El dominicano sin pasaporte

Hi everyone!

Heard a lot about this forum, nothing but good stuff. So I decided to check it out since I will be relocating back to el patio after a whole life afuera (in Europe). Haven't even got a D.R. passport and I've never actually lived there, only been on short vacations and a few longer stays (3-4 months tops). Got all of my familia en Zona Oriental (S.D.), La Romana, Macoris, well - nuestro tribu is more or less scattered around all of the eastern parts of Quisqueya. Somos principalmente capitale?os, though.

So I just wanted to say hi to everybody and see what the DR1 hype is all about. Got lots of questions and hoping I will be getting my answers here. And since I will live in the capital from the end of August this year, I guess in time I'll be able to provide some answers of my own when others need it.

Cordialmente,

Me

Thanks alot! My wife has been a forum member for years, so I already know from her that DR1 is a great place to exchange thoughts, ideas and to get answers to the questions one often have when relocating to the Dominican Republic.

Hola Criss! Thank you for the coming home welcoming. To be honest, I have never felt more at home anywhere else in the world than I do in Santo Domingo with its bustling city streets, maniceros yelling as they pass your house, and vendedores selling you water through la ventana de la guagua. Like I said, been living in Europe for all my life, but home is where the heart is - right?

Cool that you're close to the parque zool?gico. I remember going there when I was like 7 or 8 with my primos and primas. One of them, living afuera tambi?n in Bonaire, saw a zebra and shouted: "Mami, mami - qui?n pint? el caballo?" Another great memory was the caged monkeys that were harassed by a group of ni?itos necios. The monkey family had a brief war council, and then gathered their ammo to retaliate the fire. Within seconds the kids surrendered, running back to their parents crying and covered in monkey s***. I laughed so hard I cried. Bottom line: we will be going to the zoo quite frequently, if nothing else so just in order to observe the fragile coexistence between humans and animals.

We are coming there with a boy that will be 1 year when we arrive. Poor thing will probably get the shock of his life the first days. Been living all his life in the cold and quiet Northern Europe - on the country side, as well. It will be quite different with the sun, bachata playing in every colmado, 102 primos and primas wanting to play with him and screaming, car alarms going off every two minutes in front of la galer?a de la casa. The good thing is that it's never easier to adapt to new circumstances than it is in his age.

How old are you're kids? Guess we will be having lots of questions about everything from pediatricians to schools. At the moment we're just focusing on the whole moving part and to get all the legal paperwork in order (but I know my wife already asked her most important question - if there is ready-made empanada dough )

Ah, Criss Colon, I almost forgot. My wife told me that you're the one we should ask about where to get great cigars. Looking forward to that! And thanks for the invitation, we will most certainly cross the river to come visit you. Most likely I will enroll in a program at the UASD later on so I will be downtown a lot. My wife as well, as she is studying as well.

Well, got to go for now, but it was nice hearing from you. Hasta luego ...

@ Criss Colon

Yeah, some puros con una mama juana que yo traigo and we could have a really nice time. My wife loves cigars as well, although nuestro tiguerito will have to wait until he is at least two years before he can start to smoke. I think one is too early.

Tienes raz?n - mi esposa es argentina, no dominicana. But she's been there and loves it as much as Buenos Aires. Even more in some ways, since its tr?pico. We got a condo in Zona Oriental, bought it some years back while it was still being built. But it was finished like three-four years ago, asi que la residencial is starting to look real good now. It's a middle-class area with no expats, but lots of dominicanos que viven afuera. Several of our neighbors had their apartments bought for them by a daughter or son living in the US, Germany, Italy, Holland, et cetera. Y como la familia mia tambi?n viven en Zona Oriental, most of them at least, it fits us great. At least for the first years. Maybe we will sell and buy something downtown later on.

Ah s?, el jardin botanico is a place we will hang out in a lot. I am an author/journalist, and my wife es artista pl?stica and author as well, so I guess that place will mean tons of inspiration for us.

I've read about las huelgas en la UASD, but thought it was a passing thing. In any case, I won't enroll any program until "winter" 2014, or - which is more likely - autumn 2014. I got my education and profession, and my job can be done online so I don't have to find something else. But in the future I would love to get my degree of doctor de medicina, which of course requires studies. Bueno, if the trouble continues at la UASD, I will have to pick another university. My goal is still the same: get a medical degree, specialize in something (most likely trauma surgery), and find a part time job somewhere. I've heard that many of the military hospitals are great, although la Rep?blica is not in war so I get they don't need lots and lots of trauma surgeons though.

APEC looks good. I studied inform?tica for three years and after that I have been playing around a lot with different Linux distros, although I'm mostly interested in computer security. Not sure if there is a niche for that in D.R., but it would be a good fall back plan if I - for some reason - decide to give up my current employment.

Bueno, it's getting late over here and I got lots of vaccinations I will be getting tomorrow, so I'll better get some sleep if I'm not to miss out on that lovely experience in the morning.

Looking forward to the pow wow at your place. Only 3 months left! :nervous:

@ dv8

Jajaja, if that's the biggest danger then I guess I'll survive. Coffee I don't drink, and life stories one can't get enough of. Where do you live, if not in the capital?

@ Castle

Hm, 9-5 exhibition makes it hard for people with a regular job to visit him. Good thing I am working from my home, so I can take a break just to stop by his cage. But to be honest, it feels a bit like we all live in cages with beautiful wrought iron covering every part of our houses that isn't made up of solid concrete. The cages are nice though, so who am I to complain? And one can leave whenever one wants to. That's alot better being forced to stay inside the apartment due to 4 feet of snow outside and a blizzard going on for days. As? que yo digo como Rub?n Blades: "hazme la maleta mam? yo me voy!"

Criss Colon said:

PS, tell your wife that Empanada/Jonny Cake wrappers are available here.
I bought 2 packs, frozen, at supermercado "POLA" this afternoon.
They work GREAT!
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Wonderful. Quiere decir that I will have to make a lot of empis for mi querida, since I am the chef in our household and she is in charge of making cakes, pies and all kinds of sweets. But that's ok, when I don't have to make la masa myself it won't take forever!