Domincan geniality

[Tuan]

Get used to it or GO HOME!

Geeeeeeezzzz! Go back to Kansas, 2parrotheads.

It's a different culture. "Line jumping" is YOUR impression of the Dom's queueing culture. It's just a different body language.

Cars have body language too. If you want in at a traffic tee, you've got to put your fender into the stream. You'll find Doms the most courteous drivers in the world then. No one WANTS their cars damaged, that's why carritos are purposely all beat up -- no one wants to risk their yipeta for the sake of one space in traffic. It's not "aggressive" to stick out your fender. It's the way you tell traffic you want in, dummy!

Same with line "jumping". You need to get an elbow in and have your voice heard. I lived in Paris for years and southeast Asia. Try them! It's only a non-verbal language. Get used to it or GO HOME!

 

[juanlopez]

correct, i think anywhere in the world you go there is always
good and bad.

when i lived in the DR i always lived in the barrio's with the
locals(punta cana,andres,los robles,bayahibe,etc... and as
a rule people were genial.

we reap what we sow,

Juan

I'm sorry you feel this way. BTW - I was talking about being genial in semi-formal situations with unknown people like at a bank, etc. I would compare it to the way southerners are in the US more or less.

As far as the other things you mentioned I don't think that is represenative of the people here in my opinion - there are a few bad apples wherever you go.

 

[2parrotheads]

Geeeeeeezzzz Tuan. I know we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. I was just trying to understand. The airport experiences referred to were at JFK and EWR. So, technically, I was home! But thank you for your comments.

Have a nice day.

 

[Lambada]

As of cutting lines, I must admit that I quickly learned to act the "rude dominican" way, but when I think about it, it is sad to have to copy those bad behaviour... It's kind of the wild west whenever there's a line, and I am now the first to behave like a "tiguere"... The fittest will survive... But I was raised in the respect of others, and it hurts somehow to behave like to rude people...

But you're not being rude here, that's the whole point. Queue jumping (the term used in UK) isn't an issue at colmados. Colmados are social centres, some people make themselves a sandwich & borrow the shop-keeper's newspaper, some just drop in for a chat. Like Tuan says you need to convey which group you belong to: if you're quick in & out shopping let the colmado owner know, otherwise you'll be there forever. Banks are different, more formal settings, different rules apply. There the person queue jumping IS queue jumping and as kfrancis said the Dominicans in the line will be equally teed off about it. Thus 'regulatory' action tends to bring approval from those in line.

And why don't the locals take 'regulatory' action for themselves more often? Well among the older generation there are still hangovers from the Trujillo era when people didn't dare speak out, internalised so they feel themselves to be powerless. I noticed in Transporte Terrestre once a little old man was told his tax receipt for revista paid the month before (when office didn't have revistas) had expired. They said same to me, I challenged it & got my new revista. Then I went & found the little old man who wasn't prepared to challenge it. So I bundled him to front of line (!) & told them if they did it for me they should do it for him. They did. One happy little old man.

There are times to speak out and there are times to go with the flow. It just takes expats a while to differentiate.