A DAY IN THE LIFE

Bob & Planner, got plenty of rain here... I'm going to blow the clouds and rain to the west! LOL!

I have got to say I soooo enjoy reading about your 'andanzas' in DR! I really look forward to reading this blog, like it was a soap opera!

We, too, have a time issue here in Puerto Rico.  Funny thing, however, we contracted a Dominican man to re-face our kitchen cabinets... doing a great job so far! But, guess what? We tell him to be here at 8:00 am... he arrives at 10:00 am.  Last Sunday I said, I told you to synchronize your watch with ours so that you'd get here at 8:00... he simply smiled and said, "What? I was here at 9:00 am". OMG, we just go with the flow... What else can we do?

Take care all & have a great weekend! Nice to read about new member Jaxterstone, too!

hello I am doing a research project on the dominican republic and I  am trying to find information on the daily lives of locals. I can't find any information on what an average woman's daily life would be like. I need to answer these questions and was wondering if you could help.

Daily responsibilities: What responsibilities do you have on a daily basis? Are you employed outside of the home? What is your typical routine each day? (This is all for an average 30 year old woman)

Ahartz, welcome.  If you are looking for a typical Dominican woman,  this forum is for expats. There may be some Dominican women who read it, lets hope so.

I am sure some of us can tell you what we see but we are not locals.

Very little rain but we will take what we can get.

Living here you very quickly learn that manana does not mean tomorrow it just means not today.  So if someone tells you "I will be there manana" they really mean I won't be there today but some time in the future.

Also if someone says I can do it Monday you have to pin them down to what Monday are we talking about. Is it this Monday or next or in two weeks or the first Monday of the month with the next blue moon

You quickly adjust to this.

Bob K

Hired a maid today to clean,do laundry,run errands,and cook sometimes.Really a good deal because I only need her 3 times a week but she lives close by and checks on me everyday and brings me green mangos when I need them for salads.My green mango salad is very pica(hot)and most Dominicans don't like much pepper.I eat my salad when I drink rum,its tangy with vinegar and hot sause. YUMMMM.

So out of curiosity,  how much will you pay her a month???

We pay out house keeper (full time ) $9000RD + transport a month

More important........IT IS RAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob K

Yesterday we had RAIN, lots and lots of RAIN here in Puerto Plata.  It was very welcome. So let me tell you about my day yesterday.

Where I live it is a bit removed, I have empty land on 3 sides of the house.  While I live alone I am not concerned. Why you ask???  I have 3 dogs now.  In the beginning I only had 1 dog, a rescue dog I got in Santo Domingo,  Jack!  Jack is the coolest dog but he scares most locals and Haitians. The worst thing Jack will do is lick you to death,  but they don't know that.....

When I moved into this house it came with 2 more dogs - both about 80% pit bull.  Yes pit bull.  At first they kinda scared me too, but I soon realized they accepted both me and Jack. Jack and the female, who I named Lucy, became great  buddies.  They run together, bark at the same people and will share food without issue. The male, who I named Ricky,  is also very friendly, clearly the alpha dog and not willing to share his food EVER.  But he is very  accepting of me and Jack.

Now I have 3 dogs watching over me and I feel safe. Once I came home in a taxi with groceries and the driver would not get out of the vehicle!!!!

Once I got he animals fed yesterday it was off for coffee with a friend,  then to the grocery store, La Sirena. They have the best price on dog food so it was the store of choice.  Also while there, I could pay some bills. You will find Claro, Viva, Orange,  A Pharmacy, Western Union and a variety of bank ATM machines there. What more could you want.

I got all this done BEFORE the rains hit.  Wherever you are you have to learn to read the weather and plan for it!

I came home and  worked a bit, made some food etc  -  then I chilled cause I was going dancing Saturday night. As I watched the pouring rain I was hoping it was going to stop in time, and it did.

My friends picked me up at 8:40 - and off we went to my favorite place to dance Terraza Caribe - which may or may not now be called Terraza de Jhonny, LOL. Places do change names.

So let me describe a typical place to go dancing - it has the sense of being open because 3 sides are half walls, it has a full roof,  inside the dance floor is dead center of the club and it is surrounded by small square plastic tables - each with 4 plastic chairs. This is where locals go!  This club would be considered middle class, it attracts a variety of people from various social and economic classes.  It tends to have less "tigres" and very very few problems because they have excellent security.

So lets get to the good stuff - the drinks and dancing!!!  Drinks are not like a club at the hotels or likely where you are from.  For the most part people order a "servicio" or drink beer.  A servicio is a bottle of rum (white, regular or aged rum)  plus you get an endless supply of ice in a small bucket, and mix based on what you ask for.  Last night started with a bottle of Barcelo Anejo,  7up, pepsi and 911  and  5 glasses!  The bill for  5 of us was 420 RD, about US $10!  We went through 2 of these last night. 

Beer comes in medium or grande and they will bring small plastic glasses with it.

The dancing is for me the best part!  Almost all of these places use the same format ( drives me crazy )  first about 7 merengue - with 4 or so being merengue typico.  Then we will get about 5 to 7 bachatas, then 3 salsas, then 2 or so of what I call stupid music (reggaeton and other music I detest)  BUT it is only 2 of these so I can survive it.

Dancing it seems is one of the national pass times, along with baseball and sex! I remember from Canada finding a Canadian man who can really dance and love it is..............well...... difficult.  Here finding a Dominican man who cannot dance is difficult. It is cultural.

I had a blast.  I danced with maybe  20 different men, sometimes more than once!  We were there almost 4 hours and I danced merengue, bachata and salsa....... it was a good night.

There were 3 women and 2 men at our table.  When a man who doesn't know us approaches our table to ask me to dance,  those with the best manners, will ask either man at the table for permission to dance with me.  You might think that is rather chauvinist but it is cultural.  In fact it is rather cute.  And once I had a man refuse as he knew this person wasn't a nice guy. Okay..........

It was hot and humid last night but the club had lots of  fans so it was quite comfortable. In fact we go a bit early to make sure we get our table under the fan!!!! 

It was a lot of fun, great exercise and not a lot of money. What more can you ask for!!!

Sounds like a good night. Ours boring out with friends for a great dinner and home early.  Still recovering from my trip home to see Mom.

Bob K

Doesn't sound all that boring, dinner with friends can be fun!

It actually was fun. They were old clients turned into friends who are here for a couple of weeks.

Bob K

planner wrote:

So out of curiosity,  how much will you pay her a month???

Well its on a trial bases for the first month 7000pesos. if im happy it will continue if not then ill adjust. Today im cooking Chinese. Shrimp fried rice and curry chicken. Got recipe online. She cut up the veggies and the chicken.

Jax

Planner that sounds like a great evening! I really need to learn how to dance salsa/merengue/bachata etc - most people assume I know he dances because I'm Latina, but I don't know any steps at all

No worries Jennifer, I will teach you the basics....

Jax,  sounds good!!!!

Jax,

Hope she works out as that a bit high but a good price for a good worker. Are you providing a lunch meal and transportation for her?

Bob K

Hey Bob I think Jax said she lives very close and pops over almost daily.

No meals ,no transport needed because she lives two houses away and she is always welcome to eat but she always eat at home with her family.I hate housework but I love my apartment fresh and clean.She always passes by to see if I need anything and usually makes the bed and straighten up a little.Im happy so far.

Jax

Jax - sounds good,  keep us posted!  It is often hard to find a good reliable person who will do things the way you want them.  It is a fact of our lives here that often they know how to do things better then you.

One specific example that drives me crazy - in order to clean a floor the "right" way you need to throw buckets of water all over the place!!!!  Water soaks up into the furniture and starts to rot it over time. BUT that is the only way to get a floor clean..... 

Me, I use a good mop, some cleaner and a bit of elbow grease! Works like a charm....

Jax in that case it soundspretty good

Plsnner, we have "trained" our housekeeper to use a mop and forego the gallon of mistolin and use a small amount of vinegar instead which is much more dog friendly

Bob K

She has 3 kittens and wants to give me one.Ive done the dog thing and they too much work for me.Think ill try a cat,any tips on Dominican cats?..

jax

Ive searched high and low but there are no collard greens in Pop. No turnips also. And no Kentucky fried chicken. We have a Burger King,Pizza hut, and Dominoes. I miss KFC. Nearest KFC is in Santiago. One good Chinese place here but I cook my own Chinese. Guess I may have to grow my own collards and turnips with permission of customs of course. Just a thought....Jax....

Never seen collard greens or turnips OR yams or sweet potatoes,  I miss those.

This past Saturday was the best day of last week.  I went to PP, specifically Ocean World in Cofresi to see the Bravisimo Show.  It is a Las Vegas type show with a Caribbean flavor.  My wife and I had diinner at the Poseidon restaurant.  I had the Lobster medallions with steak and she had just steak. The food was phnomenal, from there we went to the second level of the complex for the show.  If you have not seen the show, it is a must! Right after the show we proceeded to do a bit of gambling in the casino, and lastly we danced the night away at the lighthouse disco.  The drinks were unlimitted during, dinner, the show, and casino, in the disco you have to pay for drinks. After all that, we headed back to Cabarete and slept in on Sunday.  Sunday was basically a movies and Tacos day, which was fine for me, after all that we did on Sat.   :-)

Sounds like a pretty good Saturday!  I've seen the show a few times but not seen the newest version. I will put that on my TODO list again!

MASSAGEWIZ
We have seen the show a couple of times and enjoyed it each time. When we have out of town guests they sometimes want to go.

Planner we have sweet potatoes all the time.  I smuggled in a potato from the US, cut it up and planted the eyes. We now have a crop about every 3 months and enjoy the potatoes for weeks. Next crop should be in about 4 weeks which is a good thing as we ran out last week.

Off for a massage this morning followed by a beach day. Tuesdays are my favorite!

Bob K

@Bob K. Your Tuesday sounds pretty good already :-) as you know I'm a massage therapist myself, but what is the average price for massages around here? I have been told up here in Cabarete about 500 pesos for the half hour, is that average? There is also a place up here called the Millenium which has a spa, but their prices seem more like U.S. prices to me, have you tried them, or know anyone who has had a massage at the Millenium? Enjoy your beach day, for me it is going to be a lounge day by the pool while sipping on a caipirinha, very refreshing on those hot days.

@planner.  I'm not sure if the sweet potatoes are what they call batatas, but from what my girlfriend tells me, the season for batatas is around the November to January months, mainly for the holiday season, so next time you are at the veg stand, ask for batatas to see if it is their version of sweet potatoes. I have a feeling they might be just what you are looking for. My girlfriend is a cook, I will ask her if there are any batatas available at this time and where to get some. Have a great day everyone.

Thanks for the info,  batatas are available all year long and they are definitely NOT sweet potatoes,  they are a very watered down version.

BOB - what will it take to get a sweet potato??? 

Here is a quick recipe: at Christmas (or whenever I have a craving)  I peel and chop batatas,  and I peel and chop carrots,  boil the heck out of them.  Then  mash until your arms are falling off, add  cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.  Voila  looks a little bit like sweet potatoes or yams  and tastes pretty good!!!  The batatas are very mild but he carrots are  very tasty!

Batata are a poor substitute for a Sweet Potato. Much more starchy, more water content, and not nearly as "sweet".  Planner when the next crop is in and I will make sure you get one to cut up and plant.
MASSAGEWIZ  there are lots of places for massage but finding one that is ligit with out "happy" endings can be hard to find unless the spa is attached to a resort like Millenium. And at resorts the prices will rival prices in the states. I have been going to a lady in Sosua for the last 7years.  One of the few places to get a  ligit massage in Sosua. The cost for an hour and a half of deep tissue is 800 pesos plus tip.  For an hour is 500.  500 pesos is the going rate in Sosua for an hour massge.

Bob K

Ok a "non typical" day in the DR.

Started out with an hour and a half massage. I think she went to a class on finding knots and trigger points last week because she found ones I did not even know I had.

After oozing off the table and not falling asleep during the massage, I headed to the beach. I hate when I fall asleep as I feel like I wasted the massage time

Had to spend a beautiful day on the beach reading the latest James Patterson book and enjoying a small cigar.  Lunch was at my "beer lady's" place, which is one of the small local restaurants lining the beach.  She made me a typical Dominican lunch of salad, chicken (delicious) and muro (rice and beans mixed up).  Great lunch and cost was $250 with a coke light.  Not bad.  Then more beach time, nap, reading, getting in the water again and the water is warming up nicely.

Finished the afternoon with another cigar that I finished sitting on a bench at the park of the flags in Sosua.

Home for a nice hot shower and burgers on the grill for dinner.
All in all a great "non Typical" day in the DR.

Today back to reality with bills to pay, a client to check into the condo and some pool supplies to get.

Enjoy your day!

Bob K

Thanks for the info Bob.  Will check around and see what I find up here in Cabarete.  I have been told there is a pretty strong Russian Woman that does house calls up this way, so that might be a pissibility, or I might just go to another woman in Sabaneta who I have been told is pretty good.  From what I can see, there is somewhat of a bussiness for legit massage therapy up here. I specialize in deep tissue and sports massage, but I guess it is all about building a following or getting hooked up with a spa resort, my only problem is that without my residencia, not sure if they would hire me.  Thanks once again for the info, maybe I will try to emulate your day today :-)

It has been an interesting few days!  We have had lots and lots of rain the last few nights. As I have three dogs at this house,  you can imagine the mess in the mornings.  I've been through a few buckets of cleaner!!!  We have beautiful tile floors but they are almost white and dirty doggie feet are not pretty.

I have gotten some banking issues handled - time to resolution - over 2 weeks.
I have gotten a wire transfer issue handled - time to resolution - 12 days.
I paid my vivi phone bill -  4 minutes
Time to get them to understand my MIFI is not behaving properly -  Will take 12 years, 3 months and 2 days.  Clearly I don't know  how to use it right..............

Slight over exaggeration but not much people.  the concept of customer service is just not understood here! Like almost nowhere!!!!  Some of my consulting work is in customer service so I will NEVER be out of work.

I walked all the way into the city today from my house to do some errands  - it's probably 4 KM to the area I needed to go.  I was asked by motoconchos at least  150 times in 4 km if I needed a ride.  A motoconcho is a motorcycle taxi,  they are everywhere here in the Puerto Plata area but you don't see many  in Santo Domingo (only in the outlying barrios)  From my place to town is about 30 pesos, or 75 cents. They all think I am weird as I actually like to walk,  this morning was nice so off I went.  As a rich "gringa" why would I be walking? 

Lots more stories to tell but that is all for today!

Tell me about lack of customer service. I think I finally have resolved a billing issue with Orange. We canceled our Orange flybox internet back in August because of NO service. They agreed to cancel and took back the equipment. I still received bills every month and finally could not pay my phone bill here in the local Orange store in Sosua but had to go to Puerto Plata to the main office to take care of it.

Every month it was the same story and every month I had to drive to PP to pay my phone bill and once again get the $19,000 RD internet bill taken off as the service was canceled back in August. Every month same story "no problem issue resolved", every month same problem issue NOT resolved. 

Last month once again back to PP to pay the phone bill and get the past billing taken care of.  This time I gave them a bill of $9000RD to cover my costs of gas and gave them my time for free.

This time guess what  ISSUE RESOLVED! At least I hope so.

So their customer service finally came through after 8 months of being hassled.  You gotta love it.

Bob K

Oh  Bob I can so relate.  I refuse to use Claro / Codetel because of a 5 year feud over service.  They eventually cancelled all the over billing for a second phone that was cancelled. BUT they want ME to pay for all the interest and penalties that accumulated.  They don't get it.

And any dispute that goes on, WILL effect your credit rating here if you use your cedula, so be aware.  The companies here know this too!!!!

Real life:  Wherever you go to resolve something, ask for service,  change your service or just ask a question -  you  will be told whatever they think YOU want to hear.  It is never right, it is never accurate and it will cause repeated visits to the location to resolve.

One mistake expats make when they move here is thinking that THEY can change how things are. YOU CAN'T so just accept it.

Remember the saying -  Pick your Battles..........well it applies here in spades.  Don't get your knickers in a twist, don't think you are special. It is what it is.

That being said, there are skills you can learn and use.  For me, I will find a male to deal with (when possible) and I always flirt. It usually helps but not always.  And if I need to, I bring out the heavy artillery.  Yes,  a short skirt, high heels and full battle makeup!  Now it may not get my problem resolved but it will almost always get me a request for a date!!!!

So much here is different then what you know. It is part of the charm (but also infuriating, frustrating) and it is part of the cultural issues you need to learn and adapt to or you will go  nuts.....

Planner you are so right. I am so pleasantly surprised when something actually goes "according to plan"

The futility sometimes is actually funny. You just need to "roll with it" and not let it get to you.

It truly is a way of life here, but would not trade it for anything else.

Bob K

I'm with you Bob, I would not trade this life!  I love it here but one secret to my success is rolling with what you need to.  It is a choice!

And when things go really well, I tell the world. Like Tricom in Santo Domingo - I am unbelievably impressed with their service!!!! 

We celebrate the little victories here!

So true and when we find someone who does the job for us correctly and the first time we never want to let him go.

Bob K

So true Bob.

I just found another are gem.  I had a 1 hour massage! OMG, she is awesome. when i said I wanted a strong massage,  fuerte,  she understood and delivered.  She came to my house,  did the massage really really well and then left.  COST - 800RD about US 20!!!!  woooo hoooooo

I have the same girl I have been going to for 7 years in Sosua. Every Tuesday morning I get an hour and a half deep tissue massage (to die for) and the charge is 800 pesos.

If I ever move from the DR I am going to have to find a way to pack her up and take her with us.

Bob K