Aging and the Dominicanos

jrf said:

There was a rule of thumb that if you wanted to see what your 'future wife' would look like in 30 years just take a look at her mother.

From both genders it certainly seems that the Dominicanos do not age too gracefully. I have seen some absolutely stunning Dominicanas and then am amazed at what her mother looks like.

Is it from the moto concho exhaust or all of the fried foods, lack of exercise, hard life?
Does life age you as an expat differently there than it would back home?

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Only my opinion but I would think it might have to do with two other things:
1) Health care. Here in the U.S. with the availability of Drs. and specalists to treat just about every ailment and illness (except cancer) one might be able to live till 175. (except me-too much abuse on dr1). This kind of care is not avail. or affordable to the masses in the DR.
2) Way too much sun exposure over a lifetime of living.

Johne is correct, way too much sun exposure over the lifetime. The girls here do seem to spend more time outdoors walking on heels, working hard, often long hours in hot humid places. No a/c so they sweat all the time, day and night. No fancy creams to protect their skin etc. They seem to drink (alcohol) far more than their north american counterparts over the lifetime. They also work hard cleaning the house, often time on the hands and knees scrubbing the floor. Many girls have to wash clothes and towels, bedsheets with hand and then iron the clothes of the family etc.
The average dominican girl has a rough life as compared to north american girls.
AZB

The majority of things mentioned by ABZ will not make you old or look old before your time except to much exposure to the sun, and lack of using moisturizers and cream. My mother-in-law has a face like a prune but still has a good figure at 73. She has smoked since she was 11, cooked over carbon fires for years, and had huge exposure to the sun. My wife and many of the younger generation avoid the mid-day sun and use CREAMS, and umbrellas. While on the subject of age I met two women in Jarabacoa, one who was 103 years on and another who claimed to be 105. The 103 age was verified. It is common for people in Tropical countries to live a shorter life but in Jarabacoa it is common for people to live well into their 80s and 90s. Is this common throughout the DR.

I would say that living with a/c would do your skin more harm than good. I also think that lack of health consciousness especially when it comes to food takes its toll quite quickly. Sugar, starch and frituras - and generally a monotonous diet.

The factors people are mentioning mainly apply to poorer Dominicans - but then the sedentary lifestyle of the middle and upper classes - who drive everywhere, and never do housework - is not exactly healthy either. If anything, poorer people who are physically active might even fare better.

PS any man who looked at my mother as an indication of what I would look like in later life was destined to be bitterly disappointed. Right up to her late 50s she looked better than I've ever done.

jrf said:

Does life age you as an expat differently there than it would back home?

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As much of aging comes from within I'd say yes. I'm sure I present as 'younger' here than I would in UK: the mental challenge of adjusting to a new culture keeps the thinking processes alive (I can see the new slogan - Relocate to DR & keep Alzheimer's at bay ). But on a physical level I stay out of the sun, don't drink alcohol, don't eat red meat & all the heavy domestic work like floor washing & cleaning windows is done by Mercedes so I only do fun things like cooking & a washing machine & a dishwashing machine take care of the rest. But I think the biggest anti-ager is that the stress levels here are very different from what they would be back in UK. After a while the 'stress' of adjusting to life here goes & when it does............voila! Virtually no stress at all.

With regard to Dominicans aging I often wonder about iron deficiency here (because of diet & alcohol intake) - that together with sun exposure would seem to be partly the cause. Easily treatable (molasses) of course. Healthy eating isn't a top priority here & while much of the local diet is very healthy resources frequently prevent people from having anything other than a full tummy as a priority - it can cost money to make it a full, healthy tummy.

The causes for thinning of the skin and wrinkling are smoking, excessive drinking and sun exposure. I would not think the sun exposure is as a threat as most of the people here have dark skin which is a natural protection. In fact a good friend of mine here who is 2 years older than me and works outside all day has less wrinkles than me. On the other hand I have met Domincans at 30 something that look like they are 50 - I think overdrinking is one of the major influincing factors. Also, I think most of what happens to the Dominican women is at some point they stop taking care of themselves and don't car too much how they look in public. They are content with being a Do?a and no longer care.

While there are a certain class of people in the DR that drink heavily, it has been my experience that many Dominicans don't drink nearly as much as North Americans and Europeans. My Dominican relatives in general, not all, eat fairly healthy with an Italian or mediterranean type diet. There is way to much fried food though. My mother-in-laws shin colour is white or very light brown so she doesn't have the dark skin protection factor.

While there are a certain class of people in the DR that drink heavily, it has been my experience that many Dominicans don't drink nearly as much as North Americans and Europeans. My Dominican relatives in general, not all, eat fairly healthy with an Italian or mediterranean type diet. There is way to much fried food though. My mother-in-laws shin colour is white or very light brown so she doesn't have the dark skin protection factor.

It's a combination of hard life/not protection from the sun/too much alcohol...same thing in the Middle East...you see those women that are in their 30's and "tienen arruga pa' ti pa mi' arropano junto"

too funny ..Funnyyale.. "tienen arruga pa' ti pa mi' arropano junto"

I personally think STRESS is a big aging factor here in the US..
My husband's grandmother lived to be 95 yrs of age in DR where as here in the US not many people make it to the 80's or 90's..
My father-in-law is 78yrs old (lives in DR) and looks like he is in his late 50's .. keeps in shape by walking long distance everyday & does not eat red meat... not much stress in his life.

It was once said to me by a very old man, that our faces reflect just like a mirror the kind of life we had...
He was some 90+ years of age, his name Don Antonio Nin. His face was marked by time as if it had something against him...

He said to me: When you see the face of a man that looks unlike the soft skin of a baby, you see a man who may had lived a good life; if you see the face of a man that can't be said to have one single soft spot on it, then you'll be looking at a man that lived his life at the fullest...

When you smile, your face looks like a sculptor just used his chisel on you and still needs to soften the cuts; when you cry it looks like he let the chisel cut too deep...
Yet for all the cuts and work he may do on it, the softest curves and neat surface is not what gives it life, but indeed the bents and deep corners are the ones that do...

Dominicans live their life at the fullest, no corners are cut; as such, the faces you see are but an open book that anyone could read and see that it's a life well spent...

jrf said:

There was a rule of thumb that if you wanted to see what your 'future wife' would look like in 30 years just take a look at her mother.

From both genders it certainly seems that the Dominicanos do not age too gracefully. I have seen some absolutely stunning Dominicanas and then am amazed at what her mother looks like.

Is it from the moto concho exhaust or all of the fried foods, lack of exercise, hard life?
Does life age you as an expat differently there than it would back home?

Click to expand...

These are the kind of posts that Miguel, Pichardo, Nal and I have problems with.

(From both genders it certainly seems that the Dominicanos do not age too gracefully).
WOW!!!! I must be the only dominican that is over 30 and is still asked for ID when buying cigarettes or alcohol.


Is it from the moto concho exhaust or all of the fried foods, lack of exercise, hard life?
Does life age you as an expat differently there than it would back home?[/
WOW!! all Dominicans ride on a moto concho, eat fried foods, dont exercise and have a hard life.

How can you compare a young 20 y/o cutie to her vegetating 50 y/o mother?
show me a country where women age gracefully because i can tell you that the prime for a large percentage of american females end the time they get pregnant and have babies.

For many of them it is not easy to recover their shape and faster than you can say hello these girls will look more like 30 y/o aunts and have a gut that will prevent them from beeing able to look at their toes.

I have nothing but respect for those mothers.. Most of the women that you are referring to have never go inside a gym, they dont have the resource to regularly go to a clinic and have their yearly female check ups or even for simple physical exam or a flu. Most of them have more than 4 kids to which the father(s) have turn their back to or is already writing the same chapter somewhere else.

You are not alone!

Mr_DR said:

These are the kind of posts that Miguel, Pichardo, Nal and I have problems with.

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And you don't have to be Dominican to have problems with that post.

I really hoped that I would have the opportunity to hear from more Dominican women on this thread... in the DR or abroad. But SOME people can't keep their "mouths" aranoid: ... OKAY I'll get out now!

For many North Americans who look on women as consumer items to be used and tossed away and traded in for the next model, looking younger than your age is very important. It's a HUGE industry and the thinking around beauty and consumer products starts very early. Yes, sunblock is good. But moving beyond skin and appearances, isn't it wonderful to see ALL generations together and old people integrated and respected and not sent to the dust bins? I hope Dominicans can resist some of this consumer culture, I doubt it though it's really powerful. Where's that cheap cosmetic surgeon in Santo Domingo?

"No hay mujer fea sino mujer pobre"... meaning with money we could all look like supermodels... plastic surgery is "IN"

Yes, sun and hard life definitely makes you look older than you would otherwise, but I have a different theory here. My theory is based on the options the OP has in The US vs. The DR. My theory is that since in The DR you are never too old to pick up a young thing any woman beyond 30 seems "Very Oooolddd..." - Obviously compared to what you can get. In the US your choices are very limited to only those women about your same age, thus since you can't even look at younger women all of sudden older women look better than they really do.

I know because when I'm here (all deprived) I see women whom I wouldn't even give a second look back in The DR whom all of sudden look OK to me...It's all about your options.

One last thing is you have to look at both the mother and the father, see which on the girl takes after and then you'll see your future...

margaret said:

For many North Americans who look on women as consumer items to be used and tossed away and traded in for the next model, looking younger than your age is very important. It's a HUGE industry and the thinking around beauty and consumer products starts very early. Yes, sunblock is good. But moving beyond skin and appearances, isn't it wonderful to see ALL generations together and old people integrated and respected and not sent to the dust bins? I hope Dominicans can resist some of this consumer culture, I doubt it though it's really powerful. Where's that cheap cosmetic surgeon in Santo Domingo?

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Margaret,

I think it's WAY too late, I've never been to a country where appearance is as important as in the Dominican Republic:bunny:

Although, that isn't really a bad thing. I think many Americans and Canadians could benefit from taking better care of their physical appearance. You can't help if god gave you wrinkles or small boobs but nice hair and pressed clothes go a long way.

suarezn said:

In the US your choices are very limited to only those women about your same age, thus since you can't even look at younger women all of sudden older women look better than they really do.

I know because when I'm here (all deprived) I see women whom I wouldn't even give a second look back in The DR whom all of sudden look OK to me...It's all about your options.

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Interesting... that's why all those young guys keep pestering me to give them a chance!

One of them explained it like this. "Look at me. I'm a little fat. My teeth need straightening, I have a big head. I'm ugly. But I'm smart and funny. No beautiful woman my age will look at me or give me the time of day. So I trade UP, I go for older still beautiful women who think I'm witty and will overlook my appearance because she herself isn't as pretty as she used to be and she's looking beyond appearance and look for substance. Trading up for the older model." It was a line, wasn't???! :disappoin! It was B.S. wasn't it? "Trading up!" Like trading baseball cards... or trading in your car...

Yes, montreal, I agree with you. I don't like bad dressers and especially bad grooming. Many Canadians let themselves go to seed or have more money than taste. Maybe it's because we don't have to stay competitive. And once the marriage falls apart and they have to get out there and compete, they have to whip themselves into shape. "Look good naked in 10 weeks with this workout!"

Dominican women have a better body image and self-confidence than North American women, we can learn from that. But I reserve the right to give demerits point for rollos in the hair. :cheeky: but maybe that's just an example of confidence.

margaret said:

And you don't have to be Dominican to have problems with that post.

I really hoped that I would have the opportunity to hear from more Dominican women on this thread... in the DR or abroad. But SOME people can't keep their "mouths" aranoid: ... OKAY I'll get out now!

Click to expand...

Thanks Margaret,

i dont know where the dominican females are?
i dont know why they don't come out to defend themselves

if it continues like this i am going to have to dominicanize you
so that you can represent them....lol