I'm just sitting down to dinner with a Dominican Republic family as the sun sets over another long hot summer day. Solar generators are kicking on to light the dinner table, and plates of steaming fried rice with beans and fresh fruits and vegetables are piling our plates as we sit down. I'm passing through this way to visit old friends: almost family, really. I just finished another follow-up mission reporting on the microfinance success stories and slow reforestation across the border in Haiti, and now I'm back in my favorite southern corner. This island of Hispaniola is special to me: after spending a few summers working and interning in highschool, I researched the disparity between the two for my undergrad thesis paper a year before Haiti was rocked by the infamous earthquake of 2010. Although I was living in Korea at the time, when my contract there had expired I ventured back to the Caribbean to follow through on the innovation and strategies I had researched in university, and started a microcredit program and reforestation project. Eventually I left it in the hands of capable natives. Ten years later, I'm working with the United Nations and a high-profile news publication, and traveling the globe working alongside community developers while doc**enting their stories and lending my aid. My press badge is tucked away in my satchel for the night, and my notebooks and laptops and portable fabber are stashed by my cot.
The family I am with is laughing and talking and chattering madly away, as is custom. Chinola juice is consumed by the tumbler-full alongside room-temperature fanta; the bottles half-empty litter the stray rice and leaves grown in a new vertical garden project just outside Monte Plata.
Because I want to do so much in the world, and because I as a human am limited in these powers, I have chosen to become a journalist. I have never been particularly skilled in science or math or languages, making long-term service a weak point for me. But that is not to say I'm not dedicated. I refuse to leave projects until future leadership is secure, and I strive to help further the abilities of those in leadership. Because of my connections and networking/writing abilities, I have become an enabler; the mediator, the midfielder (because soccer is universally understood).
This rice is delicious. Ten years ago I'd have been eating chicken with it. But now, here, we eat chicken only on Sundays. Decrease in demand, however, has not been trouble for farmers. They have replaced live agriculture with others, and agriculture and small business is thriving.
I lean back, contented, as the laughter continues.
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