Sankies

I am 100% a beach bum when it comes to tropical island trips. One of my absolute favorite places to take a vacation to is the Dominican Republic. It shares it’s landmass in part with Haiti and the terrain of the land is as different as day and night depending on where you stay. I’ve always stayed near the sea, but I hear from the locals that the mountains are just as breathtaking. 

The thing that I enjoy most while vacationing in the DR (other than the insane, natural beauty) is the people. For people that have such little, they are arguably the happiest, most grateful people that I have ever met. And they typically always have a smile on their face or are trying to put one on yours. 

Just about every summer I return back to the DR. I’ve stayed at multiple resorts and I’ve found one thing to be true, the hotel workers (Animation team) are what really make the experience so special. 

They are basically the entertainment staff for the hotel and their job is to get the guests involved in various activities throughout the day (7 AM-1AM). It’s really a blast and great because you come away with feeling a personal connection to those people that you’ve spend the past 2 weeks with. 

Any woman that has ever traveled to the DR and stayed at a resort has encountered what they call a “Sankie”. Sankies are those sweet, charming entertainment workers (or any Dominican man for that matter) that swoon you while you're checking out of reality for the two weeks.

Sankies look for tourists, often women, to form connections/relationships with in hopes of extracting money or finding a way out of the DR down the road. It’s sneaky and comes off as very harmless flirting at first. Dominican men, especially sankies will want to shower you with compliments and profess their love to you within a matter of hours to just a couple of days. At that point, an alarm should be ringing in your head that something is a little fishy when you encounter that behavior. “I can’t be THAT desirable here in this new country? Hmm, maybe I can? It’s nice to hear these never ending compliments…I don’t get this at home…It feels nice to be wanted.” Some women are hooked right there and they have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into. Others, are smart enough to realize that it’s a trap.

There are plenty of blogs and websites devoted to discussions of Sankies and horror stories from women that were too naive. If you’re curious, I’ll leave some links below and you can check them out for yourself:

DR1 Sankies
DR1 Sankies Forum

ExPats Blog

TripAdvisor

Fortunately, I never had a serious, bad experience with a Sankie. I had just felt that I formed a close, personal bond and was very sad when traveling back home, knowing that I would never see these friends again that I had made while on my vacation. It left me wondering if I was the only woman that felt that way before.

I was so curious about the behavior from the Dominican men the first time that I took a vacation to the DR that when I returned home, I searched the internet to see how big of a deal it really was. To my surprise, Sankies were a huge part of tourism in the DR. I think that it’s very important that tourists have a good amount of knowledge about a place before they visit. And not just the typical things, dig a little deeper because it will pay off in the end. 

Since my first travels to the DR, I’ve returned 5 more times. However, with my new found information of the Sankies, it made it a lot of fun to call them out or play along with their charades! Every year I learn something new about the mystifying place and for some reason it keeps me coming back for more. 

Now that I know that I’m not alone, if you have a Sankie story, please share it in the comments below!

Arrivederci!

You know what’s great about Italy? Everything! Over winter break, I was given the opportunity to go to Italy for two weeks. More specifically, I got the chance to explore Florence, Venice, Rome, and Pisa. I will be forever grateful for that experience as it opened my eyes to a whole new world and a new way of looking at it! You can attempt to describe a trip that you’ve taken to someone else, you can show them photos, but they will never fully understand what it’s like to be immersed in that culture until they experience it first hand. Italy is a place that tickles all of your senses at once, a true one of a kind thrill! Check out this video that highlights moments and memories from my trip! It was made by a person who is very near and dear to my heart.

Have you ever visited Italy before? What was the most unique thing that you saw or did there?

The Lure of Travel

What makes traveling so fascinating to the people who have a passion for it? For some, I think that it’s the mystery of a new adventure in a new place. For others, it may be the architecture, food, people, geography, or even the history that peaks a person’s interest. 

The familiarity of a destination can become sort of a home away from someone’s native home and create a desire to travel. Personally, travel for me is a way to immerse myself in a new culture and see the world from a new perspective. 

How do daily functions differ from the way we do things at home? What are the mechanics of the language and how is it used? Signage, money, rules, attire; all things that we don’t think about on a daily basis and rarely question. Celebrations, customs, and traditions can all be eye opening opportunities.

Just about everyone experiences the lure of travel. It goes back to the thought that we all want what we don’t have. When you live in a place for awhile, you begin to take for granted the treasures within your own city. To someone who has never had the chance to see the same sights or have the same experiences that you have everyday is what entices them to travel.

What does having the opportunity to travel mean to you? What do you look forward to most  when venturing to a new destination?