Stories about the good side of the DR

I love this  new thread! I will add to it later in the day and subsequent days......I have a lot of stories......

I was on vacation in DR in 2020. After a few days the card of my german cell phone was blocked due to a limited roaming ability.
I asked one of the waiters of the hotel where I could get a dominican card for my phone. He sent me to the beach, there I should find a dealer. Found him, bought a card, he installed everything and handed over a running device.
We met a few times after that and became a kind of friends. Even talked about pretty private topics.

At my last day I got to know a Canadian couple, we were talking until an hour before I had to leave to the airport. At the end I mentioned that I run out of cigarettes. Exchange was closed and I did not have enough pesos to buy a new package.

I decided to go to the beach and ask my cell phone expert and new friend to only sell me two cigarettes. Had enough pesos to pay those. He answered, he would not smoke and his friends at the beach don't smoke too.
He mentioned my desperate face and asked me, what I need. I told him. He grabbed into his pocket, gave me the money I needed to buy a whole new package!!!

I said, I would not be able to pay back, as I would leave today. He said, you are my brother and smiled.

I really love this guy!!!! 
I never experienced something like that in another country before.

As quite a few people know, i got kicked in the nuts by the covid bug...

i spent a week in the hospital and every evening my cab driver brought me a home cooked meal.  when i got out of the hospital and went back to my apartment, my medicine was on my dresser. my taxi driver friend had asked my doctor for my prescriptions and bought what i needed...

those people took care of me like i was their own....

1.  Many of you have read of our initial, very bad experience with a particular immigration attorney. I won't rehash the details here, except to say that the experience was bad enough to really put a sour taste into our mouths vis a vis the Dominican. 
>> For most of us, our immigration attorneys are the default "face of the DR" as we begin our rounds of visits and communications, attempting to gain permanent residency.

After we terminated that lawyer, we had to decide whether to even keep trying for residency.  Fortunately, based on referrals from expat.com (thanks again, Planner!), we decided to hire a bright, young immigration attorney to try to salvage our considerable investment of time and money thus far. 

In reality, that new attorney (who need not be named here, there are already plenty of threads recommending her) wasn't just our new abogada...she was the de facto last chance for the DR to salvage a quite tarnished image.   

Fortunately for us, our wonderful new abogada  pretty much single-handedly revived our views toward the DR.  Completely honest, fantastic work ethic, strong sense of HONOR and duty to her clients -- and also a skilled lawyer.  Who has also become a good friend, I'm glad to say. 

Without that particular person in that particular place and time, showing us a different side of the DR, I think we probably would have just sailed on to another Caribbean island.

We know better, now, that there are many such wonderful Dominicans.  But it took that particular one to reopen our hearts to see the kindness and generosity of most Dominicans. 

2.  Here's another story to relate...of a change that I had to make in myself, and I'm glad I did.
As many other new arrivals to the DR have found, the traffic in Santo Domingo was simply horrible.  Then the motos that disregard life, limb and laws were scary just to watch at a distance. 
But for whatever reason, what actually put me off the most (initially) was the street hawkers, who braved and sometimes blocked heavy traffic to sell sunglasses, sundries, fruit, and whatever you can imagine, right there in the middle of traffic.  Some of the street hawkers can be quite aggressive, especially toward what they probably perceive as the "rich gringos" that aren't interested in making a purchase. 

I admit right now:  it was a pretty narrow viewpoint.  I'm not proud of it, but there it was...for a while.

What softened my heart?  One day, due to cross traffic outright blocking our movement through an intersection for three straight stoplight cycles IIRC, I had the time to actually observe one of those street hawkers at a close distance. 
To go through all the details would take too long.  But I realized, as I watched his face light up with joy with each and every sale he made, that the gentleman wasn't harassing tourists and drivers -- he was trying to feed and sustain either himself, or his family. 

And just like that, my whole impression of the situation improved 10,000%.    These street hawkers were mostly very good people doing a hard, sweaty job, engaging not-always-interested drivers. 
>> Sure, there are a few that are obstinate and rude. 
>> But I overlook the rude ones, and watch for the ones whose joy shines in their faces with every single sale.  Those are the men (always men, except when the teenagers are out drumming up donations on holidays or weekends) that I want to buy from.

And a further thought occurred to me later.  At least these guys are up, out and working hard to make a living, not sitting at home living off someone else's dime!!!   These guys are willing to HUSTLE to earn some money...and I'm sure they deserve every penny earned. 

Thus, what used to be an experience I dreaded at every major intersection...has become something I look forward to.  If they are selling pretty much anything I have any potential use for or reason to buy, I will buy their product.  (Sorry, can't buy the sunglasses, my eyes are prescription-only.)  No, not from all of the vendors...that would be a lot of money!!  But I try to buy something from at least 1 street hawker at every intersection we stop at. 
>>  I must point out...I don't do that as a charity. 
>> I do that because of the joy they share with me, from such a simple transactions that may improve their life in a very small way.  I share in that joy, as small and fleeting as it might be...and it makes my day.

Those are my "shining moment" stories about the Dominican Republic.  I hope others join in with more.

Jim
ExpatRusher

Wow.  What a shift in attitude.  I love it.