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- Thread starter Robert
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Why are so many expats clueless?
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I have the same timeline before I make the plunge,couldn't agreed more with you.I've learned here,from schools where I like my children to attend,where I like to live,legal procedures, to a honest car dealership(yes even in DR)
people say things that arent true about people from every country its just handy to lump everyone together, Im sure Dominicans do it about everyone else as well - Its just rather embarressing when you hear someone from your own country talking bollocks, which happens quite a lot lol
I can't agree more! Robert, you're a wise man and THANK YOU for posting this! It makes me so upset that expats come down here looking for all the creature comforts of home, pointing their noses up at the 'lowly' Dominicanos...the truth be told, in many cases they're better than us
In my time here, I've made amazing friends, many of them Dominican, and you know something I think I'll miss most? The sense of COMMUNITY. I'm Canadian, and I know when I go home in a few weeks to start a new life, that's something I'm going to miss so much...
In my time here, I've made amazing friends, many of them Dominican, and you know something I think I'll miss most? The sense of COMMUNITY. I'm Canadian, and I know when I go home in a few weeks to start a new life, that's something I'm going to miss so much...
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What we are discussing here is two different "Things".
#1.Peolpe who have lived in the DR,and don't yet know,or want to know,what makes Dominicans,or the Dominican Republic,"TICK"!......."How to LIVE in the DR".
#2.People,"DR WannaBe's",those people who think you have to 'GO Dominican" to be happy,and "Fit In" in the DR.
You know,dance "Bachata" at a Colomado in "Capotillo,while drinking "Presidente",con "Clamto",and saying,"Ay Cono Que SI!",after anything a Dominican "Chopo" says!
THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
I once describbed the "Stages" an expat passes through,after moving to the DR.(Maybe Anna C can find that???)
Stage 1 is the "Wanna Be"stage.EVERYTHING Dominican is "COOL",maybe "Better" than where they came from.Poor Dominicans are,indeed,"Poor Yet Happy",living a simple lifestyle.
Stage 2,a LITTLE bit of "Reality" sets in.
Those "Poor yet happy" people are having a very difficult existance. No electricity,education,health care,(How "Happy" can they be watching a child die due to the lack of care,and then they get to pay the bill,BEFORE, they get the dead body!
Stage three,you pull back a little from stage 1.Are not an "Amigo" to every poor Dominican with their hand out.
Have fewer Dominican "Friends",and Don't go to "Poor Barrios" anymore.
At this time,some expats withdraw from Dominican "Society",and stay home,or only socialize with other expats.
Too many make getting drunk their main focus.
Others decide to make the DR their "HOME".If they haven't learned "Dominican Spanish",they better!
How can you live in a country if you don't know/speak/read/write the language of the country???
That is easier for some,harder for others.You have to do it to "Fit" in the Dominican life.
Last "stage",
you have a few really good Dominicans that you can call "Friends".
And I do mean "CALL".
Like when I blew a tire at 2 am on Luperon,under Kennedy.My van fell off the jack. :disappoin
I called a friend,who sent his brother(who I had never met) who lived nearby.He fixed the jack, and changed the tire
When I offered him some money for his help,he said "No,you are "Familia"!
If you want to live at "The Beach",in a gated community,and get drunk,that's OK by me.You are putting needed foreign exchange into the DR economy.
You wanna be, a "Dominican Wanna be",that's cool too.
It's "Cool",but as far as I'm concerned you have no more "credibility" in your posts on DR 1 than someone who spends a week in an "AI",then starts posting here,and telling those of us in the "Last Stage" that we don't really "Know" the DR,or it's people.
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What we are discussing here is two different "Things".
#1.Peolpe who have lived in the DR,and don't yet know,or want to know,what makes Dominicans,or the Dominican Republic,"TICK"!......."How to LIVE in the DR".
#2.People,"DR WannaBe's",those people who think you have to 'GO Dominican" to be happy,and "Fit In" in the DR.
You know,dance "Bachata" at a Colomado in "Capotillo,while drinking "Presidente",con "Clamto",and saying,"Ay Cono Que SI!",after anything a Dominican "Chopo" says!
THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
I once describbed the "Stages" an expat passes through,after moving to the DR.(Maybe Anna C can find that???)
Stage 1 is the "Wanna Be"stage.EVERYTHING Dominican is "COOL",maybe "Better" than where they came from.Poor Dominicans are,indeed,"Poor Yet Happy",living a simple lifestyle.
Stage 2,a LITTLE bit of "Reality" sets in.
Those "Poor yet happy" people are having a very difficult existance. No electricity,education,health care,(How "Happy" can they be watching a child die due to the lack of care,and then they get to pay the bill,BEFORE, they get the dead body!
Stage three,you pull back a little from stage 1.Are not an "Amigo" to every poor Dominican with their hand out.
Have fewer Dominican "Friends",and Don't go to "Poor Barrios" anymore.
At this time,some expats withdraw from Dominican "Society",and stay home,or only socialize with other expats.
Too many make getting drunk their main focus.
Others decide to make the DR their "HOME".If they haven't learned "Dominican Spanish",they better!
How can you live in a country if you don't know/speak/read/write the language of the country???
That is easier for some,harder for others.You have to do it to "Fit" in the Dominican life.
Last "stage",
you have a few really good Dominicans that you can call "Friends".
And I do mean "CALL".
Like when I blew a tire at 2 am on Luperon,under Kennedy.My van fell off the jack. :disappoin
I called a friend,who sent his brother(who I had never met) who lived nearby.He fixed the jack, and changed the tire
When I offered him some money for his help,he said "No,you are "Familia"!
If you want to live at "The Beach",in a gated community,and get drunk,that's OK by me.You are putting needed foreign exchange into the DR economy.
You wanna be, a "Dominican Wanna be",that's cool too.
It's "Cool",but as far as I'm concerned you have no more "credibility" in your posts on DR 1 than someone who spends a week in an "AI",then starts posting here,and telling those of us in the "Last Stage" that we don't really "Know" the DR,or it's people.
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Man!!! CC your knowledge is OFF THE CHAIN!!! You, Robert and Hillbilly knowledge comes from the best education known to man EXPERIENCE & LIVING. I read the book written by Ginnie Bedggood and Llana Benady and it was a very informative book very well put together, but I would love to read a book Living in Dominican Republic through the eyes of C. Colon. You should think about it I will be first in line to purchase it. p.s OFF THE CHAIN is a good thing slang for the BOMB!! or TIGHT!!
Because he must read some of the posts and think, what country are these people living in.
I have met 100's of expats over the years in the DR, I can count on 2 hands those that I feel have assimilated.
I stopped "ASSimulating" three years ago!
My wife refused to let me go out alone anymore.
BUTT,BACK in the day!!!!!!!!!!!!
CC
My wife refused to let me go out alone anymore.
BUTT,BACK in the day!!!!!!!!!!!!
CC
...etc.
I'm far from clueless about the working of Dominican culture and lifestyles but what I don't know would fill volumes. I am thank full that my wife does have connections and friends in high places ( for some things). My Dominican friends are mostly middle class or lower middle class, and many of my wife's relatives are poor, however none have done jail, had car accidents, drug involvement...etc. They are taxi drivers, mechanics, IT professionals, doctors, secretaries...etc. They are very resourceful and do know how get the best deals, and who to hook up with for many things.
I agree. C.Colon has the best handle on living here of all our contributors. His description of the stages immigrants go through is spot on. However, if he does decide to write a book I offer my services as copy editor. I don't think we can inflict 200 pages or more of random capitalization and eccentric punctuation on the readership.
As to Robert's original question "Why are so many expats clueless?", I am sure every ex-pat here agrees, but of course understand that it refers to everyone other than themselves. Yes, me too!
Also to understand Dominican cultural norms and values prevalent in this society, is to understand a society that is organized with a social hierarchy and a permanent under class.
In this society we are not all equals (some more equal than others) and great emphasis is placed on class which is not only provided by quick money, but a combination of virtues. And the unwritten rules are pretty much observed, few, hold Kardashian style values and marry ball players.
In this society we are not all equals (some more equal than others) and great emphasis is placed on class which is not only provided by quick money, but a combination of virtues. And the unwritten rules are pretty much observed, few, hold Kardashian style values and marry ball players.
I,"RESEMBLE" That Remark!
BECAUSE,you "left out",that I "Can't Speeeeel" either!
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BECAUSE,you "left out",that I "Can't Speeeeel" either!
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Everyone has phases of culture shock, and I was very surprised to see Robert as the OP for this thread as I was expecting it to be started by someone else. It seems the business model of DR1 is helped by both the inefficiency of Dominican services and the cluelessness of many expats.
Name one society where 'we' are all equal. No, let me answer that one for you...there is no such thing.
Does that bother me? No, didn't bother me in my home country and it doesn't bother me here. Why that doesn't bother me is that I am not here to change things, I am here to live a life, my life and my kind of life but with respect to the culture here.
We have friends or know people in all layers of this society, Dominicans and ex-pats and that works just fine. I give most credit to my husband for this as he is the one who masters the language far better then I do. I do realize I have to make the effort now to gain on that front soon.
It does make one wonder about some expats. Take for instance those that some choose to call " friends ", I mean if you did not associate with this type of crowd when in your " homeland " why would you do it here. I learned along time ago here it is who you know that will get the job done. Just because someone appears to have money and knowledge does not mean they won't rob you blind or not take advantage of you. Many expats forget to do their " homework ". Maybe some feel the more Dominican " friends " they have the more Dominicanized (not sure if this is a word) they will be. My motto is " quality over quanity " especially in selecting those I associate with.
En el mundo hay gente bruta y astuta...
Being "clueless" seems to lie in making sweeping, unfounded generalizations and being ethno or class centric. It sometimes makes you question what kind of education people are receiving in their home country.
Each expat has their own diverse interests and agenda for being in the DR. They don't check their baggage (issues, prejudices) at the port of entry, and they come equipped with a lens to process their new experiences. Success and happiness seems to lie in how well people are able to adjust that lens, and how foggy (or cracked) it was to begin with. Assimilating doesn't mean giving up your identity or being in agreement with the status quo, but it does require finding that sub-population of people that you enjoy sharing life with as well as being able to get along respectfully with everyone else.
Not every expat is going to use a solar rice cooker or join the Dominican feminist cause, but that's ok, to each his or her own. Society shapes people but interaction is the building block of society, so people have a right to make their own unique contribution. After all, diversity does keep life interesting.
"Hay de todo" in the DR and among expats, like the sentiment of this song, some categories in larger proportion than others:
[video=youtube;t0DeJ5HeG8o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0DeJ5HeG8o[/video]
Being "clueless" seems to lie in making sweeping, unfounded generalizations and being ethno or class centric. It sometimes makes you question what kind of education people are receiving in their home country.
Each expat has their own diverse interests and agenda for being in the DR. They don't check their baggage (issues, prejudices) at the port of entry, and they come equipped with a lens to process their new experiences. Success and happiness seems to lie in how well people are able to adjust that lens, and how foggy (or cracked) it was to begin with. Assimilating doesn't mean giving up your identity or being in agreement with the status quo, but it does require finding that sub-population of people that you enjoy sharing life with as well as being able to get along respectfully with everyone else.
Not every expat is going to use a solar rice cooker or join the Dominican feminist cause, but that's ok, to each his or her own. Society shapes people but interaction is the building block of society, so people have a right to make their own unique contribution. After all, diversity does keep life interesting.
"Hay de todo" in the DR and among expats, like the sentiment of this song, some categories in larger proportion than others:
[video=youtube;t0DeJ5HeG8o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0DeJ5HeG8o[/video]
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