Fo!

[Chirimoya]

Going off topic... AND you're all wrong about the cars.

 

[Chitoxin]

on the other hand, dominicans might keep themselves and their houses as clean as it gets, but their sense of hygiene stops right in front of the doorsteps. cities like santo domingo smell like one huge pile of waste. look at the malecon. every european who sees the 'beach' there is disgusted, and in most dominican cities the streets are littered with trash.
it's not only that european cities have more money, and can therefore afford to keep the streets clean, but also that people would not throw out their trash like that. and if the government wouldn't clean up the streets, some sort of civil action group would for and either do it, or pressure politicians into spending money on the issue.

Well Mariot, we are talking about B.O. not the streets sanitary conditions. On the other hand, the beach in Santo Domingo (i assume you are talking about Guibia) is not even used by locals. So if some European numbnuts went to take a bath there, got there for a surprise. Now, if you go North or East you and any European will be in awe for the beaches there are extremely beautiful.

 

[granca]

To quote a fellow countryman who said "Much ado about nothing" never forget that Queen Victoria bathed regularly once a year whether she needed to or not! Oh how the art of nosegays is forgot.

 

[bachata]

I disagree. Many US Civil Servants, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who are stationed in Europe live "on the economy", meaning that they may go to work at a military facility, embassy, etc. but they live in the same dwellings, shop at the same stores, play in the same parks, drive the same roads, drink the same wine, eat the same food and crap the same crap as the locals. Many of their children are born in the same hospitals. As far as I know that constitutes living somewhere. Ask anybody assigned to the US embassy in Santo Domingo where they live.

Citroens may not be "nice" but they are fast. Not luxury cars but nice enough. I remember a trip I took from Geneva to Paris on route #1. I had my little Ford gas pedal to the floor the whole way and every 15 minutes or so a Citroen would blow past like I was standing still. They'd have sold like hotcakes in the US but they wouldn't modify their exhaust systems to meet US emissions standards so they stopped selling here. I would say it's a French thing but Renault adapted catalytic converters. je ne sais pas

We don't need those car here in US as the speed limit is 70 on the high ways get one of those and drive on "Autovia del este" put the pedal in the floor to see if you really have cojones like I used to do when going to pick up customer on the Puntacana area going behind the time because the bad traffic of SD city.
Hay que tener cojones pa poner un carro a 180 km. / horas.

JJ

JJ

 

[greydread]

BO aside, another cultural issue Europeans have in the DR is that Dominicans, poor or otherwise, try to have clean, neat clothes away from their home. Many Europeans dress like total slobs away from their homes...

Clothes are definitely a BO issue. Some fabrics hold oder and are more prone to mildew than others so they must be washed more often or worn in temperate weather.

Anybody remember the nylon tricot "Sunday, Monday, etc" days of the week panties that were popular in the 70's? After awhile doctors started reporting that they caused yeast infections and if you had to wear a nylon tricot t-shirt more than a few hours on a hot day somebody was in for an interesting evening.

 

[juanita]

Ouuf! That reminds me back in the days when I used to work as a rep for a European Tour Operator. I used do transfers of clients from the airport to their hotel in Punta Cana. Imagine 3 ? hours on a Metro bus jam packed with the “fo”. It was so horrible that I used to get really bad headaches and nausea.

 

[M.A.R.]

I also think the Dominican attitude rubs off, after a while. If I get a whiff of stale B.O. in Tropical supermarket my eyes are automatically scanning around for the nearest European ( just to get on the upwind side of them :cheeky. Even most of the homeless beggars here don't smell as bad. I can sit & chat with beggars & not have the nostrils wrinkling.

such prejudice!!! lol

ay eso gringo le tienen miedo al jabon!!!

 

[bob saunders]

Going off topic... AND you're all wrong about the cars.

I just put my 1993 Mercedes Benz 400E back on the road. I missed the power, smooth acceleration, and comfort. Huge trunk, great sound system, and decent gas mileage for a V8. Just wish it liked snow - 285,000 miles and engine runs purrrfect.
Dominicans in general are very clean about their person and personal space, but there are many exceptions to the rule. I grew up around Italians, Norwegians and Swedes - all the girls smelled good to me.

 

[Chirimoya]

Snappy dressing and hygiene don't always go together! Some well-dressed professional types I've encountered stink to high heaven. In this particular case, though, the supermarket 3 looked like something the cat dragged in.

And please, enough about cars. You're all on the wrong track!

 

[bienamor]

Going off topic... AND you're all wrong about the cars.

would a lada enter into the picture?????
I know my neighbor causes the fo!

 

[dv8]

when i first met miesposo he complimented me: "for a foreigner you wash a lot"
he later told me horror stories about his guests (he managed a hotel). he had people who would not wash during whole holidays (2 weeks) claiming that swimming in the pool was enough of washing.
i rarely noticed bad smells from europeans when i lived in UK or poland but i did get seriously crossed travelling on a plane from madrid to berlin: a guy sitting somewhere close to me stank like stale wee and sweat. i loudly commented on that in spanish, english and polish deeply regreting i do not know any bad words in german
miesposo said i was being rude but i think not washing is far ruder, no?
one more thing: prior to moving to our previous house i scrubbed all bathroom with cloro, on my knees. it turned out to be white, not yellowish. i proudly presented results to our cleaning lady when she arrived the next day and she said the bathroom was so filthy because extranjeros lived there.
in the new house bathrooms were in such state we had to break down the tiles and change all appliances. previous owners came from a small country in europe, btw

 

[Frank the Tank]

Going off topic... AND you're all wrong about the cars.

Ok, so my guess about the country was wrong? Here is my second attempt. Did this country try to sell small compact cars in the USA in the 80s that ended in the letters GO?

 

[beeza]

Chiri's already said it wasn't France, so I don't reckon it's a Peugo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm guessing it's East of a ferrous, window soft furnishing!

I like this guessing game! hehehe

 

[Mujermaravilla]

i think it is hilarious that no matter what country i have been to, people accused foreigners (especially different looking ones) of being unclean and smelly.

Really? I've never been accused of being smelly or unclean.

but europeans have come a long way, my grandma used to tell me how, when she was a child, they used to bathe only once a week and share the bathing water with the whole family. parents first, and than the children. and they were a regular middle class family in the 1930's. now, people at least take a shower everyday.

on the other hand, dominicans might keep themselves and their houses as clean as it gets, but their sense of hygiene stops right in front of the doorsteps. cities like santo domingo smell like one huge pile of waste.

The whole city? never noticed that. Where are YOU hanging out?

look at the malecon. every european who sees the 'beach' there is disgusted, So do Dominicans that's why we don't bathe there!


and in most dominican cities the streets are littered with trash. MOST cities? I suggest you take a few trips around the island. you will find that although poor most towns are VERY clean.

it's not only that european cities have more money, and can therefore afford to keep the streets clean, but also that people would not throw out their trash like that. and if the government wouldn't clean up the streets, some sort of civil action group would for and either do it, or pressure politicians into spending money on the issue.

What is your excuse for Napoli? My husband and I were horrified when we saw that "vertedero" we went on our honey moon to the Amalfi coast and when we leave the airport we see a scene out of the worst sectors of the capital. And the outskirts of Rome weren't so hot either!

 

[ExtremeR]

We don't need those car here in US as the speed limit is 70 on the high ways get one of those and drive on "Autovia del este" put the pedal in the floor to see if you really have cojones like I used to do when going to pick up customer on the Puntacana area going behind the time because the bad traffic of SD city.
Hay que tener cojones pa poner un carro a 180 km. / horas.

JJ

JJ

I once did the Punta Cana - Santo Domingo route in 1:45 Mins . I think Juan Dolio only saw a glimpse of my car passing through . Un Viernes Santo!! Go figure!!

Chiri I though we were talking about BMW's and Mercedes here. So the offenders are distant cousins of the Antonov An-225 plane designer?

 

[bachata]

I once did the Punta Cana - Santo Domingo route in 1:45 Mins . I think Juan Dolio only saw a glimpse of my car passing through . Un Viernes Santo!! Go figure!!

Chiri I though we were talking about BMW's and Mercedes here. So the offenders are distant cousins of the Antonov An-225 plane designer?

It took a little bit more for me as a biralata crossed my way driving the interception Juan Dolio / SPM. I think the crap of the dog felt down over La Basilica's roof in Higuey.
I got so nervous that couldn't speed any more..:rambo:

JJ

 

[jrhartley]

people often do smell differently, usually due to the diet that we eat...I beleive chinese find europeans particularly offensive in the smell department

 

[Mariot]

[/B] What is your excuse for Napoli? My husband and I were horrified when we saw that "vertedero" we went on our honey moon to the Amalfi coast and when we leave the airport we see a scene out of the worst sectors of the capital. And the outskirts of Rome weren't so hot either!

i have travelled extensively in the dominican republic, and you did not understand my comment. what i said was that people all over the world assume foreigners to be dirty, not that they tell people they smell bad. i also did not say that they are right in their assumption, rather, it is a prejudice that you will find everywhere, don't know why.

dominican cities are not clean, no matter where you go. and yes, even in posh places in santo domingo you will find trash in the streets. i often marvelled at these luxury torres or huge houses that are surrounded by a wall and barbed wire, and right next to that wall is some unused property that looks like a dumping ground. no rich person would live in a place like that where i come from. i'm not pointing fingers here, i am simply observing cultural differences.

naples had a widely published problem with waste management, because that business is controlled by the camorra. thats not an excuse, but southern italy doesn't really work like the rest of europe.

 

[Lambada]

such prejudice!!! lol

I prefer to think of it as odoral profiling

 

[poponlaburra]

i think it is hilarious that no matter what country i have been to, people accused foreigners (especially different looking ones) of being unclean and smelly.

but europeans have come a long way, my grandma used to tell me how, when she was a child, they used to bathe only once a week and share the bathing water with the whole family. parents first, and than the children. and they were a regular middle class family in the 1930's. now, people at least take a shower everyday.

on the other hand, dominicans might keep themselves and their houses as clean as it gets, but their sense of hygiene stops right in front of the doorsteps. cities like santo domingo smell like one huge pile of waste. look at the malecon. every european who sees the 'beach' there is disgusted, and in most dominican cities the streets are littered with trash.
it's not only that european cities have more money, and can therefore afford to keep the streets clean, but also that people would not throw out their trash like that. and if the government wouldn't clean up the streets, some sort of civil action group would for and either do it, or pressure politicians into spending money on the issue.

Very true. I was in DR two weeks ago and as I traveled through different cities and through the gorgeous terrain I couldn't help myself, I got so infuriating seeing all the garbage accumulated along the barrios and country roads while many men were sitting playing dominoes and drinking their alcohol:devious::