I went to the Citizen House in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, intending to meet up with a fellow Citizen (RY lingo for Alumni) from my program and have a nice vacation. I truly wasn’t prepared for the fun, new challenges, and big changes that awaited me.
Encuentro Beach, Puerto Pata
This trip was my first time to the Dominican Republic. I was super stoked to be somewhere warm that would help me chase away the winter blues of Central Pennsylvania — an area that’s quite depressing to begin with. I was fortunate enough to arrive on the same flight with a few fellow citizens, so we quickly grabbed our road beer (El Presidente, the choice of the DR), then hopped in the taxi and made our way 30 minutes to the sleepy beach town that would be home for the week.
Upon arrival to the “house,” I was greeted by beautiful flowers, palm trees and a pack of local doggos — the exact kind of tropical welcome I was hoping for. The crew of RY Citizens who were there immediately headed off to a beach bar for some snacks and libations while we started to exchange pleasantries.
Clyde, resident doggo
When meeting new RY people, there is the predictable idle small talk with a Remote Year twist; what group were you in, how long was your program, what was your experience like, what do you do, etc. Once you get through these questions you somehow already feel this innate connection with a group of people you’ve never met before, but share a powerful common experience with. It’s an incredible feeling to have this built-in sense of friendship with essentially, a stranger, but a stranger that it feels like you’ve known forever.
We ended up at a local open mic night that very first evening. It was on the beach, loud, rowdy, and full of talented artists. We met an incredible group of ex-pats and Canadians that welcomed us into their community with open arms, one of the best parts of Cabarete. One gentleman, Darrin, was even generous enough to invite our crew to a local baseball game that he was organizing a trip to. I had to miss that cultural event since it happened after I left the country, but apparently it was insane. Dominicans love their baseball.
Encuentro Beach, Puerto Pata
Same Family
For me, it’s hard meeting people like myself — it’s one of the main reasons why I did Remote Year. I am constantly labeled as the “wild child” or “a lot to handle”. So I was excited to meet people outside of Davinci, my RY community, that were like me — liked to have fun, like to travel, but also still get shit done. The people who live life hard and fast in equal measures of work and play.
In my one week at a Remote Year Citizen House, I meet a group of people that really inspired me to do bigger and better things with my life. Through our conversations, I think they recognized I was unhappy at my desk job and feeling like I was meant for more. I don’t think I ever said that, they’re just bright intuitive people who figured it out. They saw something in me and pushed me to think outside of the box. They inspired me to do more and they convinced me there was more to my life than sitting behind a desk working away at a 9–5.
The last few words shared with me before I boarded my flight were along the lines of “Steph you can do better than this for yourself. You owe it to yourself to be happy.” Let me tell you, that shit stuck with me. I felt a sense of direction and confidence that I lost after my program ended.
Twenty Seven Waterfalls of Rio Damajagua
I walked into the office Monday morning still running on the high of positivity and support. However, as soon as I sat down at my desk I felt an overwhelming rush of emptiness. I wasn’t fulfilled in my career, I didn’t like the area I lived in, and the people surrounding me didn’t bring that sense of happiness and connection I felt in the DR. Being surrounded by so much unhappiness I decided to take the jump and really start to focus on what makes me happy. I quit my job later that week and I’m honestly not sure what the future holds — but I’ve been recently convinced that it has a lot to offer and that I deserve to be happier thanks to some new RY family.
I am grateful for the people that I met while in the Dominican Republic, and if it weren’t for them, I’d probably be stuck at my desk playing Clash of Clans while I pretended to work. The Citizen House helped me realize my potential while being surrounded by people who have the same priorities and who I felt an immediate kinship with. If you ever find yourself debating if you want to join a Citizen house somewhere in the world, I have two words of sound advice for you — Do it.