Information on the Dominican Republic

Ms. Edwards has informed me that we will be going to the Dominican Republic this April. Before we go..She picked me up a new swimsuit for me to wear at the beach. I wish she would let bring a beach chair so that I can be relaxing on the sand. Maybe she will help me make a sand castle. I can't wait to show you pictures of the places we visited.

Before we go on the trip I think I will give you some general information about the country. The following information came from http://www.godominicanrepublic.com/en/About/FactsAndFigures.htm

Capital - Santo Domingo
Climate - Maritime semitropical, with an average yearly temperature of 80 F
Currency - Dominican peso
Ethnic groups - European - 16%
- African origin - 11%
- Mixed - 76%
Government type - Representative Democracy
Language - Spanish (this should be interesting since neither Ms. Edwards nor I speak Spanish)
Population - (2005) - 8, 950, 034
Official Religion - Roman Catholic

The following information was taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Dominican_Republic

The flag of the Dominican Republic appears below.



The coat of arms in the middle has a shield with the flag design with a bay laurel branch on the left and a palm frond on the right. In the center of the cross is a blue ribbon that displays the national motto: Dios, Patria, Libertad (God, Fatherland, Liberty)

The blue = liberty
The white = salvation
The red = the blood of the heroes

Information taken from http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7160263010993184783&postID=4832888535323940362

The Dominican Republic is/was:

• on the island of Hispaniola
• one of two Caribbean islands that is occupied by two countries (Haiti and the Dominic Republic)
• the second largest Caribbean nation with 48,442 sq. kilometers
• reached by Christopher Columbus in 1492. His crew came into contact with the Tainos.
• the site of the first permanent European settlement.
• free from Spain on December 1, 1821
• free from Haiti on February 27, 1844
• free from Spain on August 16, 1865
  
• lead by the President Leonel Fernandez
• lead by Vice President Rafael Alburquerque
• part of the Atlantic time zone