Stealing Electric

I wrote about living without electric before in this blog. But I came across this video and it brought back lots of memories.
I remember when I was just a tourist in DR. One of the first things I told friends when I returned home was about the electric lines and how people seem to steal the electric. I had no idea then just how bad it was in real life.
When I moved to DR I would watch the tourists take pictures of the electric lines. Isabel la Catolicá and El Conde in Colonial Zone was a favorite electric line picture taking spot.
I had to check my line every so often because there was one neighbor that connected into my electric. I found out he didn't do it on his own, the landlord told him to do it and to pay me for it. He never told me and of course, never paid me so I cut his electric.
Another neighbor, she had a bar. She stole the electric all the time. They would come and cut the line (give her a fine I'm sure) and the next day she had it connected again. If it was in the evening and she couldn't get the line connected in time she would call up to me and ask for an extension cord so at least she could have music in the bar. Then she just used candles for light. I couldn't do much in my apartment when she used my electric. My lights were really dim and I was afraid to try the computer so I would just go down to her place and hang out. I knew she wouldn't pay me for the electric so I just drank my pay. That was fine with me.
Now check out this video. This guy is on top of the pole. Sitting there working, using a machete it seems. There is no ladder so he must have shimmied up there. I am afraid to play with any electricity. When I had to hook op my outside light I made sure all the power was turned off. Checked it with a voltage thing, and I was still a bit shaky. This guy looks like hes ready to have a beer sent up or even happily spend the afternoon atop that pole.

Que vaina! Humans..go figure...

Martins Invading Dominican Republic

They have arrived! Check out this video of the space invaders over Dominican Republic. Is it real or fake? Do you believe?
Do you think this is a hoax? These ships are just checking us out to return at a later date. Or maybe they/we are already here and you just don't recognize us.
Watch and let us know your opinion.


Now, to tell you what I think. I KNOW the Martians are already here. I am from Mars. Mars Pennsylvania, USA that is. I went to Mars High School. My family went to Mars High. The name of the football team is the Planets. The Mars National Bank's slogan is "Service out of this world". There are even aliens in the town of Mars if you look really close. I have invaded Dominican Republic. So it is a fact, there is without a doubt a person from Mars on the island. Will there be more arriving? One never knows...

Yes. This is Mars PA, USA.
More on the video now..I was reading around the net about the video. There is another which looks just about the same said to have been recorded in Haiti.
If you look at the palm trees in the video they are all shaped the same according to this picture .
According to UFO Roundup there was a Space Ship went down November 19,2003
According to UFO Casebook there was another spotted August 29, 2005
Read the articles. Watch the video. Visit the town of Mars. You decide for yourself. "The truth is out there". If you look hard enough for it or believe enough you will find your truth, whatever it may be. But always remember, have fun in your quest for your truth and if you can record it and post it on You Tube (because you do know all you see there is truth (sic)!

Dominican Spanish Lesson 2 - Animal Names

This is the second Dominican language lesson from Sir Nube Negra. This is a lesson on how to use animals in conversation. It is too funny, in my opinion. Since this is my blog my opinion is the one that counts, verdad? jejej
Make sure you take notes for your next visit to Dominican Republic!

I also have many of the animal names on my web site. And even better if you want to know Dominican animal talk check this out. This way maybe you to can be Doctor Doolittle Dominican style.

Dominican Spanish

I came across this video and had to share. It made me laugh. The words. The tone of the guys voice when he speaks Dominican Spanish is so perfect (It should be since he is Dominican duhhh).
So as you practice your Dominican Spanish make sure you listen to your teacher Sir Nube Negra and you will be speaking Dominican Spanish in no time.

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Remember to check the Dominicanismo Dictionary here. I will post new lessons as they come available. I want you to learn the proper way to speak your Dominican Spanish so you can feel like a native on your next visit. I do all this because I care.(jejee)

Boca Chica All Alone

Continued from the Bus Ride to Boac Chica..yes..there was more.
I get out of the bus in the park in the center of Boca Chica. I had been to the beach before but it was usually at some restaurant along the beach where they had chairs and you could get drinks and food. This didn’t really look familiar. I had never entered the beach from this direction.
So I just walked. And there it was. My friendly Colmado. I knew where I was now. I had been called the Colmado Queen by a few friends in the past (not sure if that’s a good thing but I thought it was funny. I'm always the first to laugh at myself). And I did know that Colmado. I stopped to have me a bien fria (more on Dominican beer) and say hi to the owner. He remembered me from about a year back when I took the 3 sisters there (that’s my mother and my 2 aunts when they visited me. thats an entirely different story I'll tell sometime). We talked a bit while I had my first beer of the day. The first always tastes the best. That Presidente beer just does down so easily. I got one to take with me.I only had to pay for the to-go beer, he wouldn’t let me pay for the first one. Nice guy.
I head down the little alley where all the wonderful smells hit me in the nose like getting slapped in the face with a fish tail (not that that has ever happened but the prevalent smell is fish so I thought it a great analogy). This alley is lined with people cooking the most wonderful fish and other goodies. I’ll get me somma that good stuff later. I wanted to get me some of those clams and oysters on the beach first. I had a plan.
As soon as I left the concrete of the alley and my feet touched the sand there they were. The dreaded people looking for paying butts to occupy their beach chairs. I ignored the first few then saw a place where I thought I’d like to park my bottom. The "incharge-of-the-chairs guy was hounding me so I thought I’d have a little fun and barter with him a bit. This is sometimes a fun thing to do.
First I asked him how much for a beer in the restaurant where the chair was located. It was much more than the Colmado, which is normal. Then I asked how much for the chair. He was all sweet saying for me a special price(I can’t remember the price now). But, oh yes, I truly beleived him he was giving ME a special price. Does my head look like it screws on? I told him I would be buying my own beer from the Colmado but I would still leave him a tip. His price went down lower but not too low. Then he said that if I buy a few beers from him the chair would be free. So I went for that deal. He was a nice human. We ended up talking a bit. Laughing and discussing why I decided to live in DR. I saw a few people I knew passing by but didn’t say anything. I was just observing.
One man I saw is an acquaintance I had spoken to in the streets in Colonial Zone. He’s older, hair colored to cover the grey. (I will not go into more detail because I don't want to give away his identity) but he’s always with a young, pretty, chica. Hmmm…wonder how that happens (LOL!)??? Anyhow, I was watching him making his moves on a group of girls that obviously were working girls.
After he passed on and the 4 girls were standing there talking near me I had to say something. I love to learn where people’s heads are. So I told them that I knew that guy. They laughed and said something about he was always there. They sat down and we were talking. They worked at a massage place there. One of the girls spoke English and she was going to college. Working to get through college. The others were career “masseuse”. They ended up getting some of the seafood that was passing by for us to share. I tried to put some money in for all to share but they wouldn’t let me. We ate some of the mixed seafood stuff with squid. I ended up buying a few beers for us to enjoy wile I asked more questions about their chosen profession. Then they went on their way. It was very interesting.
A few more people passed by that I knew and we said brief hellos. I got me some oysters from a vendor that remembered me from my other visits to the beach. I paid for the normal 6 crustaceans but he had some that were really small and he let me have them at no charge. I was eating and we were talking. He even sent a buddy of his to the Colmado for a beer for me (I paid for that one).
Then it was time to go. My day at the beach was over. I paid the guy for the chair. I paid the "lowest price" he gave me but then I tipped him to make it be the original price he gave me. He was happy. I had fun. He even made a few guys (Sanky Pankys) get away from me before they even started bugging me. So he was worth the little monies I gave him.
I went to the bus. I was tired and content. It wasn’t as full as on the trip to the beach. As we were approaching the city I decided to ask someone how I would get to the Zone. I thought maybe the bus went somewhere close to home then I could just get off. It didn’t. But this man was with his son and we decided to split a cab because he lived near to the Colonial Zone. So the taxi home was only $50 pesos and I had to make the man take that money.
So, all in all, my trip alone to the beach was all good. It did not cost me as much as I had thought. Noone really bothered me at the beach even though I was alone. I met some very nice humans. I had some great food and learned some new things. I also got a little sun and beach fun. All was good. I was one content human.
A little helpful hints for beach going

First Bus Ride to Boca Chica

I wanted to go to the beach. I had asked different friends, always they didn’t want to go. I had been trying to get to a beach for about a month and I finally decided to take the bus. I had never ridden a bus on my own before. In fact, I had only ever been on a bus a few times (other than the yellow school bus I rode for 12 years back and forth to school).
I asked a neighbor where to get the bus, also known as a Guagua. I knew in general where it was. Sort of near Enriquillo Park of of Duarte some place, I knew the general direction. I was going to walk instead of paying a taxi (I figured a taxi ride would be 2 1/3 beers and I’d rather have the beer) I could use the exercise. The neighbor took me to the public car route a half block away. He told the driver something, gave him some pesos (yes, he paid), and I got in.
The driver took me directly to the bus. The express bus too. Which was great because I would have never known the difference. A bus is a bus is a bus.
The area was chaotic. There were humans everywhere. Hustle and bustle. I had no idea what was happening. All I wanted was a bus to the beach. Was that too much to ask?
I saw a bus with a header that said Boca Chica. Yeah! I was getting somewhere. I asked the man loading the people onto the bus like they were cattle. Is this the express bus for Boca Chica in my broken Spanish. He says “Yea, yea lady. Get in” (in English). I hate when people do that. It was like he really didn’t hear my question or care what I had to say. He just wanted the fare and herded this heifer into the bus.
It was an OK bus. There was an inkling of air conditioning. Not dirty like many of the other buses waiting to load. Comfy and not too crowded. Until the rest of the herd burst on board. The bus full to the seams.
I was sitting next to a lady carrying all these brooms, mops and buckets. They were all new. I just didn’t understand why she took a bus to the capital to buy these items when I’m sure any store carried them. But she was happy. Of course, I was the only Gringa on board.
The broom lady and I started talking. I helped her hold some of her items. She was really nice, even though I didn’t understand all what she was saying. Usually when someone says something I don’t understand I ask them to use a different word that I may understand. But I found many people didn’t know any other words, only the ones they were using. She was one of those “only one-word” persons.
But we communicated and laughed. Every time the bus stopped I asked if that’s where I was to get off. She kept putting her hand up giving me the stay signal. She got off in route, before the beach stop. She told the guy working the door, the loader, that I wanted the beach and for him to help me. They said something else had a little chuckle, I’m sure at my expense. But I smiled and thought that if the hooves-shoes were exchanged I’d probably have a little chuckle myself at the Rubia with no clue.
But I got there. The herder man told me where to go and when to get the last bus back. He was really helpful after all.
I got out of the bus and was on my way to the beach. All alone. My first time on the beach by my self. I was so excited for the adventure.
Heres some information on how to take the bus from Santo Domingo (near Parque Enriquillo) to Boca Chica.
A little more information on Boca Chica, The World's Largest Bathtub"

Horse Sounds

I was standing outside on the deck drinking my morning cup of coffee. Doing my morning talk to God. Off in the distance. Down in the valley. In the morning mist. I heard a horse whinny. Loud and long. Further off in the distance another horse responded with the same whinny in a different distinct pitch. Then the closer horse did a few of those bbhhh-sounding things they do while shaking their heads. These small sounds made me miss Dominican Republic. (This picture is part of our Bayaguana-Festival of the Bulls collection here)


This sound when I was young, I hated the horse sounds. Those sounds were reminding me that I had to go and feed my horse, Blaze. No matter the weather it had to be done. First thing in the morning. No important if the water pump was frozen and I had to carry water. No matter if I wasn’t feeling that great. The horse had to be fed and let out of the shed.

Ahhh. Those sounds in Dominican Republic. They were such relaxing sounds. When there were no cars in the street in the early morning hours. When all was quite and still. I could hear a horse coming close in the distance. The distinctive clip clop of the hooves on the pavement. It was sort of a lonely sound. Like a lost soul trying to find its way. Yet it was also a soothing sound. Relaxing. So steady and constant. Just the clip clop. Getting closer then passing by and disappearing in the distance.

This picture is part of the Dominican people collection here.