moving to the DR for four months in Augest

JoeJoe

New member
Mar 6, 2006
36
0
0
I am going to do a study abroad program in Santo Domingo to go to school and learn spanish. I will be living with a host family and I will get two meals a day. I have friends down there and a boyfriend that I love very much (from when I went on an exposure trip and lived with a host family for a bit) but it wasn't a long term thing like this trip is going to be. I am a 19 year old girl and I know there are dangers for women to be in any different culture alone especially being as young as I am... I was always the one who got the attention down there (I think its the red hair) even though the attention was unwanted... everyone (including the suppervision) noticed the attention I got.. to be honest I am a bit nervous .. this is a whole different life.. and I'm so ready to take this life in but it's scary... a little.. Anyways the point to this thread is to ask anyone for any advice.. on living there.. or talk to anyone that has stayed there for a good amount of time.. thank you sooo much.
 

macocael

Bronze
Aug 3, 2004
929
10
0
www.darkhorseimages.com
Where will you be living, first of all? In the capital, one of the provincial cities, the campo? What is your program and how well is it supervised?

Listen, there is nothing to worry about, the experience is good for you. The purpose of travelling is to enter into different cultures, learn how different people think, and shed your preconceptions about life.

As for unwanted attention, granted it can be an annoyance, but if you react in a typical gringa manner you will only provoke them to be more insistent. when in Rome ----- do as the dominicanas do. Watch them, you will see, they handle it well. Redhead or no, you can maintain the control in this situation. Moreover, most dominican guys know where the lines are drawn and will not overstep them.

If a guy is being particularly annoying, tell him you are married. (Buy a cheap ring if you feel like having some camouflage, but it isnt necessary). If he continues undaunted, tell him you are married to a Haitian. that will shut him up.
 

macocael

Bronze
Aug 3, 2004
929
10
0
www.darkhorseimages.com
Ha! No, that is fine, that works, that is in fact what most dominicanas do -- but with style: a slight turning up of the nose, the ever so subtle implication being that "yeah, I know I am all that, but you?re not worth a second look." But I have seen tourists get visibly freaked out, the confusion registering visibly on their faces, and every time that happens the guy takes it as a sign to pounce, if only to tease the poor thing.

It is sort of like walking in a bad neighborhood with a slight panic written on one's face -- the denizens read that immediately and they feel compelled to taunt you, make you even more uncomfortable.

Best thing always is to walk like you know where you are going, dont shy away from people but dont confront them either (I have seen this too, it never works, it just makes things worse). You learn to put them in their place without stressing out over it.
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
My mom gave me the advice of "walk like you know where you are going" when in a strange place when I headed to NY to study at Columbia University. I remember I once did that in one of the first times I used the NY subway in the company of girlfriend, who also was not savy with the subway. We actually walked into a dead end in the NY subway. I remember the look on a policeman on patrol. He couldn't understand the determination on our faces!

Anyway, that is always good advice. If you look like a victim, you will become a victim. That's what they would tell us foreign students when at Columbia University Journalism School about our neighborhood.

Tell us where you will be living and maybe more specific insight can be given.

From what I hear, host family experiences here and abroad are a lottery. You can win the lottery and meet the best people and establish a friendship for life, or you can bum out. Or you can turn it into a truly cultural experience, using the host family as a platform to branch out and grow. I think chances are the experience will be a very good one. You can always talk things over with the DR1 crew.

Re your red hair.... do not think so much about it. You have a right to be different. Feel good about it.
 

JoeJoe

New member
Mar 6, 2006
36
0
0
I will be living in Santo Domingo... and I do have a boyfriend that already lives there (yes he is dominican lol) and he goes to school in Santo Domingo as well ...
 

macocael

Bronze
Aug 3, 2004
929
10
0
www.darkhorseimages.com
Dolores, I love that anecdote! That kind of thing can happen in the NY subways even to NYers. Notice that the true NYer, after running into that dead end, will turn round and march just as determinedly in the other direction, never ever letting on that he or she doesnt know what is what, and of course never ever asking for directions!

But Yeah OP, we need some more details -- dont be too specific, but just basic things like the name of the nabe, the school where you will be enrolled, etc. Dont sweat it, you will catch on, and certainly your boyfriend ought to be able to help you read the cultural clues, get oriented and learn how to react.

Look if things go sour, and I doubt they will, you can always find help here. My wife and I have helped several stranded travellers and it is no problem. Things like that are easily taken care of because even a big city like St Domingo still has a bit of the old time community feel to it, and people here help one another.
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
macocael said:
Dolores, I love that anecdote! That kind of thing can happen in the NY subways even to NYers. Notice that the true NYer, after running into that dead end, will turn round and march just as determinedly in the other direction, never ever letting on that he or she doesnt know what is what, and of course never ever asking for directions!

That's what we did, but we still chuckle about it when we remember!
 

JoeJoe

New member
Mar 6, 2006
36
0
0
I don't know exactly where in Santo Domingo I will be I will know further down the road when I book the date's etc. I just know I will be staying with a host family close to the school (which is by the university ..which university I could ask but I'm not sure at this point) and the name of the program is "applelanguages" they are situated all over the world from italy and germany to costa rico and spain lol ..
 

macocael

Bronze
Aug 3, 2004
929
10
0
www.darkhorseimages.com
Yeah, the website for Apple languages is none too clear about this: either you will be in the "center of the city" or "near the university, in a properous area." I am guessing that the former is near the colonial zone and the latter is the university city near the UASD. Could be wrong though. Either way, you will be well situated and once you learn the public transport routes (conchos, or publicos, and the bus system), you will find that getting around is quite easy. When you learn more fill us in -- or as you learn more, and thus will probably have more detailed questions, ask us then and we might be able to help more.