an average week in the life of an expat. Essential reading for potential newcomers

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Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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Background: English woman married to Dominican man with 2 teenage stepsons living in DR for 8 years.

Monday: Shopping. Main supermarket has no chicken. Another week of mince (hamburger meat) and pork and goat. Arrive home to find large truck has torn down phone cable in street. No telephone in house and no internet. Phone Claro. Will be fixed in one working day. Great Service!!!

Water not working. There is a hole rusted through in tank which fills up from the well. Get new tank. 3500RD$ including labour. Water by 7pm

Comma not working on computer as termites keep dropping poo and sawdust from roof onto computer when typing.

Tuesday: Front burner on stove top not working. Rusted through. Dismantle stove top to buy new burner next week. Scrape off all oil from inside stove top due to Dominicans cooking rice and beans at lunchtimes.

Fridge stopped working as run out of gas.(Why do fridges never run out of gas in uk???). Call fridge repair man. Will come same day.

Call Claro as have still not turned up. No record of call yesterday. The repair reference number they gave me does not exist. New number. Will be fixed in 2 working days.

Wednesday: Fridge still not fixed. Get stung by angry wasp. Visit suicidal expat whose dominican husband has rung off with younger and thinner woman.

Cat missing. Presumed barbecued by local Haitians.

Unable to clean termite poo out of computer as sealed unit.Order new keyboard from Dell.

Thursday: Fridge fixed. Still no internet nor phone.Call Claro. Will be fixed in 5 working days. Scream at Claro. Feel better. Cat still missing but faint smell of burnt fur in the air. Have meeting with bank at 4pm. They don't turn up.

Friday: Scream at Claro again. They turn up at 5pm hooray. Internet and phone fixed.

Discover money disappeared from bank account and only I know PIN.Bank refuse to refund.

Rescheduled bank meeting does not happen again.

Hooray!!! It's the weekend!!!

Matilda
 

wendyj

New member
Jul 24, 2006
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Sounds like a normal week here in paradise Matilda.
I have them weeks too!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

CFA123

Silver
May 29, 2004
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an average week in the life of a cap cana expat

monday - wake up & realize room too cold. where's the damm remote. there. turn up temp, go back to sleep.

tuesday - bake cookies. must watch my weight, so take several to cute guard. lounge by pool.

wednesday - damned dishwasher full again - and the maid forgot to add soap. note to self to withhold part of her pay this week

thursday - send e-mail response via blackberry to rental inquiry. make $800 for referral. so difficult to see the blackberry screen in direct sunlight

friday - should unload dishwasher, but resting today. fulana's coming today for my manicure and pedicure. i think the balcony would be nice for that

hooray, it's the weekend. maybe i can relax!
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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I think matilda lives in haiti.
Why do these things don't happen to me?
My fridge is also giving me problems after 8 yrs. Mind you it was given to me as gift (used). I will call a repair man, he will come and fix my fridge for less that 30 bucks. case closed.
Now matilda, lets hear more of your drama.
AZB
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
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an average week in the life of a cap cana expat

monday - wake up & realize room too cold. where's the damm remote. there. turn up temp, go back to sleep.

tuesday - bake cookies. must watch my weight, so take several to cute guard. lounge by pool.

wednesday - damned dishwasher full again - and the maid forgot to add soap. note to self to withhold part of her pay this week

thursday - send e-mail response via blackberry to rental inquiry. make $800 for referral. so difficult to see the blackberry screen in direct sunlight

friday - should unload dishwasher, but resting today. fulana's coming today for my manicure and pedicure. i think the balcony would be nice for that

hooray, it's the weekend. maybe i can relax!

lucky bugger
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
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I think matilda lives in haiti.
Why do these things don't happen to me?
My fridge is also giving me problems after 8 yrs. Mind you it was given to me as gift (used). I will call a repair man, he will come and fix my fridge for less that 30 bucks. case closed.
Now matilda, lets hear more of your drama.
AZB

Wondered how long it would take you!!!

No drama AZB -just normal week. Glad that nothing breaks down ever in your house. Perhaps because I live near the ocean things rust and perish more quickly than in the city. Fridge cost 500RD$ including gas and is 7 years old.

Matilda
 

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
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Perhaps because I live near the ocean things rust and perish more quickly than in the city. Matilda

Nah, it's because you spend less time checking on the domesticos & more time visiting suicidal expats, hunting warfarin for people who need it etc etc. :)

And I can confirm the arrival of Claro at 5pm yesterday folks because, at that stage, not having heard from my friend in a week & not seeing her here on DR1 or anywhere else I began to think the worst & thought maybe I should check: conversation went - Lambada dials
Matilda: Hello
Lambada: It's me
Matilda: Yes I'm alive

She knew! ;) At that pont Claro arrived.
 
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drloca

Silver
Oct 26, 2004
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Nah, it's because you spend less time checking on the domesticos & more time visiting suicidal expats, hunting warfarin for people who need it etc etc. :)

And I can confirm the arrival of Claro at 5pm yesterday folks because, at that stage, not having heard from my friend in a week & not seeing her here on DR1 or anywhere else I began to think the worst & thought maybe I should check: conversation went - Lambada dials
Matilda: Hello
Lambada: It's me
Matilda: Yes I'm alive

She knew! ;) At that pont Claro arrived.

I too was wondering where you were...and missed you! Pleased all is well on the homefront.
 
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ybonabeach

Member
Jan 16, 2008
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hmmm

LOL, I've been living in the DR for past 7 months and people back home always ask what I do all week. I'm going to print this and hand it out LOL
I tell them all I do is wait for things to get done:) and they never believe!
BUT, loving every minute.
 

erna

New member
Oct 21, 2008
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Well, reading your posts it seems like at least you have no time to get bored:)

Carina
 

Bob K

Silver
Aug 16, 2004
2,520
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Old life before becoming an expat:

Monday: get up at 5 am to start my work day. If lucky home by 6 or so. Spend 2 hous of my day fighting traffic. Oh and is damn cold outside (10 F)

Tuesday: Get up at 4am to shovel a foot of fresh snow off the walk in time to leave for work at 5:30. Put up with all the idiots that have no idea how to drive in the white stuff. Home 7PM. ON call so only 6 phone calls over night.

Wednesday: Shovel another foot of new snow and now temp is -10F when leave for work. MY beard is frozen from the walk to the end of the drive to get todays newspaper, which i don't read because filled with bad news.

Thursday: Still shoveling the white sh*t. On call again and leave home at 1am (-12 F) not to return until late Friday.

Friday one more day of cold and snow and another 12-14 hour work day.

Yeah the week end with more snow and cold.

So all things being equal i will take my life as an expat!!!!

BobK
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,503
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dr1.com
Monday: get up at 5 am to start my work day. If lucky home by 6 or so. Spend 2 hous of my day fighting traffic. Oh and is damn cold outside (10 F)

Tuesday: Get up at 4am to shovel a foot of fresh snow off the walk in time to leave for work at 5:30. Put up with all the idiots that have no idea how to drive in the white stuff. Home 7PM. ON call so only 6 phone calls over night.

Wednesday: Shovel another foot of new snow and now temp is -10F when leave for work. MY beard is frozen from the walk to the end of the drive to get todays newspaper, which i don't read because filled with bad news.

Thursday: Still shoveling the white sh*t. On call again and leave home at 1am (-12 F) not to return until late Friday.

Friday one more day of cold and snow and another 12-14 hour work day.

Yeah the week end with more snow and cold.

So all things being equal i will take my life as an expat!!!!

BobK

Hey, that was close to my week only I didn't have shovel snow, too friggin cold to snow , and it only takes me 20 minutes to drive to work but you certainly described the average Canadian winter.
 

MikeFisher

The Fisherman/Weather Mod
Feb 28, 2006
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Matilda,
i have no clue what to do about the cat,
maybe just get a new one.
but hey Gal,
kill those freaking termites, Lady.
no comment to Claro,
i am in war with 'em since friday(yeap, after 14years on the isle it isn't the first war to fight with 'em, lol).
just 1 day fishing myself,
a like always freaking day in fu.. st dgo, i hate cities, i reeeallly hate 'em,
at least the renovation of the residency been nice and easy and smooth,
and i made a new friend, Juan, the driver of the most damged and eldest cab i ever saw, and i saw a lot of trash driving those roads over here, but that guy been funny, knew every spot i named him without thinking too long about it, and his rates been very reasonable.
did not pass by any mayor accident this week and not been within bullett-range of any gunfight,
just a even bit below average week in paradise.
enjoy the weekend everybody
Mike
 

Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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and not been within bullett-range of any gunfight, just a even bit below average week in paradise. Mike

Oh I say, old chap, that's letting the side down a bit, what? A week of no bullets and you'll be getting soft over there on the East coast. :cheeky:

OK, let's see how many people manage to misinterpret both yours and Matilda's sense of humour ;).

Termite poo, of its essence, has to be exceedingly small, Matilda. So had yours been gathering over a period of time, we wonder? Vintage termite poo perhaps?
 

Tallman1818

New member
Nov 19, 2007
393
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A week of an average Dominican:

Monday: Wake up at 6:30 am, shower with 1 gallon of cold water pour over my head, drink some coffee, realize power went out by 2 am, jump on a motoconcho, get to work by 7:30am, lend 20 pesos to my college for coffee, he said he is broke and is only the 12 (we get pay on the 30), buy 12 noon (lunch time) go to the haitian lady who cooks rice, beans and some mistery meant and eat there for 80 pesos, (will pay on the 30).
by 5 pm, time to go home, jump on a concho car with 3 other guys in the back seat 2 of them chubby and smely, pay the drive 15 pesos, he says he has no change to give me back 2 pesos, get home by 5:45 realize we had no power yet and no water........

Tuesday: Got a phone call from a guy who owns me $3,000 pesos, he says he can pay me this week because he has an issue with his wife, I ask him which of the 3 wifes he has, heard noise on the street go out see two women fighting one of the with rollos and the other one has no shoes, go and ask whats the fight about I am told over a man.

Wednesday:
Gas (cooking gas) tank empty, I just had fill it 2 weeks ago, go to the colmado (local grocery store), they had no sugar, while there I try to buy a phone card for my cell phone (100 pesos value) they colmado guy wants to charge me 110 pesos!!!

Thrusday:
My best friends calls me at work crying because his girlfriend left him for another guy, some old boyfriend of her who left to Puerto Rico in a Yola and never call her or anything like that, but now is back with some dollars!!!!

Friday:
Took the day off to go to the cedula office (JCE) I get there about 1 pm, the guard at the door tells me "we are close" I said why, you guys close at 4 pm, he says "there is too manny people here getting their cedula today", I said what you guys don?t want to get too tired.....................................

And life goes on on DR
 
Mar 2, 2008
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"go to the haitian lady who cooks rice, beans and some mistery meant and eat there for 80 pesos, (will pay on the 30)."

At least the mystery of the cat is solved.
 
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AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
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Had a good week, no major happenings, all good. Don't know what these people are talking about.
We work in air conditioned offices, work out in american standard gyms and shop in american standard grocery stores. Then we get invited to birthday parties in houses of friends and eat,talk,laugh the evening away. Tonight is karaoki (spelling) at ahibar and many friends are going there. So I didn't have any weird situation occur to me yet. Maybe some people in the north coast need to move to a city for a change.
Life is the paradise can be very easy and simple yet still retain American style luxury if you do it right.
Some people will always complain no matter where they are. Just look back at their posts and you will see the cry babies are always complaining.
AZB
p.s.this post is not directed towards tallman.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
63
Had a good week, no major happenings, all good. Don't know what these people are talking about.
We work in air conditioned offices, work out in american standard gyms and shop in american standard grocery stores. Then we get invited to birthday parties in houses of friends and eat,talk,laugh the evening away. Tonight is karaoki (spelling) at ahibar and many friends are going there. So I didn't have any weird situation occur to me yet. Maybe some people in the north coast need to move to a city for a change.
Life is the paradise can be very easy and simple yet still retain American style luxury if you do it right.
Some people will always complain no matter where they are. Just look back at their posts and you will see the cry babies are always complaining.
AZB
p.s.this post is not directed towards tallman.

1. Lucky tallman
2. I am not a fan of airconditioning but each to his own
3.Have a gym in the house so do not need to seek out ?merican standard gym
4.If I wanted american standard everything else I would live in America
5. Used to do karaoke until I was shot through throat so am unable to sing. (fact: not moaning about it)
6. In fact I wasn't complaining at all just pointing out some of the realities of living here and getting things done

And I have enjoyed reading some of the responses from others detailing their weeks.

Just because things go wrong sometimes it doesn't mean I don't still enjoy being here - there are compensations as there are wherever you live. Sorry you missed the point of the post.

Matilda
 
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