dominican republic

Background Information The Dominican Republic is an island nation of rich culture and lasting tradition, located in the Caribbean Sea. Winning its status as an independent republic in 1844, the republic is best known for its beaches, resorts, and unique history. However, it is perhaps the unique blend of cultural influences from around the world that make this beautiful island the fascinating area it is today. For at least 5,000 years before Christopher Columbus "discovered" America for the Europeans the island, which he called Hispaniola, was inhabited by Amer-Indians. Anthropologists have traced 2 major waves of immigration, one from the West in Central America (probably Yucatan) and the second from the South, descendant of the Arawakan Indian tribes in Amazonia and passing through the Orinocco valley in Venezuela. It is from this second source that the ancestors of the Taino Indians who welcomed Columbus on his first voyage originated. The word Taino meant "good" or "noble" in their language, and not only were the Indians peaceful and generous in their hospitality, but early Spanish chroniclers document that no Spaniard ever saw Indians fighting among themselves. By the end of the 15th century the Tainos were well organized into five tribes, and are considered to have been of the verge of civilization and central government. Recent estimates indicate that there probably were as many as 200,000 Tainos on the island at the time. There was a case study to determine whether or not the undergraduates were learning in an environment focused on service learning. One of their professors stated that, "the undergraduates learn to accept and recognize the many things that children with disabilities can accomplish when given the opportunities (Bartolome, 2013)." Service learning efforts at different Universities, for the most part have the same goal for their students, to take in their culture. They get to be shown that everyone, no matter what circumstances occur,