OT: Punta Cana for high school spring break

[republion]

I'm not a huge fan of Punta Cana, but my wife likes it there. I think the benefit is that given that all of your food and alcohol is included in the all-inclusive resorts, a trip to the DR can actually be a good bit cheaper than many/most areas or all of Florida. There also is something to be said for the all-inclusive treatment. I simply wouldn't go and really lie around and drink all day if I was paying $10 or $15 each for cocktails, whereas I really do take advantage and likely drink at least 6 or 7 drinks daily at the resorts, whereas I'd never do that stateside. The food is also included, so you can always get an appetizer or dessert with your meal without regard for cost. In my experience, the food has ranged from decent to very, very good depending on which resort that you're in. The snorkeling at the nicer reefs is kind of neat, fishing is available for a fee of course and some of the tours are actually fairly educational and enjoyable (we've been on snorkeling tours, farm/country tours, cigar shop tours and rum distillery tours). I don't golf when I'm on vacation (unless one of my brothers is there and they encourage me to go), but you can also golf there and most of the resorts have their own small casinos as well.

Like I said, the DR isn't really my cup of tea, but it's very accessible and relatively inexpensive if you're into that sort of thing.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Cletus11]

One last tip: I had a Dominican pupil whose dad was doing his residency at a local hospital. People from Haiti are the working/lower class in the D.R. She was taught as a young girl that if she heard people talking in the French Creole Haitian language to immediately cross the street and be prepared to run. The poverty in Haiti is likely the worst in our hemisphere. Desperate people do desperate things. Stay on the resort. Better safe than sorry.

I spent a decent amount of time doing a project down in Santo Domingo in early 2000's. Probably was down there 7 or 8 times over a 2 year period for a week each time doing a big project. There was some material on site that needed dewatered through a press, the press was elevated in the solids would fall onto the ground under it, looked like wet mulch basically. A truck would pull up about ever hour and this Haitain guy would shovel the wet mulch in the truck. When he was done, would go over under a tree and sit in the shade until the truck came back and he shoveled again. Did that for 10 hours per day and earned $20 for the day. He slept in a park across the street at night. When I asked the one Dominican guy what was up with that, he looked at me and said that guy risked his life getting out of Haiti for that job, that is how bad it is over there. He said the wall and security between the DR and Haiti is extremely secure as all the Haitains are constantly trying to get over into the DR.

 

[87 Penn St8]

I spent a decent amount of time doing a project down in Santo Domingo in early 2000's. Probably was down there 7 or 8 times over a 2 year period for a week each time doing a big project. There was some material on site that needed dewatered through a press, the press was elevated in the solids would fall onto the ground under it, looked like wet mulch basically. A truck would pull up about ever hour and this Haitain guy would shovel the wet mulch in the truck. When he was done, would go over under a tree and sit in the shade until the truck came back and he shoveled again. Did that for 10 hours per day and earned $20 for the day. He slept in a park across the street at night. When I asked the one Dominican guy what was up with that, he looked at me and said that guy risked his life getting out of Haiti for that job, that is how bad it is over there. He said the wall and security between the DR and Haiti is extremely secure as all the Haitains are constantly trying to get over into the DR.

C- great story. It really is not that different than here. Many good/ hard working folks choosing to risk a lot to work over starving- but there also is an element of crime that often accompanies impoverishment. All the more reason to be vigilant...

 

[Agoodnap]

Is she on birth control?

My guess is that you haven't been a parent of teenage daughter yet. Every teenage girl will complain about irregular periods and menstrual pain so that "mom" takes her to the doctor and magically birth control pills or an iud is the solution. Dad is told to be quiet.

 

[87 Penn St8]

And the Penalty Box

Wildwood is a big spot for high school seniors from our area.

The Inquirer did a story about the debauchery a few years ago- and a crew of kids from the school that I teach at were the cover photo......

Maybe 8 years ago our football QB almost had part of his leg amputated b/c a truck rolled over his ankle while they were unloading kegs.

Last year a kid had to be taken to the ER for alcohol poisoning...if a sober/ alert kid who had attended our United Health Academy had not intervened kid could've died.

Rents are incredibly high and parents do have to co-sign the forms."Childwood" during senior week for sure.

Dangerous gambit all around. There was some sort of DC politician whose kid hosted a big party in the Rehoboth/Bethany a few years ago and the film went viral- and apparently they were in the house- big and deserved blowback.

The liability could bankrupt most people....glad my kids are past that stage.

 

[Agoodnap]

Many of the kids from the Harrisburg area go to Canada for spring break. If the group is 19 years old or greater they typically go to Niagara Falls. If 18 years old they go to Montreal. Marijuana is legal in Canada and now that covid restrictions have been lifted they are flocking back north for Spring!

Let's review: Legal teenage drinking, legal recreational marijuana, French hookers, and Casinos virtually everywhere, all while being in a foreign country. What could possibly go wrong?

Mine made it back safely. At some point you just have to trust them to do the right thing.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

My wife will be there, and she will make sure our daughter stays in check. I’m just concerned about both of them, not knowing if people are getting drugged by staff on the resort. If that type of stuff happens, you can’t protect yourself.

The big problem in recent sudden deaths in DR and the other islands has been faulty pool/boiler heating units venting carbon monoxide into rooms. People were having just a few drinks but feeling really lousy/lethargic - then dying later. They thought it was drugs at first.

 

[Cletus11]

Wildwood is a big spot for high school seniors from our area.

The Inquirer did a story about the debauchery a few years ago- and a crew of kids from the school that I teach at were the cover photo......

Maybe 8 years ago our football QB almost had part of his leg amputated b/c a truck rolled over his ankle while they were unloading kegs.

Last year a kid had to be taken to the ER for alcohol poisoning...if a sober/ alert kid who had attended our United Health Academy had not intervened kid could've died.

Rents are incredibly high and parents do have to co-sign the forms."Childwood" during senior week for sure.

Dangerous gambit all around. There was some sort of DC politician whose kid hosted a big party in the Rehoboth/Bethany a few years ago and the film went viral- and apparently they were in the house- big and deserved blowback.

The liability could bankrupt most people....glad my kids are past that stage.

that is a big issue as parents always have to co-sign the rental agreement. In my daughters class, one of the houses obviously had a party, well I guess some kids showed up from another rival school and they were not allowed in and some jawing occurred (luckily my daughter and friends left after that as they saw issues arising). So same kids come back about an hour later with a much larger group (they went and got some friends) and of course a fight ensues and it spills into the house. The house was destroyed. I saw video and talking tables and light fixtures broken, cabinet shelves ripped off, broken windows, holes in the wall, etc...ended up being over $15K of damage that the parents who co-signed were responsible for.

 

[PSUCYCLING]

that is a big issue as parents always have to co-sign the rental agreement. In my daughters class, one of the houses obviously had a party, well I guess some kids showed up from another rival school and they were not allowed in and some jawing occurred (luckily my daughter and friends left after that as they saw issues arising). So same kids come back about an hour later with a much larger group (they went and got some friends) and of course a fight ensues and it spills into the house. The house was destroyed. I saw video and talking tables and light fixtures broken, cabinet shelves ripped off, broken windows, holes in the wall, etc...ended up being over $15K of damage that the parents who co-signed were responsible for.

There was a kid killed in a fight in the graduating class ahead of me in Wildwood in the early 90’s. Anyone in HS in Delco at the time probably heard the story.

Some girls rented a house, they have some boys over, another, rival group shows up, and a fight ensues. One guy is getting carried out to be thrown over a balcony, grabs a knife out of the sink and stabs one of the kids trying to throw him over. The kid that was stabbed passed away from the injuries. The stabber was found innocent due to self defense. The civil trial and all that entailed lasted years with different people added and deleted from the lawsuits based on new information that was found.

The fallout and trial tore that class apart - there were a lot of kids at the party so a lot of witnesses at trial. Friendships were ended depending on your testimony, fights continued to pop up in the area for several years afterwards based on who‘se side your testimony fell. .

My daughter wants to do senior week this year since she’s graduating. No way, no how. She’s upset about it but, I observed the fallout from senior week gone bad and don‘t want her anywhere near that.

 

[Lion84]

My guess is that you haven't been a parent of teenage daughter yet. Every teenage girl will complain about irregular periods and menstrual pain so that "mom" takes her to the doctor and magically birth control pills or an iud is the solution. Dad is told to be quiet.

Been there - and yout are 100% accurate - 2 daughters - 20 and 17. And yes I do drink heavily.

 

[Lion84]

that is a big issue as parents always have to co-sign the rental agreement. In my daughters class, one of the houses obviously had a party, well I guess some kids showed up from another rival school and they were not allowed in and some jawing occurred (luckily my daughter and friends left after that as they saw issues arising). So same kids come back about an hour later with a much larger group (they went and got some friends) and of course a fight ensues and it spills into the house. The house was destroyed. I saw video and talking tables and light fixtures broken, cabinet shelves ripped off, broken windows, holes in the wall, etc...ended up being over $15K of damage that the parents who co-signed were responsible for.

There is a hilarious Jim Breuer take on this from when he was in Wildwood a number of year ago with his family - pretty much sums it up. I have a place in WW Crest and Wildwood proper has changed a lot - a lot of the dive bars are gone including the Shramrock but it's still kind of a skeevy place.

 

[87 Penn St8]

There was a kid killed in a fight in the graduating class ahead of me in Wildwood in the early 90’s. Anyone in HS in Delco at the time probably heard the story.

Some girls rented a house, they have some boys over, another, rival group shows up, and a fight ensues. One guy is getting carried out to be thrown over a balcony, grabs a knife out of the sink and stabs one of the kids trying to throw him over. The kid that was stabbed passed away from the injuries. The stabber was found innocent due to self defense. The civil trial and all that entailed lasted years with different people added and deleted from the lawsuits based on new information that was found.

The fallout and trial tore that class apart - there were a lot of kids at the party so a lot of witnesses at trial. Friendships were ended depending on your testimony, fights continued to pop up in the area for several years afterwards based on who‘se side your testimony fell. .

My daughter wants to do senior week this year since she’s graduating. No way, no how. She’s upset about it but, I observed the fallout from senior week gone bad and don‘t want her anywhere near that.

My daughter and her friends did a weekend (NOT week) at somebodies aunts' double wide near Rehoboth and were able to go to some parties, but be in the care of an adult when they wanted to get away. Some boys did show up to "party" but were shooed away. The aunt was living there full time and we all had her contact info.

They then spent their $ on buying tickets and camping for the Firefly Festival in Dover- which while still a scary thing for a parent to send their 18 year old daughter too- did not feel as risky as Wildwood or some other situation. Most importantly- neither me nor my wife took ANY risk re: liability. As a teacher that is a potential career ender- luckily my daughter understood. Everything worked out fine for her- and we did a family cruise to Bermuda as a compromise afterwards.

My son and his GF ended up being late add ons for a couple of days at one of his buddies Aunts' house in Strathmere. She wasn't there. Definitely partying but not beyond the house residents- the father was in law enforcement in a different state so the "rules" were laid out very clearly. A sink ended up getting broken, and you know who was the one turning the handles. My son paid the plumber bill out of his own pocket, wrote a letter of apology to the homeowner, and sent flowers. It may have been a case of something just ending its shelf life- but we didn't care. He was their guest.

Good luck with figuring out your plan- safety is the primary factor- and then you can look forward to worrying about them at college!

 

[Jerry]

My guess is that you haven't been a parent of teenage daughter yet. Every teenage girl will complain about irregular periods and menstrual pain so that "mom" takes her to the doctor and magically birth control pills or an iud is the solution. Dad is told to be quiet.

I've been the father of four teenage daughters, and that's not how I see it. Nobody ever told me to be quiet.

My wife and I brought our girls up to think sex was sacred...so sacred as to be permissible only in marriage.

Not to say we didn't have arguments and struggles along the way, but 25 years later, three are happily married with 19 kids between them and one is in the religious life.

Far be it from me to judge anyone's parenting philosophy, but I think the reason our country is so screwed up these days is that we let the inmates run the asylum.

If you allow the inmates to set the rules, whether in nations or families, sooner or later it will bite you in the butt.

Just a humble observation based on decades of actual parenting experience...

 

[Agoodnap]

I've been the father of four teenage daughters, and that's not how I see it. Nobody ever told me to be quiet.

My wife and I brought our girls up to think sex was sacred...so sacred as to be permissible only in marriage.

Not to say we didn't have arguments and struggles along the way, but 25 years later, three are happily married with 19 kids between them and one is in the religious life.

Far be it from me to judge anyone's parenting philosophy, but I think the reason our country is so screwed up these days is that we let the inmates run the asylum.

If you allow the inmates to set the rules, whether in nations or families, sooner or later it will bite you in the butt.

Just a humble observation based on decades of actual parenting experience...

What decade were they teenagers?

 

[RussianEagle]

When did high school kids start going to places like Punta Cana for spring break? When I was in college a few of us piled into a car and drove to Ocean City when summer break started.

I didn’t even do that. I remember being absolutely shocked when I started as a freshman at PSU and learned most students took a “Senior Week” of going to the beach together after graduation. Being from a small town in west central pa, that was called “get your ass a job week” (if you didn’t already have one you were working after school)

 

[Jerry]

What decade were they teenagers?

The 90's and 00's, which included the four girls and two boys as well.

It was far from a cakewalk, and we had our share of mini-crises, which only by the grace of God did not become maxi-crises.

I sure as heck wouldn't want to be raising teens today.

 

[PSUPride1]

When did high school kids start going to places like Punta Cana for spring break? When I was in college a few of us piled into a car and drove to Ocean City when summer break started.

Exactly.