Oh the Things You Can See in the Dominican Republic

Hola. It means “hello” in Spanish. I said it many times recently on my mission trip to the Dominican Republic. And fortunately or unfortunately for you, I will be sharing some of the highlights of my journey with you in the coming weeks. I’ll start this week by letting you know that I saw many sights in the D.R. I feel compelled to share them with you, in no particular order. RUB A DUB DUB- I witnessed three little children sitting in one small tub of water, nekkid as jaybirds. The tub was not much bigger than a family spaghetti bowl but somehow there they all sat, just hanging out, not bothering a soul. LIVING ON A PRAYER- A young man on a motorcycle in Vicente Noble successfully performed a “wheelie” which lasted approximately the length of two city blocks. At one point he was looking straight up in the air for several seconds. Though I think he did it to show off to the girls in our group, I was the person he impressed most. BORN TO BE WILD- While riding in our bus, I made note of every stop sign and speed limit sign we passed, all of which our driver completely ignored. I got the feeling the signs were intended merely as suggestions. By the way, none of the buses we rode in had working speedometers. And double yellow lines exist only as road decorations. TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT- In the capital city of Santo Domingo, brave souls weave in and out of the traffic on foot attempting to entice car riders to purchase items. Typically it was stuff like bottled drinks, sunglasses, and bananas, but my favorite was a guy whose hands were full of “rabbit ears”- the ones like we used to have on our televisions in the 70s. IT’S FIVE O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE- I came upon a group of men one afternoon who were playing dominoes and downing a local moonshine of some sort. When I asked one “amigo” if I could take a picture, he politely declined. The interpreter then explained that the man didn’t want his wife, who was working in the USA and sending him money, to see him on Facebook (or anywhere else online) drinking alcohol. So he handed the bottle to his buddy, who was more than willing to pose for a photo. HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT- I saw a man and his teen daughter fighting over a stand-up oscillating fan in the middle of the street one day. He wanted to take it the local pawn shop and sell it for beer money but she wanted relief from the 90 degree heat. After a few minutes of pushing and shoving, she ended up cool and he stayed sober. For one day at least. A LITTLE BIT OF SOAP- At a restaurant called Pollo Rey- the Dominican equivalent of KFC- my D.R. pastor friend pulled a small bottle of shampoo out of his back pocket in the bathroom and proceeded to wash his hair in the sink. Of the ten or so men in the bathroom, I was the only one who seemed to think this was unusual. And thus, I was alone in my hysterical laughter, which my friend didn’t seem to mind. That’s all. For now at least. Adios.