AN IDEA OF LIFE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Learning about the Dominican people and their culture is an enriching experience. When one first visits the country, often it is quite a culture shock, and one remains in constant amazement at how people live and work.  However, none of the inconveniences of the Dominican people affects a person staying at a bed and breakfast or hotel.

THE POVERTY:

The first thing that may surprise you upon your arrival in the Dominican Republic, is the poverty.  Little children begging on the streets, shouting out "Dame un peso! [dah-may oon peso], and others wanting to shine your shoes or sell you something.

Vendors line the streets in Santo Domingo, sitting all along the sidewalks selling their fruits and vegetables.

ELECTRICITY:

Because it is a third world country (now known as a "developing" country), the Dominican Republic is unable to provide the country with enough fuel to produce electricity 24 hours a day.  Therefore, there is electricity (referred to by Dominicans as "luz" or "lights") only certain hours of the day.  One really never knows when it will go off and when it will return.  Often it can be 4 hours on and 4 hours off.  But since there is no organized program for this, the electricity may be off for 15 minutes or for 15 hours.  since street lights are not organized in a way that they can be shut off, often they are on all day, and at night they are out, due to the electrical cuts.  People have been accustomed to this all their lives and so are used to building their lives around it.  Foreigners living here generally install "inverter systems" with batteries in order to have electricity 24 hours a day.

WATER:

The water situation is similar.  It, too, goes off and on at will.  Depending upon where you live, it can be every 4 hours that it goes off/on; some places have water twice a day, while others twice a week.  Water problems are common, and at times people can be without water 24 hours, and now and then even as long as 2 days.  However, Dominicans are accustomed to filling jugs, buckets, and barrels with water when they must have it in order to be able to bathe, wash clothes, clean house, and cook.  This is their way of life.  All water must be boiled in order for it to be save enough to drink.  Most local persons cannot afford to buy the safe spring water which is sold throughout the country.  Foreigners living here or Dominicans with enough money install "tinakos" or 250-500 gallon water tanks on their roofs in order to have water 24 hours a day.

INTERESTING SIGHTS:

Another thing that astonishes many visitors to the country is the sight of women along the rivers washing their clothes by hand, shampooing their hair, or bathing their children.  Women and children not living near the rivers can be seen walking long distances to fill their water containers at a "llave" (YAH-vay) or faucet, and washing their clothes by hand in big tubs in their yards.  Laundry can be seen hanging on bushes, trees, and barbed wire fences, and even many times laid out on the hot pavement of the roads to dry.

Traveling along the country roads, it is common to see coffee beans, cacao (chocolate), and coconuts, drying in the sun, young children mounted on donkeys loaded down with coconuts or plantains, other children on mules herding cows to a water hole, women carrying large containers of water on their heads, and others - huge baskets of produce on their heads to sell along the way; sitting in their yards, while others can be seen grating coconuts and squeezing out the oil to sell, or hand grinding and sifting coffee beans for coffee for their family.  Men, women, and children work very hard to survive from day to day.

A large part of the culture of the Dominican Republic is their music.  Dominicans enjoy listening to music all day and all night whether sitting in their yards, riding on buses, playing dominoes in the street, or shopping at the nearest "colmado."  There are two of such songs on the home page and the Jarabacoa Bed & Breakfast page - very typical of the Dominican Republic and is music that is heard everywhere (Te Quero Asi and Palmita Blanco). 

DISORGANIZATION:

There is a great deal of disorganization in the country, but since the Dominicans have been raised in such a culture, they take it for granted.  For example, we've had the experience of going to the post office only to discover they were out of stamp; or going to the marketplace and finding there are no onions; or going to the bakery and finding no bread because they ran out of flour.  Once we went to the bank and discovered that they had no money!  The armored truck bringing it from the capital had not arrived!  Sometimes eggs or sugar or even gasoline disappear entirely from where you live.  The sugar may have been sold to Puerto Rico or there may have been a strike or "huelga" (WELL-gah) and the gas truck or water truck or egg truck couldn't get through.  Foreigners living here who have a good sense of humor survive beautifully.  However, don't forget that vacationers experience none of these inconveniences at a bed and breakfast or hotel.

THE DOMINICAN PEOPLE - PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS.

Field service is a wonderful experience in the country.  Everyone invites you in and listens.  Dominicans are a very kind, generous people, so when you are leaving they will often load you down with bananas or platanos and mangos or other fruits in season.  It is such a joy to preach to these spiritually-minded hospital people.  They love hearing about the Bible.  Some pioneers have as many as 15-20 Bible studies, sometimes totaling 45-50 people they are helping.

Actually, even just walking to the houses is an experience in itself.  In some places you may have a beautiful view of sky-to-sky coconut trees framed by mountains in the background, or in other places you may be looking out over the sea and tiny islands in the bay.  Sometimes there are long climbs up hills and walking through wooded areas, and often one must even wade through rivers to reach the little "ranchitos."  Ranchitos are little wooden houses with tin or thatched roofs with little open sided thatched roofed kitchens separate from their houses, where they cook on charcoal or coconut husks.

Dominicans are very spiritually-minded, clean, neat persons, and mornings they can be seen washing clothes by hand in their yards, mopping and cleaning, even sweeping their yards.  But no matter how busy they are, they will always make time to invite you in and will sit and listen to you.  At the end of the three hours of almost non-stop talking, preaching, and using the Bible to explain things, you go home rejoicing and filled with the Joy of Jehovah.