InteRDom: I’m here with Arisleyda Diloné, who is currently doing her Masters in International Relations at St. John’s University in New York. The university has a campus in Rome, which is where Arisleyda has been studying for the past year.

Hi Arisleyda. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about the two organizations that you’ve been working with here.

Listen to this Interview (mp3 | 1,82 MB)

 Arisleyda: I worked with the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic and with the Center for National Commercial Business. At the United Nations Association I met people from all different backgrounds and assisted with C.I.L.A., the International Conference of the Americas, which united over 2000 young students to do a simulation of the United Nations.

At C.N.N.C., I assisted with negotiations between the Dominican Republic and Mercosur and the Dominican Republic and Taiwan.

InteRDom: You’ve also been working very, very hard writing your current thesis. What is the topic of that thesis?

Arisleyda: The topic of my thesis is DR-CAFTA, the Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic, Central America and the U.S. I focus mainly on chapter 19, which is the implementation.

InteRDom: I understand you’ll be graduating very soon in May 2007. How do you picture yourself in the near future, once you’ve finished your internship?

Arisleyda: I see myself coming back here or going to a country where the educational systems needs support.

InteRDom: You’ve also been taking classes at UNIBE University. Do you want to tell us a little bit about what area you were focusing on?

Arisleyda: At UNIBE I am taking a class about Dominican History. It’s helped me appreciate Dominican culture a lot more. My professor Ruben Dario Gómez is extremely motivating, extremely exciting as a teacher and very educated.

InteRDom: It’s interesting that you mentioned exploring your own identity. Maybe you could tell people listening today a little bit about your personal history.

Arisleyda: My parents are of Dominican origin. They were born here, as was I. I was born in Santiago and I emigrated to the U.S. when I was seven. Coming back here has helped me appreciate and know my culture profoundly rather than superficially.

InteRDom: You also arrived at a time when FUNGLODE/GFDD organized their first Global Film Festival. What was your involvement with that?

Arisleyda: I helped with the theaters and the speakers. The movies were extremely touching. I saw Tsotsi, Babel and Vete y Vive which were all foreign films and all extremely moving.