Мой первый журнал SUNRISE November № 1 2018 | Page 38

TRAVELING
A Journey to the Dominican Republic
Gleb Golovin
Lyceum AMSU,
Blagoveschensk (Russia)
Summer holidays are a happy and
carefree time when it is possible to travel. This
summer I had a chance to visit one of the really
amazing countries on our planet, the
Dominican Republic. The flight to Dominicana
takes a long time. It lasts for 12 hours, but
tiredness goes away after you get acquainted
with this unforgettable place. In this story, I'm
going to share with you the impressions and
knowledge obtained during excursions in this
country.
The Dominican Republic (DR) is located
in the eastern part of the island of Haiti. The
island is a part of the Greater Antilles
archipelago. It is an interesting fact that the
island is called Haiti only in Russian-language
atlases. On all other maps, it is known as
Espanola (Little Spain). The island was
discovered during Christopher Columbus's
expedition on December 6, 1492. Columbus
gave the right to name the island to his friend
as a reward for being the first to see it from
the ship.
Alongside the DR, there is the state of
Haiti situated on this island. It has the same
name as the whole island. This is the world's
poorest state. The population of Haiti suffers
from poverty, hunger, diseases, and coups all
the time. The vandalistic attitude of the
authorities to their country's nature is
considered the main cause of such a situation
in the country. The matter is that there used
to be several unique species of palm trees in
the territory of Haiti and the DR. These trees
with such a precious timber species do not
grow anywhere else in the world. The Haitian
authorities cut down all the palm trees in
several years and sold them for export. It was
easy money. But it turned out that the trees
had been the key link of environmental stability
in the region. Without them, all the flora and
fauna died out in the territory. The country fell
into poverty and chaos. The authorities of the
DR were cleverer, and didn't make such a
mistake. Each palm tree is protected by the
state. It is strictly forbidden to cut palm trees
in the territory of the DR.
The Dominicans have great respect
for Spaniards. This is their gratitude for
discovering their island and opening it for
civilization. But the Dominicans are lazy and
languid by their nature. It is considered the
greatest happiness for a Dominican to get a
cabin by a road and watch the passing cars all
d a y l o n g . T h ey a re re l u c ta nt to wo r k .
Oftentimes they play cards in the evening for
the duty to bring food for the family. In the
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SUNRISE
November 2018 №1