funny experiment I like to do - when someone asks for money I say si dios quere. It hurts their brain a bit when they realize im the one making the decision to give it to them or not, or the contractor si dios quere te pago
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It may not be as safe here as you'd like, or would hope to believe.
They are welcome to come here and help them ( minus my tax money ) when their shoes, car batteries, bed sheets are missing in the AM they may have graduated themselves to a disadvantaged community until their next paycheque.
I understand there is truth to that though I am not going to dismiss that and ignorantly claim I am in 100% control of everything, we cannot control others, politics to a large extent, weather, accidents etc. But we can control our lives and what we choose to put our energy into to advance ourselves or collectively.
On a piece of paper? I say bogus! They would be dropping the stuff out of airplanes telling the enemy to throw down their weapons and surrender. Or you could sprinkle some near a 3-star general and say, "take me to your leader". Of course, a tainted drink is possible, however no one is going to walk to an ATM or a bank and withdraw monies. Further more, if this magical substance is so effective, can I get a pound. I want to blow it in the face of my chica and tell her to wash the dishes.
New ‘zombie’ drug does just that, detox expert warns
<p>Santo Domingo.- The head of one of the country’s most prominent drug detox facilities on Mon. warned about the criminal use of a substance, or cocktail of substances, that in other nations has been dubbed “zombie drug,” “burundanga,” ” kiss of the dream” or “the devil’s breath.” In a...
dominicantoday.com
I'm sure there are members on here that don't abide by your stance on religion. If your are an atheist you should so state it. If not I take exception to your many references as to how one practices their faith in God.
I hope the mods will see my point of view and that religion is not discussed here on DR1 as stated in the TOS.
It is said by almost all Dominicans without really meaning what they say, and rarely used in the way you indicate. Used more for heath and bigger life issues more often.
That is your own interpretation. Most religious people do not live their life that way, regardless of the religion.
Less God/religion, more safety in DR please.
I deeply appreciate the comments arete92. The advice you give is sound, and the tactics regarding giving a motoconcho 300 pesos or the security guy 500 make sense, though I agree the motoconcho would work better. I didn't ask anyone to pat me on the back or hold my hand but I do want to treat this issue thoroughly and I'm quite frankly disappointed by how the general tone of the thread had been going prior to your posts, which are very insightful and add a lot to the conversation. I thank you for that. As much as dominicans stick together it seems like expats are at each other's throats, or at least mine. This is my first thread here on the forums, and what a welcome it has been.
I totally get where you are coming from DR fan1990. I have had past cleaners say the same, and I have two things to say.
NOTICE - LINGUISTICS, NOT RELIGION BEING DISCUSSED HERE:
1. it is the basic phrase "God Willing" that exists in English. That said, when it is said here I often interpret it based on context to mean something more like "I Should be able to but that depends on what comes up." As Bob says, think "Ah, hoy no puedo, mi niño tiene gripe" or "tenemos que visitar a mi abuela en el hospital," Or the popular "Ah pero hoy está lloviendo". For lots of people here apparently rain, however little it may be, is like a blizzard in the depths of winter. You shall not pass!!
The same phrase is *Extremely* popular in Arabic and muslim countries and is "Inshallah", from which we get the spanish "Ojalá". In Arabic this phrase is MUCH more literally uttered, from a cultual/linguistic perspective that absolutely nothing occurs that isn't willed by God and thus although people will make definite statements, as a caveat it is always acceptable to say "Inshallah", more in the context of "I sure hope so but we never know what God's plans are", almost an avoidance of making any pure definitive statements out of a desire to avoid being disrespectful.
I like to see the glass half full so I try to give people the benefit of the doubt but like I said, when it's said here contextually it's very much more a person telling you that they intend on X, Y, Z but they don't know what other options or events may arise and they want to keep themselves open.
I find this whole "Yeah I should be able to as long as nothing else comes up" attitude to be very popular here and as an English-based Westerner I too find it off-putting. Plans are much less definite, and a lot of what happens has to do with how someone feels or what last minute issues/opportunities arise. Makes it harder to get things done. Same concept as the Jamaican "Soon come". At a certain point it just becomes being undisciplined and/or taking life less seriously.
I wrote this up before I saw JD426's response.
Not to hate on my Jamaican friends , and I do have some dear Jamaican friends from many years ago,
but I have to say their version of " soon come" is the most annoying of all .
On my first and Only trip to Jamaica I believed this nonsense, when I gave 2 nice Shirts and Shorts to the Laundry at the Hotel, a NICE Hotel mind you . Every day like an Idiot I asked about it and was told " it soon come".. I gave up, considered it gone .. 7 full days later , at checkout , there was my Laundry all folded up , useless to me now, just threw it in the already closed suitcase .
Its one of the reasons I never went back .. they cant be relied upon to do even a Simple task even when tipped .
The DR is very similar , as some of the comments have clearly indicated, but it is definitely better
.. A little Propina to the Moto guy goes a long way , but its not nearly as bad as Jamaica, where they want the sneakers off your feet ( how you supposed to walk around ?) and to trade for everything you are wearing , and they will literally pop out of the bushes to ambush you.
I cant even Imagine trying to hire a Housekeeper . You would have to know people from back home , or you would get fleeced .
but I have to say their version of " soon come" is the most annoying of all .
On my first and Only trip to Jamaica I believed this nonsense, when I gave 2 nice Shirts and Shorts to the Laundry at the Hotel, a NICE Hotel mind you . Every day like an Idiot I asked about it and was told " it soon come".. I gave up, considered it gone .. 7 full days later , at checkout , there was my Laundry all folded up , useless to me now, just threw it in the already closed suitcase .
Its one of the reasons I never went back .. they cant be relied upon to do even a Simple task even when tipped .
The DR is very similar , as some of the comments have clearly indicated, but it is definitely better
.. A little Propina to the Moto guy goes a long way , but its not nearly as bad as Jamaica, where they want the sneakers off your feet ( how you supposed to walk around ?) and to trade for everything you are wearing , and they will literally pop out of the bushes to ambush you.
I cant even Imagine trying to hire a Housekeeper . You would have to know people from back home , or you would get fleeced .
I love the people of Jamaica and of the DR. That said, the DR is a cake walk toward Jamaica. The food is amazing in Jamaica as is the music but it is so hard to find security. I remember my first trip to the DR which was only weeks after leaving Jamaica and feeling such a relief. I still will visit Jamaica but prefer the DR.
Here's how I handle people asking for money.
When someone ask me for money I always respond in kind, "possibly, how much do you need", then after they tell me (usually never more than two hundred pesos) I say the following "sure no problem, I can lend you some pesos but you will need to give me your cell phone until you pay me back"
10+ years of living here full-time and not a single person has ever taken me up on my offer.
I like that.
Mr AE has a different strategy. One of our neighbors in the campo is constantly borrowing money. Always has a story: needs to buy wood for a job (he’s an excellent carpenter, made me a beautiful mahogany closet), has to fix his car (he also drives a publico), someone has to go to doctor, etc. He always pays him back, but then inevitably needs money again in a week or two. So now when he asks Mr AE gives it to him (2500 pesos last time), but when he came to repay him Mr AE told him to hold onto it for now as he might need it again, and to pay when we’re leaving. Accomplished a couple of things….. he couldn’t borrow more because he already owed him, so peace and quiet for 2-3-4 months 😊. He’s never stiffed him yet.
With others, he tells them if they need money, we’ll pay them to come do some work on the finca for a day or more. Some do, most don’t. The old ladies in the campo sometimes ask for a bit to buy breakfast or dinner food, those he usually just gives to and there is no expectation of repayment.
Sometimes I will give something small like 10 pesos just so when they ask me again I can say "you still owe me 10 pesos from last time" but I usually only do this to the neighborhood drunks/ drug abusers.
There is a guy with a bad leg that sits adjacent to the ATM at Banco Santa Cruz in Sosua. One day I gave him 100 pesos, then went to the ATM, withdrew money and then to Super Super to buy a Red Bull.
On the way back buy he asked me again, and I told him I gave you 100 pesos 3 minutes ago. He then asked for another 100. (Guess he figured since I hit the ATM I was flush with pesos.
Needless to say he never got any more from me.
I'm sorry his leg is messed up but he's off my people-I-help list.
Maybe he can learn to code ?
On the way back buy he asked me again, and I told him I gave you 100 pesos 3 minutes ago. He then asked for another 100. (Guess he figured since I hit the ATM I was flush with pesos.
Needless to say he never got any more from me.
I'm sorry his leg is messed up but he's off my people-I-help list.
Maybe he can learn to code ?
