Take a deep breath be4 reading...

Here I am, back from the pool, writing these lines as I listen to samba on the stereo, realizing what a sexy language portuguese is! Beside me is a glass of guava juice with tonic water and ice. I am dying for a cold beer but Saudi-Arabia is a dry as the desert here? Alcohol is illegal in this country!

This board really is like my hometown pub (see my post from 27 Nov, at 09:31!) When I finally have a comment to share, the conversation already is way beyond ?my? topic! Hahaha! Story of my life, always too slow! So for your edification and reading pleasure, here is a summary of my very personal comments! Enjoy?

1. Merengue and Salsa:
It is sure fun when I attempt to dance with Cecilia, because in a desperate attempt to help me keep the rythm, she always ?tick tock? her head, like the hand of a metronome! And she looks soooo cute when she does that! However, if I disregard form this private aspect of merengue, I do prefer salsa! I always have a hard time hearing the difference between one merengue tune and the next!? I find salsa much more sophisticated, varied and complex. Salsa is my kind of ?latin? music! No doubt about that!

Anyway, there is a concert in Casa de Campo (in the amphi theater!) this winter and I will go to that. Might be fun! At least something totally different for me!

2. Color of skin / Races:
Someone mentioned in a post some time ago, various expressions referring to the color of skin on women. I can?t remember the various labels, but there seems to be some kind of racial / class / ethnic difference between people of different historic background in DR. More or less ?white? or ?black? blood running in their veins? I must remember to ask Cecilia for a copy of her ?pedigree?, to ascertain to what extent she is dominican or african or whatever? And bring a RAL colour chart to check the colour of her skin! I wonder if there is a correction factor to be used as compensation for a tanned skin???

I honestly couldn?t care less, but for my own curiosity, perhaps someone can explain about the genealogical background of the people in DR?

3. Racism?
? is never funny, but I had to laugh when we met Cecilias sister after having spent a week in Samana. Cecilia?s normal dark complexion had changed to the blackness of Swedish coffee ( and that is black!). When her sister saw her, she made a grimase and complained that Cecilia looked like a Haitian! I laughed out loud and asked her sister, who for me is very dark, what she has against black people? Well, the whole thing was kinda jokish but still?

Isn?t it funny how people almost break their backs in attempts at creating an ?us and them? situation? Black people being racist about blacker people! So weird!!!

4. DR and Haiti:
To what extent is there an exchange of ideas, culture and business between DR and Haiti? I mean, here are two countries sharing the same island but from what little I know, these two countries are a world apart! So weird? In Sweden, we may make jokes about people from Norway and Denmark, but we really see them as our brothers and we share a lot with the. However, it is still a trauma for many people that Sweden stayed neutral in WW2, whilst the Nazis slaughtered our brothers and sisters in Norway and Denmark.

5. About jobs?
I have painfully realized that what makes me attractive on the European job market seem to be of no or little interest in DR. Last winter, before deciding to move to Saudi-Arabia, I sent my CV to 5 companies in Stockholm. 4 of them called me to an interview! I have done the same thing with companies in DR, but? well, d?you remember a song form the 60?s with the refrain ?Silence is Golden??

Who cares about multilingual skills in DR? People don?t tell me that it is good that I speak four languages, instead they complain that I don?t speak five!? Well, I am trying to learn that fifth language?

Who cares about international experience in such an insulated world as DR? In Sweden, I worked with the global implementation of ?Supply Chain Management? in my company. I had weekly contact with our companies on three continents. But is this concept even known in DR? Well? and so on? But perhaps I am wrong? Perhaps there is a host of global companies in DR just waiting to hire me as their Director in charge of co-ordinating their worldwide activities? Sorry for that touch of sarcasm?

Now, I will be quiet for a while?

Dear Deep Breath:

Here is my opinion:
1)You are absolutely right. Salsa is more sophisticated than merengue. It takes skills to dance salsa. Merengue is a no brainer in terms of music and dancing.
2)Dominicans come in all shades of color. The most prominent is color indio, and the most beautiful too. Black Dominican girls are gorgeous too.
3)Dominicans are as racist as white American Southerners from Alabama, except it doesn't show. We specially dislike Haitians, not just for their color but how backward they are.
4)Haiti is not a nation. Haiti is a savage big village from Africa in the Caribbean. Do not compare us with Haiti.
5)Believe it or not, our employees are very well trained and sophisticated in communications, computers and data processing. Our companies, not matter how small are mostly computerized and it requires international skills to have good jobs in the private sector. But more important, you have to know somebody to get a job, have contacts.Multilingual skills are required in many industries, specially the tourist industry.
TW

I think your main problem is that it seems to be you need to be in the DR before companies will consider you. Maybe not so much foreign owned companies as Dominican. Could be an economic reason...why pay for someone to move there if they can find someone already there. Like TW says, there are trained people there and also a lot of folks save up move there and then go on the job market.

Yeah, El Jefe, that is exactly what I am beginning to realize!

So I am planning on doing just that! Save up as much as I can, move there, live off the interest of my money and the income from Cecilia's 3 jobs (Hehehehehe! Well, I will cook dinner almost every weekend!) and infiltrate the job-market kinda from within!

I hear you John......

And TW's words ring true on this one.Yes many Dominicans are very color conscious,hard to beleive but it's true.Another thing you probably noticed is many of them want to be gringo-ized with blue contacts,hair straightened from a salon etc...terrible,these are the ones that need to find a mirror that works to see how ridiculous this looks.The ones I find hilarious is the ones that have the Mr.T starter kit with 4-5 lbs of the fake gold,packin cell phones and beepers that are'nt connected.All in all though you must say they are good people.

PJ