Hello everyone!

I am Francisca Stephenson, but everyone calls me Francis. After this semester, I will only have my capstone to complete and hopefully graduate in Spring 2012. I was born in the Dominican Republic but raised in the Bronx, NY where as a young adult , I became a naturalized citizen. I've lived in Florida for 5 years, but eventually found myself back home. Although I currently live in Rutherford , NJ with my husband and two boys, I spend alot of time in the City visiting my family. I enjoy reading, walking, cooking, and my guilty pleasure, watching The Real Housewives series. I am really excited about this class and learning more about the history of Latin American and the Caribbean, specially about my country, the Dominican Republic. My mother always encouraged me to learn about my country and the importance of maitaining our culture. Growing up, she would send my siblings and I  to spend our entire summer vacation there, needles to say, I grew up eating rice and beans, plantains, and listening to music from  the island, merengue and bachata. The Caribbean is part of my roots, but I am eager to learn about other Latin countries and it's impact on the modern world.