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This is the final part of my exploration of life as an expatriate in the Dominican Republic, and in it I will muse on some of the bigger issues affecting the country and cover some odds and ends. I mentioned that the economy of the Dominican Republic is having a rough time.  This is a real shame, because the country has rich natural resources, especially agricultural and a strong tourism sector.  Earlier this year, a bank merger was on the cards and, during the accountancy and legal work before the deal serious issues were uncovered.  The target bank, BanInter, was found to have parallel off-accounts structures.  When the news leaked out, the bank effectively collapsed and senior officers were arrested.  At the same time, in order to protect the Dominican Republic’s economy, the Government got involved and underwrote the financial problems stemming from the BanInter collapse.  It also seized certain companies, most notably a major newspaper, ostensibly to protect them. The moves designed to cause stability did not have the desired effect, and the economy has become very ill.  At the time of writing part 3 of this article in mid-August 2003, the exchange rate of the Peso with the dollar is officially 31.9, but is more probably in the region of 35.  When my wife and I moved to the Dominican Republic only two years ago, the rate was considered stable in the long term at between 16 and 17! If you are an expatriate, and your savings and income are in major currencies like the pound, euro or dollar, many aspects of life in the Dominican Republic have become much less expensive.  For example, the average salary paid to a maid is in the region of 3,000 Pesos per month.  In foreign currency terms, this cost has halved in two years.  As basic grade police officers earn the same level of salary, one aspect of the turmoil might be a return of police in the streets looking for “spot fines” from drivers.  This practice had pretty much been stamped out by 2001, after being commonplace for years.  The defensive technique is not to put any stickers etc. on your car that would identify you as a foreigner – and therefore easy pickings.

The press is free in the Dominican Republic, and if you can read Spanish you can learn a lot about the nation’s views of its politicians and business people (for English news abstracts and a whole lot more, try looking at http://www.dr1.com).  Most citizens despair that their leaders appear unable or unwilling to steer the country out of its current problems.  My take on all this, for what it is worth, is that most of the politics in Latin America is straightforwardly populist.  Policies are vague and often designed to offend nobody.  Alliances change to suit circumstances.  There is rarely an election where someone will stand on the platform of a vision to work to improve the lot of country and its entire people, because that is seen as “radical”, and therefore suspect.  You will hear, “We don’t want another Chavez here”.  Whilst there may be some truth in that sentiment, my observation is that the personality-based, populist politics of the Dominican Republic and the region do not fit them well to meet crises, which in the modern world are all too frequent.
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I hope that this isn’t making you all feel like you are reading a school lecture or a church sermon!  One of the key reasons for becoming an expatriate is to experience another culture in depth.  You cannot avoid exposure to the political life of your host country. My experiences in the Dominican Republic have been enjoyable, for the most part, and have made me more humble.  So many of the things that we take for granted in countries like the UK or US are not shared by a large part of the world, such as adequate housing, safe water and reasonable incomes.  When our maid, the wonderful Miguelina, first invited us to lunch, we came away almost in tears after seeing for the first time in our lives with our own eyes what life in a shantytown is like.  But, and this is so important, Miguelina is a bright woman and a very proud Dominican.  As an example; she delights in making us good local food, because our Western stuff is so bad (in her opinion).  She has raised beautiful children to be self-confident and happy.  This is one of the key themes for me.  Dominican people are resourceful, supportive and resilient.  Maybe we in the developed world are losing some of that? If you visit the Dominican Republic as a tourist or an expatriate, get off the beaten track.  There are fabulous, high-quality places to see like the swanky hotels of Punta Cana, the brand-new Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus at Bayahibe, or the famous Casa de Campo (Michael Jackson married there) at La Romana.  We have had great times at places like these.  But there is a beauty in watching fishing boats putter past you at Las Terrenas or spectating at a dominos match played by the old men on a street corner in any of the country’s towns.

For those of you who are brave, you could trek to the top of Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean.  The trip can be on foot, taking three days from start to finish and camping at night, or you can arrange to have porters and mules to ride.

The sheer range of habitats in the Dominican Republic could keep you occupied every weekend for a couple of years.  To the North East of the country is Los Haitises National Park with spectacular rock formations and mangrove swamps.  Also in that part of the country is Samana Bay, where you can go whale spotting in the bay in the spring.  At the North you could watch the surf rolling in on Playa Grande or stroll through the coconut forests at Puerto Plata.  The largest lake in the Antilles, Lake Enriquillo, in the center of the Dominican Republic, has twice the salinity of seawater!  In the South West, Las Salinas has cactus-filled desert.
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If you want a slightly easier way to see nature, you can try out the National Aquarium, Zoological Park or Botanical Gardens, all in Santo Domingo.  The entrance fee to these places is virtually nothing and each in its own way has a lot to offer.  The Botanical Gardens, in particular, are a dream, and are reckoned to be in the world top ten for such places.  You are taken round the enormous grounds in a little train, with an explanatory commentary from a guide in English and Spanish. So, how can I summarise what living in the Dominican Republic has been like for my family and me? Firstly, the country is a mixture of beauty and squalor, calm and energy, commonsense and craziness.  Once you get used to ‘how things are’, the experience is very positively life enhancing. Secondly, moving from a highly developed country to the developing world has forced us to examine some of our beliefs and behaviour patterns, and we feel that that process has made us better rounded individuals with a more balanced form of personal confidence. Finally, we have enjoyed ourselves and made good friends! We recommend that you try it yourselves.

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To read Part I of Malcolm's series on the DR Click Here. You can contact Malcolm at malcolmcouch@hotmail.com

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