I have found that people's idea of "assimilation" is based on a person's perception of the country. Many expats or visitors who believe that living in and visiting the poorest parts of the DR makes for a more authentic experience as if being anything more than that makes a Dominican less authentic. Yet many of them would not dare live or visit the impoverished areas of the US or Europe. Most foriegners with the means would not opt to go to rural West Virginia or innercity Baltimore for a more "authentic" experience when they can stay or live in Manhattan. They don't rent apartments in the 'hood or marry into an Appalachian family. While both authentic american experiences not exactly destination spots. Yet a lot these same poeple would consider living in Santo Domingo or Santiago at a level that is comparable to their lives back home to be less of an authentic experience.
You took the words out of my mouth... or should that be finger tips?
What you mentioned is something I have been wondering for a long time. I'm not sure why many people are like that, but I'm leaning more to this explanation:
Americans or Europeans, when visiting the DR, are excluded from the social norms given that they are tourists or outsiders. As such, they can get away with many things among the local population due to the reasoning that they are simply foreigners and don't know any better as far as the local culture and norms are concerned. On the foreigner side, they pretty much don't care what others think of them when visiting the DR because, quite frankly, they are not a part of that society and because of this, they sort of remain outside of Dominican culture and norms, even when they try to assimilate, they will always be considered outsiders or aplatanado, as in a foreigner that has acquired many Dominican habits, but such person is always regarded as a foreigner.
Back in the U.S. or Europe, these same foreigners are the locals. They have been taught from birth how their societies work, how the read the different signs (visible and otherwise) that limits a persons actions or decisions, consciously or subconsciously. To them, it matters what is thought of them by their society in their own country, much in the same way it matters to Dominicans in the DR, but once they leave the DR they become more relaxed in the way I've explained above.
Thus, an American that will never think of spending sometime with his poor counterparts, doesn't think twice prior to doing such while visiting the DR or some other country. Afterall, who cares! The only people whose opinion matters are the one's at home, not in this foreign country that they didn't even knew existed until the travel agent mentioned of the super all inclusive sale in Playa Dorada.
I hope you get the gist of what I'm trying to say here and I think it applies to most people from all countries, especially when such people travel abroad.
People travel to get away from the daily grind, from the familiar sights, and from the restraints imposed by society and to get away from the expectations that everyone has of him. When the person goes away, that person is free from all of that and that freedom allows that person to do things that in their own home countries they would think twice and thrice prior to doing such, more often deciding not to do such.
Hence, people travel thousands of miles to take picture with impoverished rural Dominicans but never in a million years do they visit the people living in the impoverished neighborhoods only minutes from their home in their home country.
I also wonder if guilt is involved as well. Its always easier to help people whose problems are perceived to have been created by someone else, rather than confront people whose problems are perceived to have been created either by you or by your ancestors.
I'll live it at this because this response is moving away from the topic of the thread, but what you posted is something I have been wondering for quite sometime.
-NALs
