An observation....

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eralc777

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Do all Dominicans not like to walk? I noticed while I was in DR last week that when giving people a lift, they had to be dropped off right at their destination, no matter how much out of the way that might be, or the state of the road you have to drive down. I suggested dropping a friend off at the end of their road one night so we could get home a little quicker, and they looked at me as I were crazy. I do that all the time in England for convenience and no-one seems to mind.
Also, me and my boyfriend went to the beach one day to meet up with some friends and I parked at the opposite end of the beach by accident and so we had to walk a bit to get to our friends. My boyfriend was not impressed and complained for the rest of the day that I made him walk for an hour to get there. It was only a 10 minute walk, that I found quite peaceful along the beach but he did nothing but moan.
Has anyone else noticed this? Is this a general Dominican thing or do I just have a lazy boyfriend?
 
Keith R

Keith R

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Does sound like you have a whiney BF. Most Dominicans (except the pampered class, of course ;) ) I know are well accustomed to walking, and walk far more than their North American counterparts.
 
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eralc777

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His friends also seemed not to like to walk too far. Or maybe they just liked cruising around in the jeep. Why do Dominicans whine then?
 
Keith R

Keith R

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The Dominicans I know (I lived there for four years) never whined about walking. My guess is that your BF and his buddies wouldn't protest about being dropped off down the road or down the beach if it was one of their local Dominican friends or neighbors offering the ride. They do it with you because they figure they can get away with it... just MHO.
 
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eralc777

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I suppose....maybe next time I go I wont get a car and then I will see how much difference it makes. I remember staying with him for the first time and we walked everywhere and it was me that was complaining. I blame the car!
 
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azabache

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Now that you mention it, eralc777, I have noticed the same thing. They want to be dropped off so as not to have to take even one extra step....and a "thank you" is extremely rare. I can't figure it out.
 
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RHM

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Keith R said:
The Dominicans I know (I lived there for four years) never whined about walking. My guess is that your BF and his buddies wouldn't protest about being dropped off down the road or down the beach if it was one of their local Dominican friends or neighbors offering the ride. They do it with you because they figure they can get away with it... just MHO.
Click to expand...

Add to that...

If you drop them off anywhere but in front...the neighbors won't see him getting dropped off by his gringa girlfriend.

Scandall
 
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AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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This is the deal: He is broke, no car no nothing. He takes conchos to get around. He, most probably, lives in some callejon of some ugly barrio. So he is used to walking a lot under the hot june sun. He is full of shrimp when he complains about walking. He is only trying to act too elegant to walk. Maybe his excuse is that why even walk 10 feet when you have a rental car? Maybe he is not so thrilled to walk 20 mins down the beach, remember, he was born by the beach so beach is not such a hot place to walk 20 mins in afternoon. Tourists come here and get knocked out by local beach and presidente beer. This is no big deal for the locals.
Next time, find a boyfriend who has his own car, then he will drive you around and you can bitch all day, why you never get to walk.
AZB
 
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eralc777

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Azabache,

Im so glad someone else noticed it. A few of the people were really grateful and said thank you, but some didnt bother. I dont like walking in Uk but I dont mind it over there. In fact, while waiting for my boyfriend to get something from his home, my friend and I decided to go for a walk round the neighbourhood. We told my boyfriend and his friend and they laughed at us walking for fun. They asked us what the point was.
 
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Chirimoya

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Look at it this way - as a non-English person who lived in England for many years, it used to irk me that people would never give lifts if it meant going one inch out of their way. Where I come from, if you're the one with the car, it's customary to take the other people home - within reason of course.
 
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M.A.R.

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I have two brothers who don't go out of their way to give anyone a lift. I don't mind giving someone at lift right to their front door.
 
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dv8

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i walk to work every day and hardly ever see anyone else walking. before azb jumps on a chance to mock me, we do have a car but i cannot drive anyways.

in london i used to walk to and from work every day on the grounds of my motion sickness and general lack of excercise. route angel-bond st took me about 45 minutes when bus 73 would do the same in 50 min, go figure.

whan i say about my daily walking practice back in civilisation i am met with disbelieve. dominicans i know do not seem to get my idea of getting some air (yeah, i know, fumes) and excercise every morning and afternoon when i could travel in comfort on guagua with 20 other people and a box of live chickens... why indeed? LOL
 
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conny

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I had the same experience

eralc777 said:
His friends also seemed not to like to walk too far. Or maybe they just liked cruising around in the jeep. Why do Dominicans whine then?
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Well, let me tell you that in one year i heard that very often from my ex.When I suggested once to walk from Costa Dorada to Playa Dorada he looked at me as if Isuggested to fly to the moon.But he did walk with me then.Most of the Dominicans I met didnt like to walk.
Conny
 
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Chip00

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My experience is that many but not all Dominicans do not like to walk if they can get a ride instead. In fact when I have to pick up my sister in law at the JMC Hospital in Santiago she won't even walk out to the street - I have to enter and get behind traffic at the Emergency entrance.

Also I remeber one time when I lived in an area near San Luis outside of Moca I asked a few people what they all thought if I walked to Moca (about 5 km) and they all had a good belly laugh.

I have noticed the neighborjood where I live that people are now walking more for exercise.
 
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miguel

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Jul 2, 2003
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Vago.....

eralc777 said:
Is this a general Dominican thing or do I just have a lazy boyfriend?
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You just have a lazy boyfriend.

He is probably thinking: "Contra, why do I have to walk when my g/f is driving a car?. Like the old saying goes: "why milk the cow when you can get the milk for free".

How does he gets to places when mami is not there with a car to drive him around?.

I am sure he is one of those guys that, when no one is looking, walks all over the place and doesn't complain about it, but makes believe he is annoyed when mami has a car "able and ready" for him. Works all the time.
 
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CFA123

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May 29, 2004
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eralc777 said:
Do all Dominicans not like to walk?
Click to expand...

Silly question... I can't imagine not driving a little extra distance to keep a friend from having to walk. It's a courtesy, seems to me. But then again, I'm surprised he'd complain.

No one I remember ever had a problem walking that I can recall, unless they were trying to avoid getting a tan by being in the sun. Quite the contrary. Heck, I've even thought that's part of what keeps so many Dominicans slim. They walk a lot.

At work, it was quite common to walk quite a distance in the zona francas during work hours, even when a car was available.

Daily life, people walk all over the place... to the colmado, to school, to catch a concho or bus.

Those who do have cars get their exercise by hitting the treadmills at the gym. In residencial areas, while living in la Esmeralda & Cerros de Gurabo in Santiago it was not unusual to see people out early in the morning or late in the evening taking a walk for their health. This was middle & upper/middle class, but I've seen the same activities in most areas of the city, around parks, etc. Crowds of people also used to go to the campus at PUCMM to walk/jog, I guess they still do.

ps: they think nothing of being driven down those 'bad roads' to their house. uh, that road and its condition is a part of their life
 
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