Points of Etiquette in the DR

If the children are very young,

you will want to put anything valuable and breakable out of their reach! Dominican child rearing consists of feeding them,and not much more! Parents "say","No!",then never follow through.
Let me know how they behave? Cris Coplon

toby said:

My family will be having an informal dinner party with guests from the DR. Maybe DR1 can contribute points of etiquette to make our guest feel at home. Our guests are new to Canada and will be bringing thier children and extended family. We very much look forward to our evening. Any points of etiquette would be appreciated. Toby

Click to expand...

Basically, Dominicans are just like the rest of us re etiquette, just MUCH more openly friendly!! Welcome them enthusiastically at the door (big hugs, lots of smiles, embraces, pats on the back etc.), put a cervesa in their hands & let them lead the party!! Keep the conversation fairly low key to start off with, talk about families & who is doing 'what', 'where', & 'how well they are dpoing it' & the party will take it's own course thereafter.

I take Criss' point about keeping things above child finger height, well intentioned & generally correct. Dominican parents have the ability to let the children live their own life (nothing wrong with that) but this includes letting others control their children for them. DON'T be worried about chastising the child should something get investigated too enthusiastically - the parents won't mind you correcting them - they EXPECT it!!

Have a FUN evening & let us know the outcome & how much the insurance claim is for!!! - Grahame.

To begin with: If you're having a Dominican family over for dinner just be yourself as they will expect to mold their visit around your "style", this said Dominicans enjoy every single part of their daily lives, eating and drinking it's just as fun as going to the beach, we love to engage in a wide range of issues when at the table since it's one of those moments when families do come together at home, don't expect them to be waited on or need to have a salad fork etc laid out on the table for an "Alta Etiqueta" dinner, the normal 3 piece of flatware should do just fine, my family loved to serve a chilled wine with a good dinner I don't see how this could hurt, some Lancers or Martini & Rosse could just do the trick, kids are mostly allowed to behave with the same freedom an adult has while at the table, by this I mean not to expect them to be eating everything served on your menu if they dislike it or plain and simple looks too unfamiliar to their eyes yet good conduct it's the rule of the land and you're expected to impart some of it with freedom, unlike other cultures Dominicans see other people's calling their child to good conduct as a need for their social integration and most of the time a must, just act as if you were having over your sister's kids for brunch and all will fall into place soon thereafter.

But of course a sweet dessert it's all but expected after a extraordinary dinner, a black cafe wouldn't hurt a bit and some sweets for the children would help bring about an ear to ear smile on the children at best.

Right after dinner it's when the action takes place, lively conversation would be floating around the room soon thereafter, children are expected to go play around in some other room within an eye shot from the adults allowing for an adult's only lively discussion on many topics of which many family related stories would be the prime rib, load your pockets with some of your family "funny moments" and you shall reign victory over the clan!

Don't expect them to come black tied and nightdress attired, for the most part when we visit good friends Dominicans are casual in their dressing, the more casual the more they feel at home with you.

If you want to captivate the children attention depending on their ages of course, you can have some rental movies handy by the DVD or VCR to ease the moving around of the children in the house.

And last but not least: Have fun! you're expected to engage with them in having a good time.

If they are late

If they are late to the dinner party, do not get uptight. Being punctual is a behavior that is not forced upon a Dominican. Therefore, if your guests roll up to your door after all the champagne cocktails have been lost to grandpa, break out the imported Presidentes and have a good time.

Regards,
PJT

Brinda Cervezas!

Beer and more beer, did you notice how often they drink the stuff in DR? Well, any social event will include it. If you cant find Presidentes, Heinekens will do as a good substitute.

You have to let us know how it went.

As an aside, I would not put out Grandma's china.

Enough booze, but not too much. There seems to be a standard of behaviour that nothing, and I mean nothing can remain in a bottle.

Have fun.

HB

Toby,
Like people from any country Domincans can can differ when it comes to rules of etiquette.
Picahrdo states;"don't expect them to be waited on or need to have a salad fork etc laid out on the table for an "Alta Etiqueta" dinner, the normal 3 piece of flatware should do just fine, my family loved to serve a chilled wine with a good dinner I don't see how this could hurt, some Lancers or Martini & Rosse" While that might be true for some Dominicans there are others who would be quite unimpressed if the table wasn't set correctly or were served "chilled" Lancers. These are the kind of families who still "Dress for Dinner."
Basically it all depends on the type of people they are. While for most Dominicans the previous posts are pretty acurate there are still Dominicans who hold etiquette and manners with great importance.

Just like Tony C said

that is it. It all depends on what type of family are you inviting.
For example I have two aunts (I hope that they are not reading this :nervous: ) that they follow the European ettiquette (most medium/high class in Santiago do this) and they just won't feel comfortable unless they have red wine for red meat, white wine for white meat and fish and silverware. Then I have this other family that they just feel comfortable just having the typical fork/knife/spoon and some soda. So it really depends on what the family is like.
One thing is the family is new to the country if you are serving steak by all means make sure to use a REGULAR knife, regular silver or flatware not one of those steaks knifes that are so ordinary. :nervous:

VirginiaGomes said:

that is it. It all depends on what type of family are you inviting.
For example I have two aunts (I hope that they are not reading this :nervous: ) that they follow the European ettiquette (most medium/high class in Santiago do this) and they just won't feel comfortable unless they have red wine for red meat, white wine for white meat and fish and silverware. Then I have this other family that they just feel comfortable just having the typical fork/knife/spoon and some soda. So it really depends on what the family is like.
One thing is the family is new to the country if you are serving steak by all means make sure to use a REGULAR knife, regular silver or flatware not one of those steaks knifes that are so ordinary. :nervous:

Click to expand...

Miss Gomez please pay attention to the date the last post was recorded in the thread so posters don't get confused about a notice from the dead threads!
I was one!
LOL
Have a nice day!

Ooopsie!

Sorry Pichardo but I think that the forum is kinda cocoo today, because I found this thread at the front of the homepage like a brand new thread and if you notice also the message that you just posted a couple of minutes ago is showing date of May 2003 if I am not wrong. And the one that I responded show January 2004 although we just answer on 3/16/2003.

BTW is Gomes with a S at the end.

:bunny: *Virginia* :bunny:

Virginia,I vote for "BLACK" type only!

For me,at least,the "colors" are hard to read! Cris Colon