Am I stupid or what.. :)

[Arve]

I was thinking of writing a proper travel report, perhaps even interactively
while I was here so that people could send me all over or whatever.. But
I'll just do this instead.

Came to Juan Dolio with my parents the 20th, planned departure the 8th of
September via NYC and North Carolina for the first visit in 40 years of my
parents to mom's cousin.. Perhaps it'll have to wait cos of their sons
stupidity..

Started off nicely, dad got the worst sun burn ever cos of course he didnt
need lotion. On his first very day here... I got lucky cos KLM had lost my
luggage in NYC so I spent my time on the phone or on the airport.

Juan Dolio is quiet so nought happens. Great for my parents tho, and they
are doing just fine. Was thinking of a trip to Saona or somewhere but my
dad isn't up for it.

I came here, apart from as a belated birthday gift to my mom, to finish an
article I'm supposed to write with my professor for a Scandinavian
magazine. I did so at Plaza Central of all places cos I like the girls and the
internet cafe there.. Stupidly enough I of course had to bring my laptop,
and I had forgotten to leave my passport at home.. As one get what one
deserve in life I got badly robbed last night.

My taxi driver obviously let me out on a bad spot on Caracas/Park Enriquillo
in Santo Domingo, and I had to find my bus to Juan Dolio. He pointed me in
the wrong direction and I stupidly followed. Met up with two nice young men who with a knife in my back and on my chest inquired ever so politely for
my bag. I would have been ok with the first one, but as I had a guy behind
me I let my bag go with some hesitation.. Laptop, passport and then some
more.. Including a written article that I was about to deliver..
Bastards.

Such is life.. It was during daylight and plenty of people there, but obviously nobody saw anything, and the police are only useful to a point..
The insurance will take care of everything apart from my passport.. I can't
get back in the the US now, and my article.. Bastards..

On the bright side, I get more time on the beach while working out solutions, but I have to admit, that despite 25 years of education I'm mighty
stupid..

I'll have to be a bit creative with the rest tho. Apologise to my professor
who's got deadlines, and even faith in me.. I'll also have to find another
way home, via Europe, as there's no way I can get a visa to the US in a week I think.

Will sort another passport out tomorrow morning, from Venezuela..., and pop
by the Norwegian consulate another time.

The trip got a bit of a flavour added to it, and that is taken on the chin, but the article and the passport would have been nice.. Will have to think creatively and I'm open for good ideas on what to do, and what to do for the
rest of my trips.. I'll still pop by Plaza Central more to visit friends there.

As a side story that I might follow up on, I've got friends here. One have friends in the police, both a bit dodgy ones, and some higher up. We met the
dodgy one today and he'll be compensated if he finds my passport and computer somehow..... Oh, and even more if he gives the two that robbed me
a greeting. I doubt much will come from that, but it makes it all a bit
interesting in the meantime..

Should have covered the rest of the trip as well, I had to whack a bunch of
prostitutes with a frozen chicken as well, but I need to find the contact info for the US embassy here..

Definately stupid tho, most definately..

Great trip overall tho, and I do so love this place.

[drbill]

Great attitude, Arve, live and learn.

The frozen chicken ho-wacking is a new one for me, I'll Google this ASAP.

"Stupid" is not the same as "complacent"; you're on vacation, after all.

[snowbird44]

Your post was funny to some point. I guess that's why you are a writer and you observe things.
From my personal experience....Parque Enriquillo in SD is not a safe great place! I hope you will recover some of your possessions, but don't count of it. I had a similar experience in Sosua a few years ago and believe me, the police is powerless.
Can you remember some of the stuff you wrote?
It's not really about the material posessions that got taken. It is about all the stored information which you lost.
In spite of my misfortunes I keep coming back. Bought a Condo.
Mis dos pesos

[rellosk]

Good trip report. You have a good attitude considering what happened.

Do we get to hear a story about you whacking a bunch of
prostitutes with a frozen chicken?

[2dlight]

Did you hit the street-walkers with a hen or "rooster"?

[danely]

prostitutes...frozen chicken ???! I must have missed something good.....

Anyway, great story except for the knife-play, but be careful....this aint Scandinavia where about the worst that happens is once every ten years or so a drunk Dane will punch a drunker Swede in a Helsingor bar.

[bobelon]

Sorry about your experience. I'm not trying to be a bore but we usually only carry a copy of our passports for uninvited guests.

[Playero]

Would love to read a more detailed version of the chicken-hooker story.

[Arve]

Sorry about my hastily written report, hard to do that, MSN and check my virtual football team at once.

Bobelon. True, hence my stupidity. Last time I got robbed in my house, so I sometimes carry it in my front pocket. Makes no sense, I know.. This time I had put it in my bag some minutes before entering the taxi ´cos it was awkward sitting.. It has got "STUPID!" tatooted all over it, "complacent" is just a nice euphemism for which I am grateful.I should also have been more aware surroundings cos I KNOW it´s dangerous, but I was too focused on buses.

I don´t really care about stuff or money, those things come and go, but a
passport and an article would have spared my parents and my professor a bit
of hassle. The Norwegian consulate and the US embassy have been really
great and helpful towards me though.

But ah well, I´m not home yet, nor is this saga over I think so I´ll write a
proper travel report when I come home - if I ever do.. Last night I had no idea
what to do the last week in the DR, but I won´t be bored. I´ll spend my time
running between an internet cafe in Plaza Central, the police, and the embassies of the Free World.

Snowbird. I haven´t got much faith in the police either, but my "friend" would
do this on a private basis, me paying the overtime if anything came out of it.
If he gets the stuff he really hasn´t got much of an incentive returning it to
me.. We´re not that close. This place is my 5th or 6th home still, and I
might well end up buying a flat here as well soon somehow.

As for the article, it might have been crap for all I know. I´ve got the
general drift in my head´, but the double checking of sources, sourcing, spelling etc take a lot of time. It´s another one of those "US/Iraq" themes.. I´ve also always thought I´m creative with a knife on my throat ( i.e. short
deadlines etc ) but I suppose recent experiences suggest otherwise..

The frozen chicken bit isn´t that fancy I´m afraid. I was just walking down
the street in SD, from HyperUno, carrying a bag with a frozen chicken and some broccoli. ( We´d have some Dominican guests, and mom and I was supposed to make a soup etc.. ) Anyways, there I was, minding my own
business, chicken and broccoli in one hand, my now stolen bag in another.
There´s a spot on the way to the bus stop with some prostitutes. I´ve respectfully declinced their services earlier.. The don´t seem to understand they´d have had better chances for some serious snugglebunnies had they not been so darn ugly..

This time I probably looked a bit more approachable, as I had no free hands.
All of a sudden I got bounced by a bunch. Some towards my pockets, some
towards the bag etc. They also tried to drag me into what I presume was their "love nest".. It really didn´t capture my imagination one bit, and my
polite "f*** offs" didn´t work. So I whacked one of them in the head with my
frozen chicken... As I also pushed another firmly away, I got a bit of a distance between us. So I kept walking away, and after a bit I turned around
and told them "Y mira!! No soy americano, soy noruego!!!"

It was lucky it was the frozen chicken that hit her, and not the broccoli I guess. Not only would the broccoli probably proved less discouraging, it would
also have wrecked my mom´s soup.......

Anyways, I´ll write a proper travel report.. hopefully briefer.. one of these days. Mom is delighted, dad is delighted..but he´s got a really nasty sunburn
on his front.. His back is still as white as the day he arrived.. And despite
all this waffle, the trip has been quite uneventful.

[Clampett 1]

Hey man, don't feel bad. You are not stupid. You are simply missing some street smarts. You see some people are smart but they lack street knowledge. I guess you should have read some of the other articles here on DR1 before you went there. Sorry dude, you are not stupid, you are street stupid. God bless you.

Joel Gomez
Leominster, MA