sentence "Soy de Oregon!" with a roll of her eyes. Even though I did not understand much Spanish it was plain to see just how excited Luciana was to for her family to finally have a house of their own. Her family had been living with her in her Abuela's small two-room house ever since her mother had died a few years back, the house was crowded and had little insulation making it unbearably hot in the summer months. Luciana could not wait because now the family would be able to have an indoor bathroom and best of all she and her little sister would get their own room in the loft separate from their father! As she showed me where her room would be her face lit up with excitement as she showed me where her bed would be and where she would do homework. Her joy and excitement for working on every part of that house were infectious and gave me a new incentive for me to try my best and work my hardest in all aspects of my life, even after I returned home. Before meeting Luciana, I never would have thought an eight-year-old girl could teach me the importance of positivity and hard work but now whenever I hear those words my mind immediately pictures a little girl hanging off a ladder, like a monkey nailing beams in place all the while laughing and smiling infectiously.