Lauren Walker:  Yes. Good afternoon. My name is Lauren Walker. I'm a student at Howard University; and during the Fall 2006 semester, I studied abroad in Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic, which is in the Caribbean directly next to Haiti. My major at Howard is Public Relations, while my minor is Spanish. I knew that I wanted to study in a Spanish-speaking country, but indulge myself as well in the Afro-Latino culture that exists between blacks and Spanish speakers. So that was one of the [inaudible] that the Dominican Republic would be a great place to do my studying.

Angela:  Now how did you determine the length of your program, you were gone for six months?

Lauren:  It was either, it was either a semester long or yearlong; and initially, I wanted to do a year. But then I said, "Well, maybe, I'm not ready to be away for a whole year yet." But looking back, I definitely wish I would have taken the whole year to explore because, like I said, the Dominican Republic is a great place.

Even though you think you have six months, the time goes by so quickly because once you're adjusted, that's like a month. Then, once you adjust to your host family, that's like another two months. So really, that time is going by so much more quickly than you really realize.

Lauren:  We were told that the host families were definitely paid. They were supposed to give us either it'd be three meals a day or two meals a day. They were supposed to clean, wash our laundry every week.

Angela:  OK.

Lauren:  Have our rooms cleaned every week. We were supposed to be given a desk in our room. When I first got to my room there was no desk there. I had to ask for it. I also had to ask for her to wash my clothes; just the general things that are under the contract.

Angela:  Yeah.

Lauren:  It will be situations like that, you walk into the living room - and I had a friend that lives in the same apartment building with me, so that was another thing that really helped me get through that tough living situation. But she, she would keep like the TV in her room and keep the door closed.
Angela:  Oh.

Lauren:  I, it was a blessing that I remembered to bring my computer because I was just lost...

Angela:  Yeah.

Lauren:  ...when I was in the house. Usually I was out exploring the city and everything because Santo Domingo has a lot to offer with their various festivals, and nightclubs, and restaurants, and just things in general. But you want to come home sometimes, just relax, and watch TV. She would say I could go in her room. But who wants to really go in their room and sit on the floor of someone else that you don't really...I don't think she was 100% comfortable with me being in there. So I tried not to go in there at all.

Angela:  Especially if the door is closed, what do you have to do? Knock on the door and say, "Can I come in?" [laughs]

Lauren:  Right, Right, Right. It was a very uncomfortable situation. We had a few, we had one large argument, because in the contract -  and this is something on my fault that, you live and you learn - so I was definitely developing who I was and understanding rules and regulations and just understanding what it means to be in someone else's home. But, like I said, she wasn't abiding by her contract.

Now let's see what else happened to Lauren during her study abroad in the Dominican Republic.