Eight months of wonderful experiences.

By: Anna Groesser
Graduate and Gap Year 32-week Program, 2012You can read about Anna's internship with Grupo PUNTACANA on the InteRDom website here.

Well, the end of my eight month InteRDom internship (which was in Punta Cana) is near, and I cannot believe it! The experience was so wonderful- I had a great situation there and I felt fulfilled with all my responsibilities and tasks I had, plus my supportive and awesome supervisors Señor Beswick and Margarita. Now I am back in Santo Domingo at the InteRDom apartment, awaiting the final date, preparing for my post-internship job at a really nice private school and apartment-hunting as well. I will be staying in the country- my fiancée, who I met in Michigan over two years ago, is Dominican and we are planning to stay here. A lot of the Dominicans I’ve told are surprised that we aren’t returning to the U.S. But honestly, I do appreciate the positives of this country, the cool feeling that I am living so far from home and out of my comfort zone, and I am only mildly homesick. More importantly, both he and I have very good job situations here and plan to stay for at least the next four years. (I can’t help but think, by that point, my Spanish will be great!)

It was bittersweet to leave my temporary home in Punta Cana- saying goodbye to all the friends and acquaintances I made there- but the end of my internship there went as smoothly as it could possibly have gone. I received farewell gifts from my supervisors and also the Public Relations office (which I had helped often with translations, photos and website work)- fancy Oscar de la Renta perfume (he is one of the co-owners of the PUNTACANA Resort and Club) and a Caribbean beach resort-style sun hat that people commonly wear while outdoors. On my last day, I had lunch with some of the friends I had made. When I returned to the capital and to my room, I found the InteRDom apartments were full of other interns (whereas when I arrived in December, I was the only intern) and I have been able to make some good friendships in just a short period of time.

(One final note- though apparently July and August are supposed to be the hottest months of the year here… I arrived in December (the coldest time) and I honestly cannot feel a huge difference. It was hot then, and it is hot now! This is actually the biggest question I have received from people back home: “How hot is it down there?” and my answer really is that boring!)

All the best of luck to my fellow InteRDom interns, to Alicia & Mandy in New York and to Reyna & Melida here in Santo Domingo! Thanks for everything!