Hello there this is Traveling Activist with your host Zachery Ramos and today's interview is with Susan McReynolds. Susan when she was younger traveled to the Dominican Republic with her grandparents. Her grandparents were in the UN Peace Force and when she was age 13 she flew from America to join them there. Now let's begin shall we.
Q.What was it that made you decide to travel to the Dominican Republic?
A.Ok i'll tell you whole thing and you can revise. The year I turned 13, my grandfather who raised me, was given the opportunity to work with AID- a government agency. Grandad was, at the time, the head of the California Certified Public Accounts. We were living in Sacramento. The DR was at the tail end of a minor revolution and there was a UN Peacekeeping force in place because it was still dangerous. My grandparents went 6 weeks before me to find a place to live and get settled. Granddad's job was to start up a fair and equitable taxation system which they had never had. It was not a glamour job, but much needed in a country with such deep poverty versus incredible wealth.
Q.How was school there, what did you do in class and regular life there?
A.The first year we were there I was sent to Carol Morgan...the "American" school...all of the foreign nationals went there and spoke English. It was a newly constructed concrete block of rooms way out in the sticks. I would always be a bad student and watch the farmers till the soil next to the school or listen to the pigs and chickens. The quality of almost all the teachers was ghastly except for a few that were working as though it was with the Peace Corps. They were dedicated and good at their job. I actually paid attention in their classes! Learned to love sentence diagramming of all things. The year progressed without me really making any friends or doing well in school, but it was the bombing that changed everything. We had an end-of-the-year dance planned for all the students but my grandad forbid me to go. He just quietly said it was too dangerous. I was very disappointed. but the whole dance was suddenly cancelled anyway. The rebels decided they needed to use their bomb come what may, so they went to the decent teachers shared apartment and threw it in over an open balcony. Two died instantly. The following year I attended the all Spanish speaking Catholic school in town and things were a whole world of difference.
Q.What happened after the bomb dropped, how was your life affected?
A.The American school went on as usual, but now all my contacts were solely with Dominicans-none of whom spoke English. It's pretty amazing how fast you can learn a language in immersion! First thing every morning we lined up and sang the National Anthem of the DR. Then we went to class and said the Our Father and Hail Mary all in Spanish before we got down to work. My new friends were from all walks of life and curious and openly welcomed me. I integrated totally into their world which was so much more...a small example. If you were American you were only allowed to go to Embassy Beach which was a small cove under heavy guard. But when I was with my Dominican friends we always went to Boca Chica, a huge long beach shaped like Waikiki. We got to swim out to the reef, waterski, and even stay overnight in their little bungalows. Heaven! I learned rudimentary Spanish and made many friends. Girls were allowed to date at 15, but even at 14 we got to go to the dances (every weekend!!!!) as long as parents accompanied us. We were under real restrictions in some ways, but it felt natural and safe. I was very happy.
Q. How did your experience differ there after you stopped being under the protection of the American Government?
A.Well, it should be mentioned that there was still some rebel activity through 1967 and people were still being killed. But the main point I want to make is that once I separated from the narrowness of American control and guard I was actually MUCH SAFER! Being willing to commit to respecting the country's existing social structure made the people, adults as well as the kids my age, want to welcome you with open arms instead of viewing you with suspicion. I was the only American girl that ever left the "protection" of the Marine guard and took to the country as though I was glad to be there. As far as I know I was the only American girl who ever attended Collegio Santo Domingo. I was even welcomed to the Presidential Palace once and met the president and all the relatives of the girls I was a classmate of. I walked to and from school in perfect safety, no one ever threatened me...I made friends because Dominicans are not "clicky" the way Americans are, and I learned to love a country that was in every way completely foreign at first. I will never go back, because tourism certainly made it unrecognizable. But I celebrate their success and I have wonderful memories of a wild paradise just an hour's plane ride from Miami.
Q.Rule breaker and explorer, how was that like for you in a foreign land so far from US soil?
A.Of course the bombing was the bad...so terribly sad and hard for a 13-year-old to understand. But the good memories are all from the year at Collegio Santo Domingo. The nuns gave a darn about you and tried to quietly and gently help instead of making you feel stupid. The parents of the girls would insist you enjoy their hospitality and learn to have fun Dominican style-mostly learning all about their music and dancing...a source of national pride. The girls were lively and fun loving and open. If they were going any place at all that could be considered fun, you got a phone call right away or we would all chatter away at recess. It is very different from the isolation that many American kids still experience even here. You were expected to do your school work, be polite and respectful and in return the parents made sure your days were happy. No pressure, just genuinely happy. I hope that in the end, I set a good example of what Americans COULD be like, given the chance. The government isolated us so strictly that you were like zombies moving through a ghost town...you weren't even allowed to grocery shop anywhere but the PX/Commissary. But my grandad was sort of a rule breaker...perhaps that's why his contract wasn't renewed after two years. If he hadn't broken rules I would have lost out on the experience of a lifetime and failed to give at least a small impression of how Americans could be without such heavy restrictions.
Q.What bad events took place there during your time abroad?
A.Just the bombing and the terrible American school. The next door neighbor who was big drunk hung herself at home, but my parents kept me away from the family anyway. I think folks that spent a lifetime of the boredom of isolation in many different countries really suffered in the end. I found experiences like the policeman on the border thinking Haitians would eat you funny, not scary. You have to understand that these Dominicans were the most charming people ever. Except for a crush or two gone sour on handsome DR guys, I was happy all the time. No bad experiences once I grew my wings. My grandparents were still more restricted than I so they always made me share my day with them. They loved hearing about all the new people and places. When they had been posted to Indonesia I was not allowed to go...no kids allowed. But they had the time of their lives much as I did in the DR. Again, in Indonesia they broke away from the military confines and got to actually know the people and the country. It was their experience of a lifetime
Q.While there what did you and your grandparents do to help the Dominican Republic?
A.My grandfather instituted a fair and equitable taxation system for the brand new government. What I did was simple. Just what child could do. I reached out in genuine friendship to bridge a very real divide.
Susan lived in a country that was far different from ours and faced many cultural boundaries which she overcame triumphly each time. Susan is currently facing a new challenge of cancer and chemo treatments but after this interview I believe she will prevail and beat it. Stay tuned for more interviews with more amazing and fun people from all walks of life. See you next time on Traveling Activist with your host Zachery Ramos
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