Do not miss the real La Romana. I just returned from a 60 day working trip to La Romana, DR. Although I stayed in a very expensive villa in Casa de Campo I spent most of my off duty time in the city. Not only did I fall in love with the city and its residents. I saw the good, bad and ugly side of everything. Mostly I saw the goodness of the Dominican people. Regardless of their station in life they are very caring and intelligent.
My story starts out in Casa de Campo. As an employee of an American billionaire I had been to Casa de Campo several times before. It is a fantastic vacation resort with 4 unbelievable golf courses and world class dining at La Marina and Altos. Multi-million dollar yachts, polo, shooting and a great beach all add to the pleasure of your stay. However this is not the real DR. The real DR can only be seen in the streets of the city, talking with the locals. Once you cross the bridge it is a different world. To me a very enchanting world.
It is a strange world to an American or European. It?s a world of poverty and despair. A world of hope and shattered dreams. A world of loving people who deserve better than the get.
Everyone in town seems to have a scam to relieve you of you money. At first this offended me but as I got to know the people it is the only way most can survive. There are little jobs to be found and a well paid citizen of La Romana may make $25USD per week. Twenty Five dollars for a 12hr. work day, working 6-7 days per week. If you can speak English and are lucky enough to work inside Casa de Campo you may make up $40USD per week. By any standards this would make it very difficult to feed, cloth and care for an individual let alone a family of 3 or 4. Yet somehow many Dominicans survive in just this way. So on you next visit loosen up your pocketbook.
From the time you pass the new Jumbo supermarket until you reach San Pedro open your eyes. Ask someone to take you Los Molos; there you can see the poorest of the poor. However how poor they seem to be most are extremely clean and opened their doors to me and a friend.
The saddest part of my story is that I lost my job and may not be able to return. My boss was very upset that I took several of my Dominican friends to one of his villas, where I was staying with the corporate pilots. It seems that it is not expectable for me to be on his property or in the La Marina restaurants with local residents who do not work inside Casa de Campo. Apparently I was seen with some very attractive black women dining. What would his friends and family think? Who cares?
My friends saw a part of their home town that they never would have had an opportunity to see. They had a great meal, some wine, and looked into shops windows that stock items that they never could afford. It is so inconceivable to me to understand how people with such wealth can have such prejudice.
Although I wish I could adopt a number of families from La Romana and help support their basic needs, I have chosen two sisters with 3 children to be the benefactors of the little monetary support I can provide. Both sister?s work but the little income they make makes life very difficult. I am sending them money on a monthly basis via Western Union. It is a great way to get money to them. They are able to receive it within 15min. from the time I send it.
One of the sisters, Sonya, works at Ram?n, a little bar and restaurant just across the street from Jumbo. It is a very lively place with loud Latin music and the coldest El Presidente in the entire DR. It is also one of the safest places in the entire city. Some of the girls who work there will prostitute themselves but most won?t. I have no problem with what they do as it is a means to support their children. Never judge until you walk in their shoes.
So the next time you are in La Romana, stop in at Ramons, have a cold one for me, met some of the locals and find out for yourself how wonderful the Dominican people really are.
My story starts out in Casa de Campo. As an employee of an American billionaire I had been to Casa de Campo several times before. It is a fantastic vacation resort with 4 unbelievable golf courses and world class dining at La Marina and Altos. Multi-million dollar yachts, polo, shooting and a great beach all add to the pleasure of your stay. However this is not the real DR. The real DR can only be seen in the streets of the city, talking with the locals. Once you cross the bridge it is a different world. To me a very enchanting world.
It is a strange world to an American or European. It?s a world of poverty and despair. A world of hope and shattered dreams. A world of loving people who deserve better than the get.
Everyone in town seems to have a scam to relieve you of you money. At first this offended me but as I got to know the people it is the only way most can survive. There are little jobs to be found and a well paid citizen of La Romana may make $25USD per week. Twenty Five dollars for a 12hr. work day, working 6-7 days per week. If you can speak English and are lucky enough to work inside Casa de Campo you may make up $40USD per week. By any standards this would make it very difficult to feed, cloth and care for an individual let alone a family of 3 or 4. Yet somehow many Dominicans survive in just this way. So on you next visit loosen up your pocketbook.
From the time you pass the new Jumbo supermarket until you reach San Pedro open your eyes. Ask someone to take you Los Molos; there you can see the poorest of the poor. However how poor they seem to be most are extremely clean and opened their doors to me and a friend.
The saddest part of my story is that I lost my job and may not be able to return. My boss was very upset that I took several of my Dominican friends to one of his villas, where I was staying with the corporate pilots. It seems that it is not expectable for me to be on his property or in the La Marina restaurants with local residents who do not work inside Casa de Campo. Apparently I was seen with some very attractive black women dining. What would his friends and family think? Who cares?
My friends saw a part of their home town that they never would have had an opportunity to see. They had a great meal, some wine, and looked into shops windows that stock items that they never could afford. It is so inconceivable to me to understand how people with such wealth can have such prejudice.
Although I wish I could adopt a number of families from La Romana and help support their basic needs, I have chosen two sisters with 3 children to be the benefactors of the little monetary support I can provide. Both sister?s work but the little income they make makes life very difficult. I am sending them money on a monthly basis via Western Union. It is a great way to get money to them. They are able to receive it within 15min. from the time I send it.
One of the sisters, Sonya, works at Ram?n, a little bar and restaurant just across the street from Jumbo. It is a very lively place with loud Latin music and the coldest El Presidente in the entire DR. It is also one of the safest places in the entire city. Some of the girls who work there will prostitute themselves but most won?t. I have no problem with what they do as it is a means to support their children. Never judge until you walk in their shoes.
So the next time you are in La Romana, stop in at Ramons, have a cold one for me, met some of the locals and find out for yourself how wonderful the Dominican people really are.
