The other side of the Dominican postcard

Yup. And that is not to say it might not have been a good idea. But imagine several years later and bus feeder routes are still not managed properly!!!! Although

And we have far bigger, more pressing issues. Number one on a personal and business  level ---- electricity.

Bobby.... quite true!
Lionel has his priorities very much in the
wrong order! Danilo has them right.
Education first. Unfortunately, fixing corruption is way down his list.
I have a personal feeling about that.
If he tried too hard to fix our worst problem here, he
would vanish, I am sure. He does seem to be fixing it
very slowly & cautiously.

I agree with you.  Constantly I tell people, one president, one leader cannot make this change. It will take top to bottom buy in to make this kind of a change. AND it will likely take 2 generations to do this!!!!

Corruption here is systemic, expected and more or less accepted. Sure people get pissed off and yell and scream but come election day they will sell their votes for 500RD or a can of paint!!!!  The higher up you are in the food chain the higher the price for your vote......

A very slow process but at least Hipillito will not be around to give out pigs, bikes, turkeys, washing machines to garner votes.  He came within a whisker of bankrupting the country but the people forget so easily.

Bob K

Aren't we like most countries, bankrupt on paper?

Oh yes!!!

Yes but he was going to bankrupt your pocket as well.

Bob k

Well Bobby, I have enough Scotch blood in me to avoid that!
jajajaja

.

Well Casey, welcome to the site!
I would comment on your comment,
but it is blank?
I see you are from my birthplace, Toronto!

Hi Tomas,

I actually wrote a reply to a much earlier post, where Planner had commented about cultures being different, but not better or worse.  Then I realized that the post was not a reply to her message, but was appended to the bottom of the thread and seemed disconnected - so I tried to delete it, but could not, so I reduced it to a single period.

Here is the original post (keeping in mind the context of the earlier discussion on DR norms being different from US norms....)

--------------------------------------

We lived in Japan for several years where we learned that using a Kleenex to blow your nose in public was extremely vulgar - much better to sit and sniffle every few seconds.  And slurping the noodles from your soup was considered to be the only rational way to eat noodles.  On the other hand, farting, no matter how obnoxiously, was not considered rude as a person was surely not responsible for anything that happened behind them.

On the other hand, we were all quite accepted in Japan despite our vulgarity, because they realized that they could hardly expect civilized behaviour from foreigners such as ourselves.

At the end of the day, we are all just human beings with the same embarrassingly difficult human bodies, and the conventions on how we deal with that are just arbitrary rules that have come to be accepted by different groups of people.  This is just part of what we mean by culture, and one group's culture is no better or worse than that of any other group.

Casey welcome. What were you asking??
I did answer you post on bringing in a car



Bob K

Thanks Bob, I saw that.  I expect we will bring a car with us - apparently we can ship it in the same container as our other household stuff (much less than a container full.)  It seems that the most common cars are Hyundai's so we will probably bring a Tucson or a Sante Fe with us.

We rented a car on our last visit, but quickly realized the wisdom of not driving after dark.   However during the daytime, it seems like it will be really useful for travel to Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete, and also for ferrying friends and family up to Monkey Jungle.

Do note that there are some "rules" about bringing a car.  It has to be 2 years old (this may have changed to one year now but it cannot be new) and less than 7 years old and you have had to owned it for the 1 or 2 years that is required.  So you cannot buy a vehicle and ship it. If we had done ours with our container it would have decreased or cost quite a bit.

I agree about driving at night but you will get used to it.

Where are you planning on living?  Are you going to be here full time.  We are between Sosua and Cabarete and actually on the same road as Monkey Jungle.

Bob K

CASEY!
The most common cars here are Toyotas, BY FAR!
They are the most easily fixed.

As for you Bob, just how did you get used to driving at night here??????
I'm sorry, but I have been driving here over 10 years now
& I will NOT drive at night, any night, even Wed.
It is simply too dangerous chum!
I have had way too many very close calls at night.
Daytime is good.
You know what I mean.

Easy, turn your lights off, close your eyes and just go

Actually it took some getting used to  and Pat sits in the passenger seat watching for idiot motos.  The worst time for me is actually at dusk. This time frame I try to avoid.

Bob K

Bob, we have bought property in the new part of Casa Linda.  I will be retiring in September and we expect to move down in October or November as full time residents.

I think you told me that already. We are a mile or two further up the road. We also a have a client who is finishing there home in CL in the new section.  What is your lot number?

Let me know if you have any other questions...neighbor!

Bob K

Bob it is the same for me,  dusk is the worst time of day! It hurts my eyes and  I find it very hard to see properly.  Driving at night I got used to -  I would white knuckle it but I could do it.

Hey guys!
Even Planner has bigger cahonnes than me!
I can handle driving around Cabrera at night,
but NOT the highways.
Sorry, but the fact that my friends hit &
killed a 21 year old youth on the edge of the blacktop
as he was getting of his scooter. No charges laid,
but the family wants 1,000,000. pesos.
The insurance that came with the rented suv
was not valid, of course.
This was about 6-7 weeks ago. The policia took her passport.
Hubby went back to Canada to get money.
I haven't heard anything yet.
This is one of the best reasons for not driving at night.

That story sounds about right.  Did he hire a lawyer.
Here the facts mean NOTHING only how do we make it the gringo's fault and how much are we going to collect!  It is like winning  a lottery for them

BObK

Yes Bob, sad, but quite true.
yes, Lawyer said pay them.
Also sad & true.

It make me just shake my head.  The system certainly is broke.

Bob K

Well Bob, if there never was a system, it can't be broke!
Let's just be polite & say "It's evolving".
Hmmm, a good quote, eh?
Have a great Labour Day holiday!

Is "evolving" like saying I am not getting old just maturing?

Bob K

Bob, pretty much mismo chum!

Yes it is sad to say that this stuff goes on all the time!   It leaves a bad taste. The accident itself is tragic enough, then everything else piled on top is just insult to injury! I hope it gets resolved for your friends.

And Tomas that was quite the "compliment".....LOL

Yes Planner, I surprised myself with that one!

Hahahaha

See even us "old" folks can be clever at times. But it does get harder

Bob K

Yes it does Bob, but when it happens, it's a bigger surprise.
Especially when a young Lady like the Planner gets
a chuckle out of it!

Just keeps getting better.....young lady..... I love it...

Gracias, I just calls 'em like I sees 'em!

Muchisimas gracias!!!

Hi guys & the young planner!
An update on my friends. She got her passport back
& they slipped across the border $$$
into Haiti & got a flight to Canada.
Seems a little dangerous to me, but that was their
only alternative to much more$$$$$
Oh well.
It seems like we have had enough rain for now!
Time for a Presidente.

Life is never simple.  I think that is one of the reasons God invented Presidente.. Yes time for one on the terrace between rain showers.

Bob K

Stopped raining here for a few hours but I am just waiting for it to start -  expected 5 minutes before I have to go out!!! Guaranteed......LOL

Yep some more heavy showers on the way for the PP area.  So far this month nearly 12 inches of rain .

Bob K

Pouring now.