- Thread starter Fulano2
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What's your number one problem living in the DR?
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Dominican statistics. I cannot believe the life expectancy numbers published by the government.
No one can eat a Dominican diet and have a long life.
Salami and platanos for breakfast. Nasty greasy pork all the time.
Little in the way of fresh green vegetables. Never drink milk.
Drive like a maniac, drink like a fish, smoke like a chimney and live to 73.6?
Then again the government says nearly everyone can read and write.
No one can eat a Dominican diet and have a long life.
Salami and platanos for breakfast. Nasty greasy pork all the time.
Little in the way of fresh green vegetables. Never drink milk.
Drive like a maniac, drink like a fish, smoke like a chimney and live to 73.6?
Then again the government says nearly everyone can read and write.
Yesterday I was feeding some dogs on the side of the Avenida Ecologica in Santo Domingo Este. An SUV came along and bumped a dog that had its haunch about five inches onto the road. The dog wasn't badly hurt and moved away with a slight limp.
The driver had just made a turn and was at low speed. The driver just continued at the same speed either oblivious or indifferent to what just happened.
There's a large population of stray dogs along that road. The area is sparsely populated and it's a place where people come and dump dogs they don't want.
There is a big hearted lady who has been sterilizing them one by one.
The ayuntamiento isn't too swift. When dogs are killed on that road or on the Autopista San Isidro they just stay where they are and decompose.
F*****g barbarians.
There are two camionetas which cruise our street most days. Between them they carry a wide selection of fresh green vegetables (as well as root veg and fruit). More than enough to yield the recommended "5 a day". People must buy them or they would not carry them (especially as they have limited space).
Drive like maniacs for sure. Few of the Dominicans I know smoke and relatively few drink.
Illiteracy and innumeracy are appalling. When I opened my bank account here it took 20 minutes for the manager to enter all my details onto the computer system. Having done that she asked all the same questions to write down longhand. When I asked why she needed to do that she said no-one trusted the computer system.
Recently I signed a rent contract. I pay rent of 8,500 pesos per month and paid two month's rent as deposit. The lawyer wrote down 16,000 pesos. When I politely pointed out it should be 17,000 pesos she scowled and got out her calculator. Now I have the printed contract it still states 16,000 pesos. No way she was going to be put right by a gringo.
The owner of the colmado had to use a calculator to work out ten items at 100 pesos each (all his stock). When I suggested a quantity discount he said he ought to charge me more because now he would have to disappoint his "regular" customers.
There are a lot of old Dominicans. They don't eat a lot of red meat, and the poor ones little of any meat. My husband's paternal grandparents were 100 and 105 when they died, but both parents were only 92. Change of diet in next generation? Lady next door to us celebrated her 100th birthday last March. Family flew in from all over for a massive party, tents, food, DJs, the whole shebang.
I'm pretty sure a guard a street over poisoned my male cat. We never saw him again. A neighbor told us he hates cats and enjoys killing them. I'm happy every night when my male tabby comes home at night.
I'm also sure newest additiion, the tiny chihuahua, was dumped on the streets.
The lawyer who drafted my rental contract wrote MIL CIEN DOLARES(US$1,100.00) as US$1,1000,000.00 and didn't even apologize when I pointed the error and asked him to print it out again with the correct amount. There were other errors but that was the most egregious one. Took him three days to find a notary because he wasn't one.
I have friends and family from all different types of social classes here in the DR and not once have I preferred one over the other. Ignorance is always there regardless how much money you got in the bank or how you grow up. Things like not being able to do things in a single simple process here bother me a lot, but like all of us I assume we have just gotten used to it. Since I'm half Dominican, things like loud music, food, mentality don't bother me too much. I give the colmado guy the same respect as a professor or medical professional........ Oh yeah, another thing that bothers me here is when the beer isn't cold enough. 
The lack of taking responsibility for a problem/situation. Also the complete disregard some have when it comes to disposing of their garbage (throwing it in the street, out the car window,etc...)
Number 1, climate. Too hot and humid, electricity too expensive to run A/C all day.
Number 2, motores !!
Number 2, motores !!
Then you need to meet more interesting Dominicans. My friend David (Dominicano) is one of the most intelligent, well-informed and interesting people i have ever met...period
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