It botheres me when I see gringos that are here for years and still look or act like tourists here for the first time. Some people have made no effort to adapt to their surroundings. They wear shorts or T-shirts out to restaurants, refuse to learn to speak Spanish, etc. It bothers me because I live here and as a gringo, I feel it reflects negatively on me.
There is a big "gringo stigma" in this country. In some of the touristy areas, it is strong and gringos are a "mark" for everyone. They are overcharged for everything, robbed, etc. Here, in SD, is is not nearly that bad, however, if the three gringos that visited a restaurant before me were poorly dressed, spoke little Spanish and heavily overtipped, the restaurant staff thinks all gringos are morons with money falling out of their pockets and I am treated accordingly.
Too many of us come down here with some money and our American values and think everyone we encounter will have to adapt to us. Well, they wont. The more of an effort we make to adapt to our new culture, the easier our lives are here. Unfortunately, too many foreigners dont care or dont want to hear it.
Last week, I took a girl (Dominican) out for lunch in the colonial zone and afterwards we walked to the cathedral in Parque Colon and as we approached the cathedral, I told her some of it's history, what date it was constructed, etc. I knew these things because I have been in the cathedral a million times. Later we walked to Parque Independencia and I took her to see the shrine of Duarte, Mella and Sanchez which she didn't even know was there. She was shocked that an American would know any of the history of this country.
I am just rambling and haven't had a cup of coffee yet but there are some points in there
.
Larry
