First trip to DR

[alyssa]

I just want to say that I had a great time the places are soo much cheaper and people are so laid back.. No stress. But one thing that made me upset.. was the fact that they turn off the power whenever they feel like it.. And when someone dies no ambulance or anything happens.. that is soo sad..

[Ken]

Yes, alyssa, the power situation in the DR is bad. Partly due to fact so many people (and the government) don't pay their bills. Everyone who can has some sort of alternate power source. I hope you were staying in a generator that had its own generator (nearly all do).

And, yes, the response to death/serious illness is more "casual" than what us foreigners are accustomed to. Especially for the "common man", the health care system in the DR doesn't come close to that in the countries most of us come from.

On the other hand, families provide for the aged, infirm and the seriously ill in the DR to a much, much greater extent than in our "home" country. Because there aren't all those facilities to ship people off to, the family assumes the responsibility. It is really quite amazing the extent to which the family goes to provide care for a family member who is old, infirm, and/or seriously ill.

[Hillbilly]

Tell us where you went, where you stayed and a bit of what you did??

Let us know what you liked. Yeah, and what you disliked...

As for the electricity, that is something that has been with us for a while and will be here for the foreseeable future. Same thing as California or New York City, but perhaps without the money or brains to fix it....

HB