Now that I have started college, I am on the path to getting a career. I have always wanted to be in the science field, and that is what I am working on right now as I go through these years of my college education. My interest and passion for science came mostly from my dad. He is a General Dentist. He got his degree and license for dentistry both in our country, the Dominican Republic, and in the United States. In the United States, he went to NYU, or New York Univeristy. In the Dominican Republic, he went to UNIBE.
I want to write a little bit about this university because not many people know about this school, or any schools that are located in the Dominican Republic.
UNIBE, which stands for Universidad Iberoamericana, was founded in 1982. It is a private school of medicine located in Santo Domingo, the capitol of the Dominican Republic. This university offers 15 careers: Advertising, Architecture, Interior Design, Business Administration, Dentistry, Early Childhood Education, Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering, IT Engineering, Law, Marketing, Medicine, Psychology, Religion, and Tourism and Hotel Management. Although it is not where I was interested in going, it is in fact a very good school.
This school of medicine consists of five years and four months of study. The first through fourth semesters are for pre-med, while the fifth through the tenth semesters are focused on the basics of science. The 11th through 13th semesters are focused on pre-internships in the areas of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics Gynecology. In the last three semesters, official rotations are done in the same areas listed above including Community Medicine and Emergency Medicine and Trauma. As you can see, this university is not playing any games, and neither are hispanics.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Stereotypes...they're not cool.
WHY TALK ABOUT IT?
In this post I would like to cover the stereotypes that most hispanic or latina women have to deal with. The reason I'm writing about this is because it is very frustrating that my own ethnicity is in question just because I "don't look like a hispanic." People say this about me because I'm skinny and my hair isn't as unmanageable and because I'm of lighter complexion. It's quite offensive because not only was I born there, but I take a lot of pride in who I am and where I'm from. Yes of course every ethnicity has a certain culture and may have certain characteristics, but this should not define who the person is. You'd be surprised that not all hispanic women have curly or nappy hair, not all of us have curvaceous bodies, and most importantly, not all of us have a lifelong goal of either being a stay at home mom with six kids or working as a maid in rich people's houses. Of course, this does not mean that having those occupations is in any way demeaning or unfortunate, but it's a stereotype that hispanic women face all the time.
STORYTIMEEEEE!
In my junior year of high school, I had to take a financial literacy class. In the first class, the teacher asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves and give some information on who we are and what we would like to do in the future. I went to a predominantly white school, so of course her hearing that my last name was Rodriguez was SOOO shocking. When I said my name and that I was from the Dominican Republic, she immediately interrupted me and said, "Oh wow! So how did you and your family get here?" This was obviously implying that she assumed that we were not U.S. born, which she wasn't wrong about. So, I told her that my all my family, including myself, were born in our country, but we all came to the U.S. later on. She looked so flabbergasted it was honestly disgusting.
I continued by saying what I wanted to be when I grow up, which is a Forensic Scientist, and she almost fell out of her seat. She made a very judgmental comment by saying, "Oh so you're really trying to be the first successful member of your family aren't you?!" Bro. Let me not start. I calmly retorted back by saying, "Well actually, my grandparents, although not educated, which you probably already assumed about them, were pretty successful because one is a chef and the others owned some successful businesses. My dad is in fact not a janitor. He is a dentist. My mom is a psychologist and also is an English major, so she's not a main or a stay at home mom. My aunts and uncles are all pretty much doctors of some sort. My cousin is a neurologist and is also in the process of studying to be a cardiologist. Would you like me to keep going?" I pretty much shut her up and she said no and moved on to the next student.
SO, WHAT'S THE POINT?
My intentions weren't to be rude, but it comes to a point where you notice how ignorant people really are. This is including myself as well, which is why I'm even more determined to put this message out there, because I know how it feels to be judged and to have people assume things about you and your family just because of your last name and your birth country.
In this post I would like to cover the stereotypes that most hispanic or latina women have to deal with. The reason I'm writing about this is because it is very frustrating that my own ethnicity is in question just because I "don't look like a hispanic." People say this about me because I'm skinny and my hair isn't as unmanageable and because I'm of lighter complexion. It's quite offensive because not only was I born there, but I take a lot of pride in who I am and where I'm from. Yes of course every ethnicity has a certain culture and may have certain characteristics, but this should not define who the person is. You'd be surprised that not all hispanic women have curly or nappy hair, not all of us have curvaceous bodies, and most importantly, not all of us have a lifelong goal of either being a stay at home mom with six kids or working as a maid in rich people's houses. Of course, this does not mean that having those occupations is in any way demeaning or unfortunate, but it's a stereotype that hispanic women face all the time.
STORYTIMEEEEE!
In my junior year of high school, I had to take a financial literacy class. In the first class, the teacher asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves and give some information on who we are and what we would like to do in the future. I went to a predominantly white school, so of course her hearing that my last name was Rodriguez was SOOO shocking. When I said my name and that I was from the Dominican Republic, she immediately interrupted me and said, "Oh wow! So how did you and your family get here?" This was obviously implying that she assumed that we were not U.S. born, which she wasn't wrong about. So, I told her that my all my family, including myself, were born in our country, but we all came to the U.S. later on. She looked so flabbergasted it was honestly disgusting.
I continued by saying what I wanted to be when I grow up, which is a Forensic Scientist, and she almost fell out of her seat. She made a very judgmental comment by saying, "Oh so you're really trying to be the first successful member of your family aren't you?!" Bro. Let me not start. I calmly retorted back by saying, "Well actually, my grandparents, although not educated, which you probably already assumed about them, were pretty successful because one is a chef and the others owned some successful businesses. My dad is in fact not a janitor. He is a dentist. My mom is a psychologist and also is an English major, so she's not a main or a stay at home mom. My aunts and uncles are all pretty much doctors of some sort. My cousin is a neurologist and is also in the process of studying to be a cardiologist. Would you like me to keep going?" I pretty much shut her up and she said no and moved on to the next student.
SO, WHAT'S THE POINT?
My intentions weren't to be rude, but it comes to a point where you notice how ignorant people really are. This is including myself as well, which is why I'm even more determined to put this message out there, because I know how it feels to be judged and to have people assume things about you and your family just because of your last name and your birth country.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Hips Don't Lie
As a Latina, it is very likely that I will have about ten family reunions in one year. At these reunions, imagine several Dominican dishes, drunk uncles letting loose, and most importantly, the loud music that doesn't seem to stop relatives from talking to each other. Although I do really love food, especially Dominican food, I love the music because it brings everyone together. I feel like as if we were born with the ability to move our hips to any beat of music. I could be wrong, but I have yet to meet a Dominican or a Latina who cannot dance to our music.
The most common music that we listen and dance to are listed below:
The most common music that we listen and dance to are listed below:
Bachata
Salsa
Merengue
Reggaeton
Perico Ripiao
In the photo below, the traditional merengue in The Dominican Republic is captured. Although these flamboyant outfits are not worn as often, the tradition of merengue is still forever in our hearts.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
The Common Misconception
As a girl with curly hair and slightly tan skin, one of the most common questions I get, aside from "Are you Jewish?" is "Are you Spanish?" This question would be completely fine if I in fact was Spanish, but I'm not. I always answer this question by saying, "No I'm Dominican," and then they ask "What's the difference?" This is honestly very upsetting because non-hispanics really do believe that there is no difference between one being Spanish and one being hispanic. Hopefully, this post will enlighten the minds of some of those people who maybe have never been told this.
When one is Spanish, they are from Spain. Therefore, just because someone speaks the Spanish language, they are not automatically considered Spanish. Many people don't see how this could be offensive because they believe that all Spanish speaking people are the same. The reality is that we are all very different. Every one of our cultures have their own traditions. So, because of this, assuming that my culture is Spaniard is offensive to me because my Dominican culture is nothing like that of the Spaniards.
This does not mean that the Spaniard culture, or any other culture for that matter, is less than another. With culture comes pride, and this is something that is taken very seriously to a lot of people.
Hopefully, now knowing this, you will understand the severity in misnaming a hispanics ethnicity solely based on the language that they speak. Remember that assumptions and culture do not mix.
When one is Spanish, they are from Spain. Therefore, just because someone speaks the Spanish language, they are not automatically considered Spanish. Many people don't see how this could be offensive because they believe that all Spanish speaking people are the same. The reality is that we are all very different. Every one of our cultures have their own traditions. So, because of this, assuming that my culture is Spaniard is offensive to me because my Dominican culture is nothing like that of the Spaniards.
This does not mean that the Spaniard culture, or any other culture for that matter, is less than another. With culture comes pride, and this is something that is taken very seriously to a lot of people.
Hopefully, now knowing this, you will understand the severity in misnaming a hispanics ethnicity solely based on the language that they speak. Remember that assumptions and culture do not mix.
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