Page 14 - ARUBA TODAY AUG 12

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LOCALWednesday 12 August 2015

“Aruba: A Cosmopolitan Pearl”

By Amoriza Gunnink stead for the develop- as a tourist destination,
ORANJESTAD - Sparkling ment of cultural flexibility, but in its cosmopolitan-
and refreshing turquoise linguistic competence and ism, comprehensive global
water, bleach-white sandy global citizenship. Crafted worldview and cultural di-
beaches, enveloping sun economic development versity. This cosmopolitan
and breeze flowing in tan- and social policies have pearl is my island, my pride.
dem over an arid and rug- secured the island and its I welcome you to make it
ged landscape, such is the
paradoxical beauty and people’s independence yours.
magic of this magnificent and a solid upward trajec- - About the Author. A suc-
island. Aruba, the pearl of tory on the world’s stage. In cessful entrepreneur, inter-
the Caribbean, is a world relative contrast to its size, national educator, human-
famous tourist destination. the grandeur of this island, itarian project coordinator
Its opened doors and hospi- that many locals and visi- and world-traveler, Am-
table gift to world travelers tors alike call home, lies not oriza Gunnink is a proud
has transformed its socio- only in its beautiful beach- Aruban currently residing in
cultural milieu into a color- es, congenial hospitality Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
ful and diverse tapestry of and worldwide ascription
converging global influenc-
es fused with its own ethnic
heritage. Aruba’s cosmo-
politan and convivial ethos
readily affirms cross-cultural
encounters and dialogism
and a reciprocity of ethics
and care enacted through
tourism and trade. For the
Aruban people, its local
knowledge becomes an
expansive manifest of inter-
continental epistemology,
positioning them in good