A DAY IN THE LIFE

Hahahaha   don't worry we  have some water now........

Seriously thanks for helping the kids.

Well now that Aduana is not going to overtax me, I can send a Box with some stuff as well 

Hey guys!
We had 3 kids in public high school here in
Cabrera (2 in University now, 1 in HS now).
Books were all free!
So what is going on with your stories????

I've never ever heard this.

Planner: never heard of what?
Free books?
I have no reason to lie.
Grade school to high school, free.

No president, no leader can reform an entire national school system overnight. The evidence I have seen is that the textbooks used in Barahona are adequate to the task, and how to use them is self-explanatory. The school hours in shifts are inadequate. Some of the assignments given are stupid and unlikely to be the best way to instill literacy, such as giving a student a list of words and a page from the newspaper and having him find the same words in the paper and past them on the sheet given. Just using the textbook would have been far more useful. I suspect that this assignment was done because a lot of students had no books.

Erika, the 15 year old daughter has taken English for at least six months and cannot say or understand a word beyond "hello:. There was no text for English. She said they used the chalkboard.

Public schools "share" books so they are free but the all the students can not take them home. IN fact is some schools NO books and if they have some  around NONE of them can go home with the students.

Private schools require students to have their own books.

Bob K

And any supplies "all you all" (that is how we say it in Tennessee) will be welcome.

Bob K

The sad part behind it all Is when these kids graduate, they are no where prepared to assume meaningful jobs unless they seek university level training, but this all makes me wonder how good is the training at that level as well.  Xavier, perhaps if you have cable with a few English stations, you should have the 15 year old watch a few programs from time to time.  I think Danilo instead of just building schools, he should also build a few libraries in some of those same areas to instill the love of reading.  I did not see a single library or book store in Puerto Plata and I have been from Samaná to PP, and if there are some, they are well hidden.  The love of reading must be instilled, but if there are no worthy books, how can these kids improve beyond just what they learn in school.  Every time I travel to DR I take spanish children books for my girlfriends nieces and nephews. Schools without libraries is an incomplete school.

Tomas - honey i do not doubt you at all!!!!  Its simply the first time I have heard this.  So in some cases tbere are some books, but, not enough. Ok. I see the lists of what parents are expected to purchase and it includes books and everything else.

Thanks for educating me! 

University education here is for the most part not at a high level. There are some excellent universities but they are far more expensive.  Most cannot afford this.

Most kids who actually finish high school will go to work and try to attend university at night. The public university is far below the quality you will find in the USA, Canada or most of Europe.

Where else but here can you practice medicine after 3 years of part time classes in  medical school???

Education here is just plain scary.

BobK

Yup so true!!!! Or call yourself lawyer after 3 years of saturday classes!

There is a public library in Barahona, manned by a couple of elderly women. I guess I should inquire about the way the library works there. I left a copy of Cuando yo era puertorriqueña, which she read. Or said she did.

I have no plans to subscribe to cable in Barahona, because (1) the electricity goes off al the time, and (2) the cable I have seen there in the hotels is really, really awful. Telenovelas, stupid variety shows, really bad reception, and infomercials. Perhaps other cities have better choices.

PBS would be a boon. In Ecuador, there is an excellent public TV channel, with in depth features about every province, Sesame street in Spanish and English, and educational programming. The rest of what I saw on cable in Ecuador sucked. And by sucked, I meant worse than Univision and Telemundo.

Yes the two top shows here are novelas and cartoons.  Nothing educational at all

Bob K

Bob, our children have rec'd all their books free
up until grade 12. Theirs to take home when they want to.
We have Discovery, History, Animal Planet, National Geographic,
all Disney channels,  CNN & more here in Cabrera with Claro cable.
Our educational is very good for a third world country.
Please stop bashing your adopted Country.
We are trying.
Thank you for helping our children financially.
Respectfully yours,
Tomas.
Yes, book stores are rare, but there are 4 that I have been to in Puerto Plata.

Tomas i dont believe any of us are bashing!  I truly love it here. I pride myself on being a realist, some things need improvement and if i can help i always will.

One thing that distinguishes the DR from the rest of Hispanic America is the paucity of national literature. Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, and even Nicaragua have novelists, playwrights and poets that are known and read beyond the national boundaries. The most prominent Dominican literary figures are Pedro Enríquez Ureña (who appears with his wife on the 500 peso bill)  Juan Bosch, and Junot Diaz. All of them spent many years of their lives outside the country. Dominicans tend not be either writers or readers, and more's the pity,. I  think it is safe to say that Haiti has as many famous writers as the DR, and that is strange, because Creole is not normally even a written language, and Haitian writers  mostly write in French or English.

Hey Thomas. No one is bashing, we are just keeping it real! Perhaps in your area, you are fortunate enough to have those things, but that is not the norm on the island, just as it is not in the US where there are great school districts with books and computers, and crappy ones that have very little to nothing at all. 
     
      The facts are the facts, education for the most part is lacking in substance in some of the more underdeveloped areas, the literacy rate and percentage of students that graduate HS and attend college is no where near what it could be, which is why I commend President Medina for taking his head out of the sand and owning up to these realities, and creating a literacy program for adults and building more schools to improve the lively hood of the old and future generation which will someday take DR to the next level.  If we pretend these problems do not exist, then how are we supposed to shed light on the faulty matter and repair the broken??? The Forum is a good place to bring awareness to the realities of the country, and perhaps will encourage other expats old and new who read the posts to do their little part whenever they visit or settle on the island.  Some of us will obviously be able to do more than others, but that is not even the point here, we are simply sharing our personal experiences in order to bring awareness to the realities of DR.

       All experiences are welcomed and all experiences will vary from person to person. It looks like Cabrera has a good school system, so perhaps some readers might consider that part of the island if they have kids and wish not to place them in a private school.  The Forum is about sharing and learning, no one person's experience trumps another, because that is what it is, personal experience.

Thomas  not bashing at all.  I live here by choice and a good choice it has been.

However looking at the country as a whole the education system here sucks. You may be luckier in your community and you can afford to provide TV for your family with all the educational stations.  However most homes have NO TV or if they do it is just the basic channels.

Yes the president is trying and yes he has lived up to his promise of the 4% rule.  Yes education is probably farther along than it was during the last administration.  But and A BIG BUT so much more has to be done.  It is fine that there are hundreds of new "modern" schools and classrooms, but the quality of the teachers has not improved much at all and the level of education provided right up through college for the most part is decades behind the "real world"

Now that we have classrooms lets work on teaching the teachers and in the end teaching the children.

Bob K

Here is an article I just read a few minutes ago in today's paper that talks about the high cost of sending a child to school (including the purchase of books) and how the general population can not afford it.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/201 … lases.html

Bob K

I just read that article Bob and some others.

We need to always keep this in perspective: the cost to send a child back to school relative to average earnings here! Buying what is needed lets average at 6,000 rd - average salary here is about 13,000 rd.

That is a big hardship for many! Now imagine 2,3 or more children going back to school......

Well said all. Medina means well. The problem is the classrooms do not
come equipped with proper teachers. The near future does not look
like there will be much improvement. They are scrambling to find intelligent,
qualified & available teachers. The old saying applies, "You get what you pay for".
We are still a struggling third world country.
Yes, We live in a progressive community with our own problems.
Apparently education is not one of them.
Cable is available to anyone that climb a pole.
Just like electricity.
Bob, positive thinking & impressions work!
They are contagious.

Read the article Bob and one woman said it would cost her RD15000 to prepare each girl for school for the salaries the average folks make down there, it always seems that everything is over inflated! Gas, Electricity, Consumer goods, school supplies, books.......It almost seems as if there is some Machiavellian plan by suppliers to push consumers to the edge before the say: enough is enough! I guess this is what I referred to as keeping it real! Facts are Facts, let's not try to cover the Sun with our finger.

There are many in our area who wish their salary was $1300Rd a month. 
Many here are surviving on less than $10,000

Bob K

And "climbing a  pole" for your electric and cable is part of the bigger problem!

Bob K

Yes Bob, I know that.
I just don't fully understand why, when
Edenorte, este, etc, can obviously see & just NOT CARE
when they see all the THOUSANDS of
little wires running to little & big houses
ahead of the meters.
It's a tad frustrating.

Yes Bob, thats why I said the average is 13,000, meaning many many live on so much less!!!!!

I know families trying to survive on less then 7,000 a month. Its unimaginable but isnt uncommon!

Climbing a pole for cable is ok
when you consider Claro, (owned by one of the richest
men in the world), are, themselves stealing much of
what they are broadcasting.

Sorry stealing is stealing no matter who is doing it

Bob K

Please bear with this message.  I am not trying to bash this country, but merely seeking to discern the social environment.
Yes, MessageWiz, your comment that "almost seems as if there is some Machiavellian plan by suppliers to push consumers to the edge before..."  causes me great concern for even the short-term social stability on this island.  As a father of young children, I need to be especially concerned how social instability will play out.  My concern is that the frustrations of the locals will be misdirected toward the expats?  Such thinking would not be new on this island, as evidenced by the comment in an older issue of a popular tourist guide which stated that "The increase in expatriation and tourism [specifically referring to Las Terrenas] has fuelled some resentment between the Dominican and foreign communities, centered on the growing prostitution trade in the discos and on the well-founded perception that the expats are making all of the money off the booming tourist business." 
Does anyone else sense any resentment towards expats in any of the nontourist locations?
I was told by a trustworthy native DR that no part out in the country (that is, isolated away from the city) is safe for gringos.  Does anyone know any native DR who has a opinion on this matter?   Even in the city, it seems that one needs an armed security guard present 24/7 to offer protection.
A hope that I have is that some persons of influence in this nation will view the concerns voiced on this forum, understand the need for a healthy tourist/investment environment, and exercise such influence in a positive manner for the well-being of this nation's current and future generations.

I am a single expat female who has lived here 11 years without fear. I dont know where you are getting your info but it has little in common with my experience.

Ive lived in both touristy and non tourist areas without issue.

Greetings Mike. My use of the term Machiavellian was used more in the context of the Dominican empresarios who own some of the larger venues that sell the aforementioned items.  It would seem their greed as a collective group is what drives their motivation for inflating the prices to ridiculous levels.

    Expats don't usually own these types of businesses so I don't think their frustrations would be directed towards that group, but for the sake of keeping it real as I always like to quote, any expat in a foreign land will be viewed as a possible target, because we are perceived as having money, and that is certainly augmented in a country where your neighbors might not be able to afford some of the most basic things.  Wealthy Dominicans are also targeted from time to time as well, but as planner mentioned in an older post, safety and common sense are key. 

     The issue here is more about economics more than anything else, heck I have been subtly asked for a donation from an officer at a road stop in order to be on my way without incident while visiting.  There will always be some resentment from some folks if you are doing better than them, but that happens anywhere on the planet, not just DR. The folks know that many expats create jobs and fuel money into the economy with their tourist dollars so they will not look to shoot themselves in the foot, but as always, there will be a few negative individuals who make the rest look bad.

      This country is no more dangerous than some of our major cities here in North America. The key is to keep a low profile, be careful who you let into your house, be courteous, and use common sense! But most of all keep a lot of your personal business to yourself since in many cases as I have been told, not all expats have your best interest at hand, are the ones you really need to worry about; So Mike I do not think Dominicans are going to go out and mass hunt Expats, if anything, they are more likely to burn a few tires a raise hell in their own neighborhoods.

The tire-burning incidents I have witnessed, 5-6, have all been directed
at Edenorte, our electricity supplier on the north coast, with just cause.
The safety of expats is always a concern, though not a problem.
Just behave sensibly & there is never a problem. I have no problem here
alone at night, although not so in SD or Santiago.
Again, we are guests in a third world country.
Act accordingly.
Above all, enjoy this beautiful day & country!

Well said Tomas. Most huelgas of any kind are directed at lack of services and corrupt officials.

Mike you have to understand where you are coming from to understand your comments.  You don't feel safe in the US even living "off the beaten track there"

I don't think you are going to find anywhere that will fit you "needs".  Maybe a small remote island somewhere that only has you and your family there?  All societies have their issues. The key is learning how to deal with it in a positive way.


Bob K

Like Planner said we too have been here for a while and have never felt threatened.

Bob K

Well said Bob.

I do not believe that educational TV is available in Barahona at any price. I have stayed in hotels that have cable, and  the selection includes little that is worth the trouble except a couple of movie channels. CNN and CNN in English are also offered.

I always hear tales of how dangerous Barahona tigures and phony motoconchos are all over the place, waiting to rob me. I have never been approached by any dangerous people, only the occasional beggar. My only robbery was in Montevideo, Uruguay in 2005 I was walking down the street alongside the port. A trio of teenage boys passed me, and about 1 minute later, one of them stuck his hand in the side pocket of my pants and raced back down the street. He got a small purse containing two 10 peso coins, worth US$1.00. It did upset me for a bit.

I fell asleep on the bus from Cuenca to Quito in 2010 and when I woke up, by $5 reading glasses were gone. I donlt know if they were stolen or taken by mistake.

In Barcelona in 2000 on the Rambla, a gypsy picked my pocket and made off with about $20. A different gypsy asked me some stupid question in a language I did not understand, and the other one looted a pocket of my cargo pants. If you go to Europe, avoid gypsies, they are very clever. I am told that they are from Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe.

I have been visiting the DR since 1978 and no one has ever tried to rob me.

Lets face it, things happen everywhere. If you are smart in the way you live and how you carry yourself then it is not a huge issue!   Be careful where you are, how you act and most importantly who you associate with.