Lies, eh?
I was knackered when I landed for the first time in Puerto Plata.
So knackered that when a very helpful Dominican guy nicked my
suitcase, carried it 10 meters and charged 10 USD for it, I felt it
was a fair deal.
I soon realised the stupidity in what I did and
promised myself to never do it again. All in all a pretty cheap
lesson methinks.
I'm trashy and low class so I don't mind people like that and I think the stories you get, as a bloody tourist, from the sankies,
women, the fighting with the taxidrivers and God knows who, is
very "exotic" and a part of the experience. Wouldn't want to be without them.
Apart from the group of Dominican friends I have that I treat no
differently than other friends, I mix with an at times dodgy bunch
as well. All of them have sick mothers ( who incidently had also
died some time back so my friend has to support the family ),
delayed transfers of money from a bank in NY or just needs 5
pesos for the bus. As they are my friends I'm shocked at the hardship they must endure, and being a nice guy I express concern and sympathy.. I just never give anyone any money.
One of my proudest moments was when one of them actually
believed one of my lies. "What??? Did you actually believe that
one?? Seriously?? No.. Really?? Thanks a lot! No no, it wasn't true.
Look here, I actually do have money, I just don't want to give any
of it to you!"
When girls started fiddeling with me, only to go through my pockets, I did the same with them.. Whispering to them sweet lovin' and undressing them violently and rapidly enough for them
to worry about other things than my pockets. They pat them-selves under their elbows.
"Gracias! Muy duro soy yo!!!"
Two guys followed me on one of those tiny motorcycles, in order to rob me at night ( they discussed it next to me, somehow
assuming I didn't speak Spanish ). The day they finally stopped close to me I ran forward and met one of them with an elbow in the face . The other guy fled and I never saw them again. I fled too, as soon as I had walked slowly past the closest corner.
With taxis I just say: "I've got 50 pesos and I'm going there. Will
you take me or should I start walking?" "Have you got 30 more?"
"....No, but I've got less?" And it usually works out.
Foreigners living there permanently can be similar. There was a
Norwegian in Boca Chica who made me alert of it. Usually one
tend to trust countrymen when abroad, but I saw that this guy
had "gone native" by the way he threw away a bottle. Proper
Norwegians would have walked over to the trashbin 3 m away.
He kicked the bucket some weeks later though, too bad for him.
These have also been robbed, wait for bank transfers or have a
problem with the police and must come up with x pesos within
48 hours or whatever..
It's all great fun and makes the trip more interesting. It probably
gets tiring if one is there permanently but it doesn't really change
much and one either puts up with it or not. Personally I'm not that
clever, but if one starts to give away money or whatever, one has
to be really stupid and deserves everything one gets, imho. I've
had just one major problem and that was the last time I was there, and that was because I was stupid with security, hence my
fault.
Also, because of that guy in POP I can walk confidently down the
streets of London. When some volounteer stops me and asks
"Would you stop in the name of charity?", I clear my throat, hold my head up proudly and answer him: "No."
