on my travels in the dom rep, i have noticed that the foreigners, expats, layabouts, or whatever you want to call them that live up on the north coast do have "it" cushy compared to us in the south....a la capital (french, not spanish).
don't let them kid you, the people up there do not assimilate to the dominican culture as much as they would like you to believe....in fact, i daresay it is the reverse. the dominicans are the ones doing the assimilating.
i recently read a post from the master, here in the south, criss colon, about how some evil dominican york woman parked her vehicle in front of his clinic......and the events that followed.
apparently he didn't lose his cool and insisted in speaking spanish in answer to her english 'patois'.
i just can't see this happening on the north coast.
amongst others, it was chirrymiry who said she has a lot of experience travelling/living here and there, but i'm sure even this lady would attest to the fact that santo domingo does not have the same expat atmosphere as most other countries visited or lived in.
no. the capital is purely dominican (unlike the north coast). you do miss a lot if you don't speak spanish, and it can be tough to get ahead. you also need a lot more 'grit' than those who live on the north coast.
however, here is what i like........in the capital, if you are white, you are assumed to be a gringo. in the north, if you are white, you can be walking on the beach, or on the road, etc. .....and be greeted by those most international of words "sprechen sie deutsch?".....to which you can turn around, with a twinkle in your eye, and say "f*ck off, you wanker! i speak english."..........................absolute classic.
it just doesn't work in the capital.
people who live in santiago - foreign or dominican are just so "comparona" that nobody gives a toss about them anyway.
don't let them kid you, the people up there do not assimilate to the dominican culture as much as they would like you to believe....in fact, i daresay it is the reverse. the dominicans are the ones doing the assimilating.
i recently read a post from the master, here in the south, criss colon, about how some evil dominican york woman parked her vehicle in front of his clinic......and the events that followed.
apparently he didn't lose his cool and insisted in speaking spanish in answer to her english 'patois'.
i just can't see this happening on the north coast.
amongst others, it was chirrymiry who said she has a lot of experience travelling/living here and there, but i'm sure even this lady would attest to the fact that santo domingo does not have the same expat atmosphere as most other countries visited or lived in.
no. the capital is purely dominican (unlike the north coast). you do miss a lot if you don't speak spanish, and it can be tough to get ahead. you also need a lot more 'grit' than those who live on the north coast.
however, here is what i like........in the capital, if you are white, you are assumed to be a gringo. in the north, if you are white, you can be walking on the beach, or on the road, etc. .....and be greeted by those most international of words "sprechen sie deutsch?".....to which you can turn around, with a twinkle in your eye, and say "f*ck off, you wanker! i speak english."..........................absolute classic.
it just doesn't work in the capital.
people who live in santiago - foreign or dominican are just so "comparona" that nobody gives a toss about them anyway.