½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Great to hear planner. What type of Internet are you using and what types of speed are you getting? I might possibly be in DR working from home on a PC doing customer service work and I would need fast and reliable internet, what do you reccomend and what kind of prices on speed internet can I expect? There is an app called speedtest on both android and Iphone, would it be too much to ask for you to post the results of your speed test so I could see what Ping Upload and Download speeds? Please keep us posted on your progress.

Hi Planner!

Congrats on your new job new venue and new life. I am very happy for you as you sound so so excited!  Your spunky attitude and go getter style is one that I really admire.  (This coming from a person that takes forever to make one move lol). And it is so part of your personality, the one I've gotten to meet for the short time that we did.

Company car huh! Wow, that's big!! If they have any more spots at that job for a 'Domerican' thinking to relocate, gotta give a brother a call LOL!

Wazup Nick. Where you been Bro? Did you make it to DR? Hope you did and had a great time. Fill us in on your trip if you did make it 

Hola Amigos!!

Hope everyone has been doing well.  I've been a little inactive for a bit, but with good reason..  I've been out of the country for a month on vacation - guess where..  in the Dominican Republic!  I came out oct 3rd and tried my first sort of extended stay staying for 25 days.  And I absolutely loved it, for good and bad.

I've been trying to gather my thoughts into words since ive returned home to tell you guys, but I havent been able to put all my thoughts into the words.  Trying now, I will say that I've seen almost everything that you guys (& gal) have mentioned to me that I would see!  Excluding a huelga, ive seen the power outtsges, the 'Gringo' prices, the hospitals (public/private) the water pressure challenges, the tinaco, inversors, the systernas (for the life of me, before seeing it i could not envision what you guys were referring to) the DR attire of wearing long pants in the climate, just to name a few.  I walked with my Zentel, my Off, stayed safe and well, and You guys have trained me well!

This was the absolute first time that I stayed in DR for over the typical weeks vacation and outside of a hotel/resort setting.  I was fortunate enough to experience taking a 'Coche público' for 25 pesos from zona colonial to zona universidad, and did it all by myself everyday [as I took a Dominican culture class in one of the schools in the university zone]. Had no problem with this; actually enjoyed the experience. I dressed with my long pants as Planner told me to and the locals in the public cars looked and looked and looked and couldnt make me out, until I spoke my usa spanish with usa accent!  Then they smiled and said 'Aah, Americano!' Lol!  But they were all so cool tho, I had no problem At All.  I also noticed the friendliness of the locals that u guys mentioned also. Actually, the hardest part of if all was crossing the street [in the colonial zone at the conde] tyting to get to the public cars!  Cuz waow those cars dont like to slow down!  It was so bad that locals had to actually grab my hand, and cross me lol. Y Diablo que me sienti como un senior citizen lol!!  I was told that they typically slow down when you cross in threes. Or more.

I stayed in my friends cousins house in the colonial zone.  They (him, his wife n her mother) were so fvcking cool as well.  I used the local barber on the corner, the neighborhood laundry, I ate at the local restaurants, and it was GREAT..  So different from the hotel and tourist experience.  I shopped at the Sirena in the University zone and had to voucher my bag. Not women just men (u guys ddnt tell me about that one lol. Guess i ddnt ask)  That annoyed me a bit - but Man those women that shop in there are fine!! They dress too! - made me forget all about vouchering my bag!! Lol

My friends cousin  introduced me to all the neighborhood people - as HIS good friend from America, and it was amazing how by the 3rd day walking around I was their good friend as well.  As I walked around the blocks all I heard was '¡Oye Nicolas que lo que manito!'  Like I been living there for 10 years!  Man, it was so fvcking cool! - felt like a celebrity!  Even the ladies at the salon came to know who I was.  But I started realizing that it was just a little too good than meets the eye. Like, these guys were literally laughing at every joke I cracked, even when I knew my jokes couldnt be that funny?

What Julio (my friends cousin) enlightened me to was the fact that not only does money talk, money could laugh too!  And the reason I was getting the star treatment, was the fact that I was the one spending the star money.. and giving star-type propinas! LMAO! He elightened me to how things worked there -   But MAN did I still run with it lol!!   I LOVED IT.  I made a ton of friends in the neighborhood, and exchanged contact info with everybody.

I also hung out with my uncle who lives in the Capital, who was also an ace.  (I Just know him a bit - wasnt raised wth him growing up)  We became much closer tho - He took me around, introduced me to all his friends,  many professional people,  and real cool people there, guess ill start by trying to manifest some of those relationships.  I met a lot of students in the university, exchanged info with them also, even my professor, and guess I wont go wrong maintaining those contacts.

As for the neighborhood women, FORGETABOUT!!!  I got so many proposals to live with them, to marry them, like OMG!  After I ran my mouth too much about being a retired cop looking to relocate to the DR. (Ill never say that again lol)  But en serio, its really interesting how some earn and make it off of like $110.00 a month.. wow that's low!  Imagine a retiree living there earning over $3,000.00 a month!!  And still capable of earning a salary woeking there! Seems like the possibilities could be endless.

AS FOR THE GRINGO PRICES - My uncle took me and some friends to boca chica beach for the day. We ordered food n I paid for 3 plates (my uncle, 1 friend and myself. Uncle had a pica pollo, friend had the same and I had a pescado con platano maduro) No beverages because tio y amiga taught me how to buy the bottle of Brugal y los refrecos y snacks from the supermercado.  In the end, bill comes out to be $3,000 pesos  !!

So my uncle is FURIOUS! So is my friend too. I was pissed off too but nothing like them, I actually had to laugh after a while so I didnt turn into the NYC Nicholas. I quickly realized that the reason my uncle n friend are more annoyed than I, is because unlike me, they are Local Dominicans.. And know that that price is BS!!  Me on the other hand, I knew the price didnt add up, but I don't know how much shit cost out there.  and I was too busy on vacation, having a wonderful time and drunk.

As you guys would definately know, where I went wrong with that scenerio was that I ordered this food without any menu or without asking how much it cost first. Just told the guy wat we wanted.  I think that let him know that he can get me.  And how I learned from that mistake was that after that, now I always ask 'HOW MUCH?' before I order anything.  Keeps them honest... a little.  I know you guys know exactly what I speak of as I learned about the gringo price from you guys first.

The hardest part of the whole stay was missing my family back home. Grandma, nephews, sister/brother, children, etc. I don't know how you guys do it but that was really hard for me.  It came to a point to where as I couldnt wait to get back home, just for that reason alone.  But once I returned home, seen everyone, and then caught a cold from the weather here, now I miss the DR!!!!!!!!  Think ill try a 2 month stay next.

Got stood up by one of my friends from the ½ûÂþÌìÌà who we chat all the time, the one who always gets my compliment for having the cutest smile in the world, no names -  but you kno who you are, but its ok, you kno you gotta make that up to me on the next go round  . And im expecting a pm of acknowledgment 

So that was my 'Day(s) In The Life'  Actually cant wait to get back to them!



AND it was very nice meeting you Planner, you are an amazing person and its quite evident after minutes of talking to you.  You are so cool, down to earth, bubbly and full of life and that makes you so very easy to get along with. Youre a Cutie too I might add!  .  Not only was I happy to finally meet you in person, but I was very happy for you to have met my uncle also, can't pinpoint why but that touched me a lot - guess it made you and I seem a little closer by that.  And he thought you were wonderful as well!

Stay well all!
(N sorry for the long text lol)

Love the story papá jajaja glad to hear you back home Bro, looks like you had a ball, that is what I'm talking about, we got to rap soon, jaJaJa Cool Runnings Glad to hear you met planner, my next long stay will be in Bavaro and planner is now in La Romana, so she is not that far away, hope to meet her on my next long stay. JaJaJa.

Yea man I fount her to be a Sweetie dude. She looks exactly like her profile pic, only cuter. N more mature - My tio was kinda feeling her LOL!!!  I thought that was cute 

Yo kid, u and I dont have to wait till DR to meet tu sabes.   Los dos estabamos en Nueva York 

Yatusabes!!!

Great story and great experiences. 

Bob K

Well I am back ... sort of.  After 3 days of torrential rain and 1.5 days of no internet I had to fly back to New Jersey to help my mom who is having some medical issues. Sort of unexpected and in fact I am sitting here at the hospital while she is in the CT scan getting a biopsy done.  Also the internet at her apartment is not working so I am Internet deprived.

Anyway I will be here for the next 10 days before returning home. Hope to have internet tonight at here place.

Bob k

Wishing your mom a speedy recovery Bob.

True Dat, will PM the digits soon, want to hear more about the trip, stay cool Hermanito

Sounds good MW!!

Nicholas - thanks honey.  IT was fabulous to meet you too. Sorry for the delay in responding - its been a bit nuts.   You are very cool, down to earth and what I love - you are open to learning!!!!     That is huge here.   Love the stories!

Nicholas brought me a bag of school supplies - honey they have been put to good use!!!!   The kids are very appreciative. 

Anyone coming down - WE NEED MORE.............LOL

Your uncle was very nice to me Nicholas, so thanks.  One problem is his wife........LOL   

Keep me posted on your next trip!

Update on life in La Romana - so far so good!   I am working my little butt off. I love it. Its a new  business and we are up to our eyeballs in alligators. Opening an office, opening onsite facility,  importing equipment (OMG WHOLE STORY THERE),  buying vehicles, hiring staff (only hiring Dominicans at this point),  buying furniture, air conditioners, dealing with electricity and flotas and and and......... you can imagine.  My TO DO list is 2 pages today. All good.

Issues - lots
Opportunities -  lots more

Yesterday  we kind of adopted 2 little kids.  Dad and mum live on the property we just bought.  Dad just got hired - so now the kids are part of our package.  They are 5 and 6 years old,  have never owned a pair of shoes. That is about to change. We will outfit them for January so they can go to school.  We are more excited about that then getting our items out of Customs.....LOL   Its all about making a difference!

More soon - I am working  16 hour days at the moment...  soon it will slow down  a bit..........

Wow Planner,

It is more fun hearing about what wonderful things you are doing for the kids even than what you business is doing (which is also exciting)...Love hearing those feel good stories about helping others...So uplifting in a world so full of other kinds of stories...What a wonderful person you are! Those kids will probably never forget your kindness to them...Remember a story when I was a kid about a little boy whose teacher bought him a pair of shoes (was in Vietnam or ? ) When he grew up he became a soldier in a very nasty war. One day he saw his old teacher in a group trying to leave the area, he remembered and helped her to escape! What a story that was, I never forgot it! Maybe these guys will grow up and touch anothers life because of you! Cheers!

Helping the kids and community is part of the business model for this organization. I am really blessed to be part of it!   More stories to follow, guaranteed.....

Wow Planner! Good things come to those who do good, very happy for you and all the good things that are coming your way Keep up the good work and be sure to take care of your health, don't run yourself down. If I was in La Romana, I would definitely give you a free massage, you have earned it for all the help you provide on the blog

Thanks honey, I would gratefully accept so get your butt down here.........LOL

You all know I love living in this country. I love giving back. And now I really  am enjoying working with this company!  It is so very very cool. I am doing things I did not expect to do. I am helping in a much bigger way then ever and that is hugely gratifying....  More stories to come kids..........LOL

Here is an interesting story -  when I moved into the new apartment in La Romana - we had an electrical issue.  Power came to the breaker box but didn't leave the box.  So  the "guys" fixed it.

Then they installed my inverter and it did not work. So two days later someone else came back with the original "guys" and had it fixed in  5 minutes.

Well here is the story - since then I keep blowing  chargers. ONE day they just stop working. My Samsung Galaxy S3, stopped charging, then just quit working. YUp you can imagine my reaction. Then my Kindle would not charge properly.... then my brand new phone.......... 

I spoke to a couple of people and got an idea of what might be wrong -  they say voltage running thru the inverter. SO,  i plugged the Samsung galaxy into the circuit that bypasses the inverter - GUESS WHAT - it works!!! Yup kindle is fully charged too!

It looks like the issue is what comes thru the inverter, right???  Electrician coming this morning at 8 am to sort this out!!!!     It feels good to kinda know what is going on....... electricity is NOT my thing in fact it scares the heck out of me..............

Sounds like these guys accomplished the perfect Dominican fix.   Remember never do once what you can do multiple times.  Kind of like job security

Bob K

Soooooo true. But now other electrician coming over, of coure he is late and I am leaving at 9 am sharp.

Planner you said you blew the Chargers, did you have to buy all new chargers? Are they saying you should not plug your phone in to the outlets when running off of inverter power? Just curious since I have noticed my chargers getting hot when charging my electronics while in DR.......I do not have those issues here in NY at all and was wondering if it had to do something with the voltage within the country. The apartment complex has a small plant that kicks in when normal power goes out, so I do not know if the overheating is from regular power which is 110Volts or the generator power, could you please explain a bit more about the blown charger issue? Would using a power strip remedy the situation? Thanks.

We believe it is a voltage issue -  I don't actually know what that means. BUT I can tell you it has never happened before in  11 years here so not a normal issue.

Apparently there is an electrician coming this morning! Hope so.  Lets see what happens.

Hey Planner!
Is Veedushi  involved with expatblog team?
Tom.

Hi Tom,

Yes, she is part of the team.

Regards
Armand
½ûÂþÌìÌà Team

If she reached out to you Tomas its all good!!!!

The last two days have been interesting! Oh my goodness. Monday was spent in the capita -  in traffic - dealing with people who cannot respect an appointment time.......frustrating at best and ridiculous at the worst!!!!!   My thanks to my two friends who helped out........... You know who you are

Yesterday was in La Romana where Lots was accomplished! Yay.  I bought the company a Diahatsu Terios for  zooming around town,  getting errands done,  getting to various other places economically and easily!  Done.  Yayyyy.  NOw I am buying a pick up truck......... How much fun is this!!!

Today I go back to the capital -  oh woe is me............ I am buying office furniture,  air conditioners,  a huge inverter and a bunch of batteries!  I like to shop, but not necessarily for this stuff!  LOL

Story on  Edesur -  so I need an electrical contract. Okay.  To do this it goes in the name of the corporation. Ok.  I need the documents - check.  I am listed as a partial owner, and,  representative of the company - RIGHT On the corporate documents!!!! They are all properly filed and documented.   SO, what does Edesur need??  A letter saying I have the right to sign a contract with Edesur - the letter will be SIGNED by me, giving me permission!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone explain to me where the logic on this letter is???  I cannot find it! And I have tried, really really I have .........LOL

Oh and make sure they use the correct stamp to put on the document after  you sign it.

Bob K

Come on now Planner!
10 years & you are still amazed at how things work or do not work here?
I suppose you will be shocked when they thank you for your letter
of authorization signed by you?
Just don't argue with anybody & it will all be good!
You must be having a ball spending somebody else's money!
I do envy you & your new venture!
All the best for you!
Someday we will find out exactly what your company does.
Or did I miss it?
Tom.

Just wanted to wish all the US Expats and visitors here HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

To me this is one of the most important holidays of the year to celebrate with family and friends as we so much to be thankful for.

We are going with friends to a local restaurant that is now being run by a very good professional chef and friend. Many know him as Big D of Sosua beach BBQ fame.  He is also a terrific chef and tonight he is serving Turkey made 5 different ways with all the trimmings and goodies.  It should be a feast to remember. He probably will serve over 100 guests.  We alone have a table for 12 reserved.

So everyone sit back, enjoy friends, family, food, drink, football and reflect on what all "have"

Bob K

Happy Thanksgiving to you and the Fam Bob. The reason I'm up so late is because I have a roasted leg of lamb in the slow cooker, but I guess after answering to a 4 year post, It may be time for me to connect with my pillow. Happy TG to all my fellow expats, enjoy the day, but most of all give thanks for all the good fortunes which you have been blessed with

Happy thanksgiving  everyone....

No Thomas not surprised really,  just soooooo entertained by them. What a pain in my butt though.....LOL   Often these stories are to show others how truly ridiculous it can be here...............

Today I go off to pay a bunch of bills. Such fun!!!!

Tomas Cabrera wrote:

Come on now Planner!
10 years & you are still amazed at how things work or do not work here?
I suppose you will be shocked when they thank you for your letter
of authorization signed by you?
Just don't argue with anybody & it will all be good!
You must be having a ball spending somebody else's money!
I do envy you & your new venture!
All the best for you!
Someday we will find out exactly what your company does.
Or did I miss it?
Tom.

Not saying yet honey but soon!!!  WE are almost there...............

Sorry for the double post.
It was sent back to me as if it was never sent.
Oh well, ain't technology wonderful, when it works!
Yes, we Canucks are lucky here, we get
2 Thanksgivings here!
We're going to La Catalina for our feast!
Have fun all!

We are all anxiously waiting Planner!

Good morning,  I traveled to Puerto Plata last weekend.  Coming back on Sunday I used the new bypass highway around Santiago.  The toll is  100RD - about  US 2.25 - and well worth it.  It cuts off from the  entrance highway and goes north of the city (north?)  and exits on the other end of the city! 

You miss all the traffic, bad bloody roads in Santiago and the congestion.  ON a Sunday it reduced my trip at least  30 minutes, I cannot imagine on a weekday!!!!

I was in Puerto Plata dealing with customs and Aduanas,  such fun!!!!    And I managed to go dancing Saturday night and  it was awesome!!!!  We had a great time....

We have been using that bypass for the last couple of months.  Driving along it I was thinking "where am I" it was so different than driving through town or even almost anywhere in the area.  So worth the hundred pesos. Cuts 20 min off our drive from Santiago to PP

Bob K

My guess is during  "rush" hours it would save a whole lot more time too Bob!!!!

Planner is that the one you pick up in Nagua? The town before Samaná? Or is this entrance down on the other end near Cofresí?

No the Nagua road is the new highway from there to Santo Domingo.  Makes the trip from that area a very short, fast pleasant ride.

The one we are talking about goes from about the airport in Santiago to very close to Navarette

Bob K

Bob has it.... it bypasses Santiago....