Blending in - tips for foreign residents

[MikeFisher]

hey jr,
finally somebody got the 'picture', ha ha.
Juanita,
what the law/lawnumber that prohibits Bob Marley t-shirts?
they are sold here on the beach at every gift shop to tourists,
so we take their bucks and then we take the product at the airport?
i can not believe that.
poor Bobbie.
let's shoot the Sheriff.
Mike

[cobraboy]

I could dress like the guy selling aquacates on the streets, and I'd STILL be identified as El Gringo Grande. The pale skin, blondish features and blue eyes give me away.

I just try being respectful of the Dominican culture and idioms as best as I can. The "blending in" may never happen. I'll still intend to be me...

[Chirimoya]

Spare a thought for the Dominicans who "look like gringos" who have to yell "coño, soy de un maidito campo de Moca" when their compatriots insist on speaking to them as if their Spanish was minimal. Mr C. who is neither blond nor blue eyed gets this a lot, but the blond blue-eyed Dominicans I know must get it even worse than he does.

[El_Uruguayo]

[QUOTE=Chirimoya;765166] "coño, soy de un maidito campo de Moca" when their compatriots insist on speaking to them as if their Spanish was minimal. QUOTE]

Haha, that's what I'm gonna tell people. I used to say I was from sajoma, just to mess around, but more than a few believed it. And I'm uruguayan-canadian. But realistically its tough to blend in, either accent, the way you dress, the colour of your skin can give you away. But sometimes its not that bad, in some areas you want to stick out, in others you might not want to draw attention to yourself. You can use the fact that you're "gringo" to your advantage, but never let it be a disadvantage - i.e. don't let people sucker you into paying more, etc.

[MikeFisher]

Originally Posted by cobraboy

I could dress like the guy selling aquacates on the streets, and I'd STILL be identified as El Gringo Grande. The pale skin, blondish features and blue eyes give me away.

I just try being respectful of the Dominican culture and idioms as best as I can. The "blending in" may never happen. I'll still intend to be me...

that's exactly what i would name 'blending in'.

to behave in a way which fits within the usual behaviors of a area/location/country.

Mike

[JDJones]

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

Spare a thought for the Dominicans who "look like gringos" who have to yell "coño, soy de un maidito campo de Moca" when their compatriots insist on speaking to them as if their Spanish was minimal. Mr C. who is neither blond nor blue eyed gets this a lot, but the blond blue-eyed Dominicans I know must get it even worse than he does.

Or how about when I go somewhere with the better half, and the other person talks to her like I wasn't even there.

It happens even though I speak to the person in spanish, and my spanish ain't bad.

[MikeFisher]

Originally Posted by JDJones

Or how about when I go somewhere with the better half, and the other person talks to her like I wasn't even there.

It happens even though I speak to the person in spanish, and my spanish ain't bad.

that's a very common prob for mixed couples, yeap.
me and the Mrs are usually entering a place and seating ourselves in the way that everybody knows who is the "Boss" within.
no machismo meant from my side,
but we are in a machismo country.
when entering a spot/bar/restaurant aso and the lady walks ahead and the man walks behind her the 'boss' is clearly the female and the man is just the company.
I walk MY Mrs in, doesn't matter where that is, I seat Her and I order the darn first drink for her.
if somebody approaches us and tries to start a conversation with my wife without first telling Me a 'hello/saludo/buenas tardes aso' and introducing himself/herself to me first so i would introduce my wife to him/her, without that simple and completely typical dominican sign of respectful conversation start, there would not be any conversation by anyone with my wife at my side. She would not respond to him/her.

it's sometimes simple features,
and it is NOT easy,
and you do not get used to it quick.

and to stay clear in case of my relationship:
my wife can talk to who ever she want's to, she can have conversation at a bar or where ever we visit with anybody she want's to, she does not need my permission for such, she always has her own money handy and can spend a drink to who ever she feels comfo to do so, at specific spots i even love it to order the bill and she's the one who pays to the openmouthed waiter, ha ha.

my point been:
absolutely usual costumbre in the country to start a conversation with strangers is to introduce yourself to the man first and then get by the man introduced to the wife when approaching a couple to start a conversation.
if that approaching person is a known person, not a stranger, i would say that 'hello' is anyways the way to go. if she's talking to a good friend(male or female doesn't matter) i would not have a prob to be out of their conversation, let 'em talk their private chat, but such has a short time limit.

somebody who leaves you out of that you should just tell to beg off and try his stuff with somebody else.
sure the wife plays her role also in it,
she should not stick to such conversations, she should just turn towards her husband and even the most stu tigre should realize that he is on the wrong guys.

Mike

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

Or the young tiguere with a "World's No. 1 Grandma" t-shirt...

Last month in a shop I was in, a tiguere entered sporting a 'Great legs! What time do they open?' T shirt. I asked if he understood the English on his T shirt & no he didn't, so I translated . Instead of envisioning the use he could put his T shirt to, he was actually somewhat embarassed...

[amparocorp]

20 years ago, when first dating my now wife, i arrived in SD wearing faded jeans with a hole or two and a levi's denim jacket also worn and with a hole or two. everyone thought i was insane because how could a rich gringo, all gringoes are rich, have holes in his clothes and not be crazy. funny thing though is that my americanized cuban girlfriend in miami really liked that look.

[MikeFisher]

Originally Posted by amparocorp

20 years ago, when first dating my now wife, i arrived in SD wearing faded jeans with a hole or two and a levi's denim jacket also worn and with a hole or two. everyone thought i was insane because how could a rich gringo, all gringoes are rich, have holes in his clothes and not be crazy. funny thing though is that my americanized cuban girlfriend in miami really liked that look.

ha ha
and anyways,
those worn looked styled wholes in it jeans clothes the intelligent mid class buys for even more bucks than a good real new one would cost, he he.
since you walked the line that way they think that's 'Inn"/modern/the latest trend, lol.

my most beloved pair of jeans has at least 10 years of age, cuts everywhere and my wife tried to 'smuggle' that babe several times to the trash container, til now i always caught her on time.
Mike