The great moral conflict.
I just spent a few days touring resorts in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I've never been to this island before and wanted to know as much about it as I could in the 5 short days that I'd be there. I traveled with about 20 other travel agents with the goal of learning more about many of the all inclusive resort chains that are scattered everywhere in Punta Cana. I like to be up to date on hotels and destinations so that I can offer up sound advise when planning people's travels.
As I wandered in and out of some of the biggest all-inclusive resorts I have ever been on, a couple of thoughts kept racing through my mind. 1. How on earth could anyone find their way around this place? It's the size of a small town!, 2. Where on earth do they get all of the food, water, alcohol to feed so many people every single day of the year? and 3. As beautiful as every resort is, it seems so gluttonous to lie around, eating and drinking until the days roll into the nights.
I may have just shot myself in the foot by that last comment but these are thoughts that run through my very own mind while working and touring hotels. I love a beautiful hotel just as much as anyone does. I love lounging on the beach sipping drinks brought to me by butlers and waiters. I love climbing into a bed that's been sprinkled with rose petals and that's been turned down for me. I love it all but I love it all with a twinge of guilt.
Before we started our hotel site visits, we traveled to the town of Macao. It's a sleepy little town with a surf school, an elementary school, a church, a shop or two and random chickens crossing the roads and horses dancing down the dusty roads. Children lined up to sell ups palm leave hats and it was a suggestion by the school teacher who was with us to NOT purchase the hats. See, most of the people in that area are very poor. Many children don't have the right kinds of clothes, supplies or means to go to school so many drop out of elementary school to sell trinkets to the tourists to raise money for their families. They want to look good when they go to school just like any kid does and when their shoes don't fit, their pants are too tight and their shirts ride up to their bellies, pride gets to them and they drop out.
Most kids in the area only attend school until 6th grade. There is no transportation to bring them to the middle school that's quite a ways a way and there's no money to get transportation so education comes to a screeching halt at 11 years old. I got to thinking as I watched these boys join us on our tour of the town. They weren't begging. They weren't bothering us at all. They watched us carefully and always had smiles on their faces. I couldn't help but think of my own 11 year old. These kids...some who had to be only 4 years young, trailed complete strangers simply because it was something to do in their tired little town. I worried about their safety as they curiously climbed around a deep sewage hole that was at least 5 feet deep. I watched the most the beautiful green eyed 4 year old pull apart barbed wire fencing so that he could climb through it just to sit on the porch that the barbed wire surrounded. I watched as he pulled out a stub of a pencil and began to write on the floor of the porch. He looked up at me and smiled with those green eyes and diligently went back to his writing.
As I looked upon the big bus that awaited to carry us back to our beautiful hotels, where food is more than abundant, the water runs from the faucets and there are pillows upon pillows for us to rest our heads upon when we are tired and I thought about the complete opposite worlds that exist so very close to each other. This scene isn't exclusive to the Dominican Republic. This happens everywhere and I've seen it before but this time I felt the punch of guilt just a bit harder. It's a guilt of having been born into a country where opportunity runneth over. I am grateful for the opportunities that I have and that my children have but it is a true heart ache to see such beautiful and sweet souls not have the same hope for their lives.
I returned back to the hotel feeling the pangs of guilt as I left those smiling faces to wander the streets of their little town waiting for the next bus of new faces to feed their curiosities. I thought about the hotel staff that work so hard for so little. I thought about the fate of those children that I met that day. I thought about the neighboring luxurious resorts that they'll probably never set foot in and if they do, it'll be to work long, arduous hours with persistent smiles on their faces. I also thought that it is the people of the destination that bring it is life. The azures seas will continue to mesmerize our minds and the palm trees will always be swaying in the wind creating a nirvana for our weary eyes, this much is true but in the shadows of the palm trees lies a reality we ought not ignore.
As global travelers, I feel we owe it to our future generations to give back and nurture those that have less so that in the end, we can ALL have more. We can still have our beautiful vacation get aways. We can still enjoy the luxuries that we have worked hard to pay for. I believe that we need to be conscientious travelers and understand the people of the destination. I'm not suggesting that you need to spend your entire vacation in the impoverished towns around the resorts. Not at all, I'm suggesting that if we get to know the locals and share a smile and maybe one of our skills with the people of the community that we may find that we have inspired others to move forward in life and in turn have inspired ourselves. It invariably happens if we put ourself in the situation. If we do our best to be good global citizens by getting involved in local programs that help inspire and educate the children, I believe we'll find ourselves better off.
I may have just shot myself in the foot by that last comment but these are thoughts that run through my very own mind while working and touring hotels. I love a beautiful hotel just as much as anyone does. I love lounging on the beach sipping drinks brought to me by butlers and waiters. I love climbing into a bed that's been sprinkled with rose petals and that's been turned down for me. I love it all but I love it all with a twinge of guilt.
Before we started our hotel site visits, we traveled to the town of Macao. It's a sleepy little town with a surf school, an elementary school, a church, a shop or two and random chickens crossing the roads and horses dancing down the dusty roads. Children lined up to sell ups palm leave hats and it was a suggestion by the school teacher who was with us to NOT purchase the hats. See, most of the people in that area are very poor. Many children don't have the right kinds of clothes, supplies or means to go to school so many drop out of elementary school to sell trinkets to the tourists to raise money for their families. They want to look good when they go to school just like any kid does and when their shoes don't fit, their pants are too tight and their shirts ride up to their bellies, pride gets to them and they drop out.
Most kids in the area only attend school until 6th grade. There is no transportation to bring them to the middle school that's quite a ways a way and there's no money to get transportation so education comes to a screeching halt at 11 years old. I got to thinking as I watched these boys join us on our tour of the town. They weren't begging. They weren't bothering us at all. They watched us carefully and always had smiles on their faces. I couldn't help but think of my own 11 year old. These kids...some who had to be only 4 years young, trailed complete strangers simply because it was something to do in their tired little town. I worried about their safety as they curiously climbed around a deep sewage hole that was at least 5 feet deep. I watched the most the beautiful green eyed 4 year old pull apart barbed wire fencing so that he could climb through it just to sit on the porch that the barbed wire surrounded. I watched as he pulled out a stub of a pencil and began to write on the floor of the porch. He looked up at me and smiled with those green eyes and diligently went back to his writing.As I looked upon the big bus that awaited to carry us back to our beautiful hotels, where food is more than abundant, the water runs from the faucets and there are pillows upon pillows for us to rest our heads upon when we are tired and I thought about the complete opposite worlds that exist so very close to each other. This scene isn't exclusive to the Dominican Republic. This happens everywhere and I've seen it before but this time I felt the punch of guilt just a bit harder. It's a guilt of having been born into a country where opportunity runneth over. I am grateful for the opportunities that I have and that my children have but it is a true heart ache to see such beautiful and sweet souls not have the same hope for their lives.
I returned back to the hotel feeling the pangs of guilt as I left those smiling faces to wander the streets of their little town waiting for the next bus of new faces to feed their curiosities. I thought about the hotel staff that work so hard for so little. I thought about the fate of those children that I met that day. I thought about the neighboring luxurious resorts that they'll probably never set foot in and if they do, it'll be to work long, arduous hours with persistent smiles on their faces. I also thought that it is the people of the destination that bring it is life. The azures seas will continue to mesmerize our minds and the palm trees will always be swaying in the wind creating a nirvana for our weary eyes, this much is true but in the shadows of the palm trees lies a reality we ought not ignore.
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