How do you see a gringo?

DominicanScotty

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Jun 12, 2004
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I figured I would try a thread. I always wondered how gringos that either live here as ex-pats, fugitives, or tourists view each other. What do we do that ****es each other off? What do we do that ****es off our hosts, the Dominicans? What do we find comical about what a gringo does or says? What do we do that amuses Dominicans??

This is meant to be a fun thread so please let's keep it light!
 

dulce

Silver
Jan 1, 2002
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It ticked me off when expats bragged about how much money they had and then were so cheap that they squeak when they walk.
I ticked off Dominicans when I was always on time.
Dominicans laughed at my bad Spanish but then taught me the right way to say things.
It amused Dominicans when I went grocery shopping and bought enough food for 3 weeks at a time for one person. They buy one meals food at a time.
 

eztxb

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Jul 17, 2006
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and i wonder

if and when i move there which is a good possiblilty,,, can i handle the electricty, water, roads, paying bills with no mail,,, i read the fourm everyday,, and listen to all,, had my experience with sankies so i have that part down,,, had a few on my 1st visit that was enough,,, but i do love the nature and beauty of the country,,, just wonder if i will fit in but as all have said i will rent first,,, two weeks does not make for a life change,,, i live in texas and if i want a sankie i only have to look out my door,,, the DR does not have them all they are everywhere,,, i am in love with a cuban and i could write a book about all that,,, 4 yrs now,,, one piece of advice for anyone NEVER EVER get involved with a long distance thing,,, if you can have them and hold them and take them home OK,,, or else forget it!!!!
 

DominicanScotty

On Vacation!
Jun 12, 2004
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Another post for a different thread

if and when i move there which is a good possiblilty,,, can i handle the electricty, water, roads, paying bills with no mail,,, i read the fourm everyday,, and listen to all,, had my experience with sankies so i have that part down,,, had a few on my 1st visit that was enough,,, but i do love the nature and beauty of the country,,, just wonder if i will fit in but as all have said i will rent first,,, two weeks does not make for a life change,,, i live in texas and if i want a sankie i only have to look out my door,,, the DR does not have them all they are everywhere,,, i am in love with a cuban and i could write a book about all that,,, 4 yrs now,,, one piece of advice for anyone NEVER EVER get involved with a long distance thing,,, if you can have them and hold them and take them home OK,,, or else forget it!!!!



Eztxb,

You make some points, however they are for a different thread. Perhaps you have not been down here enough to form an opinion on ex-pats, tourists etc. Read the question, it is about what you think about gringos and what Dominicans feel about gringos.
 

GringoCArlos

Retired Ussername
Jan 9, 2002
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I'm a gringo that usually avoids other gringos. What, you think I left "there" to come here and spend time with "them"? I left for a reason. Here on DR1 is as close as I choose to come to being around gringos.

I have one gringo "friend" who does nothing but biches and moans about dominicans and how dirty they make things, and then proceeds to throw whatever trash is on my passenger side out of the door before he gets in for a free ride. Axxhole.

Tourists? Why doesn't someone write a pamphlet to hand out to every tourist arriving here. Answer the 30 most common questions, so I don't have to. Every single time. I'm bored. If they ask me "Do you speak English?" I answer "sprechensie deutsch?" and walk away.

As for dominicans. I am doing my best to make them recognize a California salute, every single time I go for a spin. Maybe someday they'll realize that they DON'T know how to drive very well. In the meantime, I'll continue to vent.
 

jrzyguy

Bronze
May 5, 2004
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Eztxb,

You make some points, however they are for a different thread. Perhaps you have not been down here enough to form an opinion on ex-pats, tourists etc. Read the question, it is about what you think about gringos and what Dominicans feel about gringos.


I agree..this thread isnt about sankies. I am not an ex-pat...but would like to hear the related stories.
 

jaguarbob

Bronze
Mar 2, 2004
1,426
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I figured I would try a thread. I always wondered how gringos that either live here as ex-pats, fugitives, or tourists view each other. What do we do that ****es each other off? What do we do that ****es off our hosts, the Dominicans? What do we find comical about what a gringo does or says? What do we do that amuses Dominicans??

This is meant to be a fun thread so please let's keep it light!

I am an expat living for a few years in SD...I get a laugh at the white,fat gringas,walking down the el conde,with their colored wrist bands,face red as bee from the beach,with their hair braided like a barrio chicka... big ass with too tight pants on below the waist,and her boy friend falling over himself looking at all the dominican beauties passing by...

bob
 

Larry

Gold
Mar 22, 2002
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It botheres me when I see gringos that are here for years and still look or act like tourists here for the first time. Some people have made no effort to adapt to their surroundings. They wear shorts or T-shirts out to restaurants, refuse to learn to speak Spanish, etc. It bothers me because I live here and as a gringo, I feel it reflects negatively on me.

There is a big "gringo stigma" in this country. In some of the touristy areas, it is strong and gringos are a "mark" for everyone. They are overcharged for everything, robbed, etc. Here, in SD, is is not nearly that bad, however, if the three gringos that visited a restaurant before me were poorly dressed, spoke little Spanish and heavily overtipped, the restaurant staff thinks all gringos are morons with money falling out of their pockets and I am treated accordingly.

Too many of us come down here with some money and our American values and think everyone we encounter will have to adapt to us. Well, they wont. The more of an effort we make to adapt to our new culture, the easier our lives are here. Unfortunately, too many foreigners dont care or dont want to hear it.

Last week, I took a girl (Dominican) out for lunch in the colonial zone and afterwards we walked to the cathedral in Parque Colon and as we approached the cathedral, I told her some of it's history, what date it was constructed, etc. I knew these things because I have been in the cathedral a million times. Later we walked to Parque Independencia and I took her to see the shrine of Duarte, Mella and Sanchez which she didn't even know was there. She was shocked that an American would know any of the history of this country.

I am just rambling and haven't had a cup of coffee yet but there are some points in there :).

Larry
 
Sep 19, 2005
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Hey Larry..what you need to remember is that you will walk past 1,000 people each day down there and 990 will ignore you or let you blend in and do your thing, and or treat you like anyone else...and 10 will treat you bad or try to take advantage of you, or curse you for having a nice dominican girl.... and you will only remember the 10......its too bad....and not fair to the 990 that treated you the way you wanted to be treated.

The truth is that same thing can happen in america...but you-we arent keen on it, so we dont even notice. You-we need to readily recognize that small percentage that will give us trouble and avoid them..and just live with the little issues. tyhe little issues being the hatians in the city streets that beg for money...they let 99% of the dimincans walk by but hit 100% of the tourist looking people. groups of non dominicans stand out..if you are alone , you blend in more.

I agree with the north american women tourist description...very white girls in obvious vacation clothing, with sunburnt faces and a lot with the braids they just got on vacation......I avoid them if at all possible.....

I still get lots of looks in Santiago... I am not sure if its because of my good looking girl friend or my big bald head........You still dont see a lot of white, white folks walking the streets in Santiago.

Of all the tourist people I have seen in outside of the resort areas, few ever try to talk to me..........

the biggest gripe I have is the blatant rip off attitude of some of the men who take money as part of their job. Last friday night at the BIU pub while seeing Eddy Herrera the waiter took my 2,000 pesos for a 1,400 peso bill...and never came back...30 minutes i waited..i saw him....when I went looking the other guys covered for him...and played dumb.....until I went into the kitchen area , in obvious anger.....I walked all through the service areas, and when i came out he was making a bee line for me, saying he had been looking for me....total BS....It is gonna be tough getting over that kind of treatment for me......I could easily give a 600 peso tip at any time.....but I become some else when I get ripped off.......I know that would be bad for other expats if one of us goes off.........but thats life..

bob
 

alabemos

New member
Dec 15, 2004
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Gringos bug me...

* When they hire people at less than a living wage shamelessly.

*When they dress inappropriately. I don't want to hang out with anyone whose dress (often shorts) screams out "tourista!" It makes me the object of interest to beggars, thieves, and con artists, as well as the curious passerby, if I'm walking with such an expat, it makes me look like I am likewise as clueless/disrespectful of the culture.

*One thing that is comical is when an expat has been here for several years, but still self righteously (or cluelessly) insists on going to everything "on time," therefore arriving way too early.
 

Kyle

Silver
Jun 2, 2006
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as a tourist what bugs me is other tourists who are prisoners on the AI's. they think there are landmines outside the front door of an AI waiting to blow them up if they set foot outside. i prefer local hotels. i also gripe with tourists who pay way too much for a chica in the clubs. they make it bad for gringos like me who only want to give up 1000 pesos or less... LOL

what *****s off dominican men about me is that i can speak enough spanish to handle myself and they can't *******t me. and they also see me cruising around in a car picking up their chicas while not offering them a ride...LOL
 

Larry

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Mar 22, 2002
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the biggest gripe I have is the blatant rip off attitude of some of the men who take money as part of their job. Last friday night at the BIU pub while seeing Eddy Herrera the waiter took my 2,000 pesos for a 1,400 peso bill...and never came back...30 minutes i waited..i saw him....when I went looking the other guys covered for him...and played dumb.....until I went into the kitchen area , in obvious anger.....I walked all through the service areas, and when i came out he was making a bee line for me, saying he had been looking for me....total BS....It is gonna be tough getting over that kind of treatment for me......I could easily give a 600 peso tip at any time.....but I become some else when I get ripped off.......I know that would be bad for other expats if one of us goes off.........but thats life..

bob

Bob, although you are a tourist, you are not the typical tourist. You have seen more of this country than I have.

Your point that I quoted is a perfect example of what I am referring to. That waiter tried to rip you off because of previous interrection with gringos. I hope you left him no tip because that's what Dominicans do anyway. That is the BIG lesson in here DO WHAT DOMINICANS DO. We are the morons that leave the big tips. Because of that, they think we are fools. I have spoken out on this in many threads. I always get resistance from tourists and even got a pm telling me that I was trying to keep "Dominicans down". I bet you that same waiter would NEVER try to pull that stunt on a well dressed Dominican because he might wind up getting shot.

Living here, I see things much more clearly that I did when visiting. I was eating lunch in a place one day here in SD and at the next table was some scumbag street guy with a table full of tourists. He was probably a deportee as he spoke English and the tourists were buying him beer and food and probably paying him a ton of money (by Dominican standards) to "show them around". This same guy probably went back to his friends and laughed about these stupid tourists who paid him a months wages for a day of eating and drinking. Tourists, of course, dont know any better. We, who live here have to deal with the ramifications.

My complaint is of people who live here and continue to do things that reflect negatively on other ex-pats.

Larry
 
Sep 19, 2005
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Larry , I am slowly learning the dynamics of tipping. And am starting to lean towards your train of thought....I have never been CHEAP, so not tipping is a tough thing to get used to.

Lately I have made an effort to read the bills more closely. I see the ITBIS and I see the line that say 10% on the bills, and it seems they are on every bill I get. I even got a bill with the ITBIS and 10% tip at a CABANA!!!!!!!!!!!

I am wondering if the sodas and ice bucket is what allows them to charge me the 10%.....but they got you by the gonads...because who is gonna start a bitching match with a hole in the wall, especially when your spanish is rudamentary at best.......

This past weekend...I took my change back from the little bill book they give you and put it back in the dumbwaiter( if you dont return it, they buzz and buzz you until you do) and I accidentally left a 5 peso coin in it that I didnt see....that guy buzzed me back and cursed me like crazy.. then spit, in anger( I could hear it easily).....I almost broke the damm wooden door off the dumbwaiter.......because I havent honed my dominican attitude to the level it needs to be at......I tip the cleaning lady by putting the money under the pillow on the bed...so the guy who checks to see if you stole or broke anything doesnt get it...

bob
 
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Larry

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Mar 22, 2002
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Larry , I am slowly learnign the dynamics of tipping. And am starting to leanr towards your train of though....I have never been CHEAP so not tipping is a tought thing to get used to.

Lately I have made an effort to read the bills more closely. I see the ITBIS and I see the line that say 10% on the bills, and it seems they are on every bill I get. I even got a bill with the ITBIS and 10% tip at a CABANA!!!!!!!!!!!

I am wondering if the sodas and ice bucket is what allows them to charge me the 10%.....but they got you by the gonads...because who is gonna start a bitching match with a hole in the wall, especially when your spanish is rudamentary at best.......this past weekend...I took my change back from the little bill book they give you and put it back in the dumbwaiter( if you dont retunr it the buzz and buzz you until you do) and I accidentally left a 5 peso coin in it that I didnt see....that guy buzzed me back and cursed me like crazy.. then spit, in anger( I could hear it easily).....I almost broke the damm wooden door off the dumbwaiter.......because I havent honed my dominican attitude to the level it needs to be at......I tip the cleaning lady by putting the money under the pillow on the bed...so the guy who checks to see if you stole or broke anythign doesnt get it...

bob

Was there already a 10% gratuity on the bill when you left the 5 pesos?

You would have been better off leaving nothing instead of the 5 pesos because he probably took that as an insult. I used to go to a bar here in Gazcue, SD and always left 20 pesos or so for a 100 peso bar bill. I did this despite the fact that I saw Dominicans regularly leave nothing. Like you said, it is hard not to leave a tip becasue you feel cheap. In the United States we always tip. Anyway, one night I paid the bill and then only had a 5 peso coin and a 50 peso note left. I wasn't going to leave a 50 peso tip on a 100 peso bill and seeing that I always tipped well, I just left the 5 peso coin that time. Well, the bartender gave it back to me and said "I dont want that". I said, "why not" and she said "dont insult me". So, NOW, I leave NOTHING like all the Dominicans do there. Did I learn something or did she? I know I did but I doubt she did.

Larry
 
Sep 19, 2005
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larry I left the 5 pesos by ACCIDENT...... and amazes me that a bill from a cabana where you bought nothing extra is 6" long!!!!!!!!!!!

I understand the fact thast not tipping is better than leaving a few pesos.... Ileft a store once and had 3 single peso coins in my hand from change...I saw a young kid outside and just offered it to him, and he refused them!..thats was out in the barrio..where they dont beg for money......I felt bad, I insulted the kid i think.

I have started to get to know many store owners in the Las Carreras area and in the old section of town. And I am realizing it could become a big pain as a few are now asking me iof I can pick things up for them on my next trip, because they know I leave and return often to see my GF.

bob
 

M.A.R.

Silver
Feb 18, 2006
3,210
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I agree with the north american women tourist description...very white girls in obvious vacation clothing, with sunburnt faces and a lot with the braids they just got on vacation......I avoid them if at all possible.....

I still get lots of looks in Santiago... I am not sure if its because of my good looking girl friend or my big bald head........You still dont see a lot of white, white folks walking the streets in Santiago.
Of all the tourist people I have seen in outside of the resort areas, few ever try to talk to me..........


bob

Listen Bob I think you look more Cibae?o than most Cibae?os.
 

Everett

New member
Jun 8, 2006
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Since 20% service is customary, assuming there was "service", I leave the extra 10%. If it is a "no tablecloth" dining experience I leave 5%. Bartenders who are on top of things always get the benefit of the doubt with my tipping. I agree that a small tip is insulting.
I suspect that some business owners do not pay out the entirety of the 10% service collected to their wait staff.
 

rafael

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Jan 2, 2002
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I agree that leaving 5 pesos is an insult. One night at Adrian tropical on the malecon we had HORRIBLE service. My novia said don't leave a tip. . . . .I left 5 pesos. . . . 5 pesos is seen as an insult while leaving nothing isn't.

Was there already a 10% gratuity on the bill when you left the 5 pesos?

You would have been better off leaving nothing instead of the 5 pesos because he probably took that as an insult. I used to go to a bar here in Gazcue, SD and always left 20 pesos or so for a 100 peso bar bill. I did this despite the fact that I saw Dominicans regularly leave nothing. Like you said, it is hard not to leave a tip becasue you feel cheap. In the United States we always tip. Anyway, one night I paid the bill and then only had a 5 peso coin and a 50 peso note left. I wasn't going to leave a 50 peso tip on a 100 peso bill and seeing that I always tipped well, I just left the 5 peso coin that time. Well, the bartender gave it back to me and said "I dont want that". I said, "why not" and she said "dont insult me". So, NOW, I leave NOTHING like all the Dominicans do there. Did I learn something or did she? I know I did but I doubt she did.

Larry
 

rafael

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Jan 2, 2002
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I have been living in SDQ on an off for a few years and hang out with mostly dominicans. I think I do a pretty good job of trying to assimilate. . . . but the shorts thing. . . . .

I never used to where shorts here or anywhere else. . . . .now I have realized that being comfortable is more important than worrying about what some people may think.

I can sit outside with a bunch of dominicans all complaining about how hot it is and I am not even breaking a sweat! I have seen more dominicans wearing shorts these days as well.

I have gone to plenty of restaurants wearing shorts and t shirts along with sandals. . . . .it all depends on the place. . . . .lol. . . .I was in the jaragua last week watching a met game and wore shorts. . . .on the way back home we passed this little bar in gazcue that has live music, that we alwasy wanted to check out, but I didn't go in because I was wearing shorts.

I have worn shorts to the Outback and Tony Romas etc. . . . .I guess down here people go "out to eat" at outback. . . . I am used to Outback being a more casual. . . .lets grab a bite to eat type place.

I wouldn't go to Bricciola, Vesuvio or Porterhouse with shorts. Heck last week I was out at a little dive bar watching the cards.padres game and wearing shorts was not a problem. . . ..I then felt like going the the steakhouse bar. . . . but would not go there in shorts.

If I have planned going out I usually dress accordingly. Many times I am out and about during the day, wearing shorts and decide to go to Fridays or Champions. . . . . I don't bother going home to change. . .


It botheres me when I see gringos that are here for years and still look or act like tourists here for the first time. Some people have made no effort to adapt to their surroundings. They wear shorts or T-shirts out to restaurants, refuse to learn to speak Spanish, etc. It bothers me because I live here and as a gringo, I feel it reflects negatively on me.

There is a big "gringo stigma" in this country. In some of the touristy areas, it is strong and gringos are a "mark" for everyone. They are overcharged for everything, robbed, etc. Here, in SD, is is not nearly that bad, however, if the three gringos that visited a restaurant before me were poorly dressed, spoke little Spanish and heavily overtipped, the restaurant staff thinks all gringos are morons with money falling out of their pockets and I am treated accordingly.

Too many of us come down here with some money and our American values and think everyone we encounter will have to adapt to us. Well, they wont. The more of an effort we make to adapt to our new culture, the easier our lives are here. Unfortunately, too many foreigners dont care or dont want to hear it.

Last week, I took a girl (Dominican) out for lunch in the colonial zone and afterwards we walked to the cathedral in Parque Colon and as we approached the cathedral, I told her some of it's history, what date it was constructed, etc. I knew these things because I have been in the cathedral a million times. Later we walked to Parque Independencia and I took her to see the shrine of Duarte, Mella and Sanchez which she didn't even know was there. She was shocked that an American would know any of the history of this country.

I am just rambling and haven't had a cup of coffee yet but there are some points in there :).

Larry