Early Impressions

I feel like I'm starting to get a feel for the Caribbean life. I haven't yet been to the beach, but other than that, I'm living the life. Everything is so relaxed here- the pace of life is much slower. I was never really told what i would be doing and I don't think people here even had much idea. The company is privately owned and is the biggest supplier of parts to cars made by Volkswagen, Seat, Audi, Bentley and Ssangyong in the Dominican Republic. My job entails finding the specific part required by the mechanic in the enormous stock room, according to the code on the order form. It's quite easy and very chilled, so it gives me a chance to chat to all the guys and practice the español... 

I had a pretty quiet weekend, just trying to get my bearings and settle in. My hotel is pretty good. I have a nice bed, good air conditioning, shower, fridge and tv. I've been keeping up with the tennis. Last night, my work buddy Cristian took me out. My hotel room seemed like a palace compared to his tiny living space. We went to see a Dominican film called 'Lotoman' about two brothers who win the lottery. It was a comedy, but the laughter coming from that audience was ridiculous. The main character had only to open his mouth and then guy next to me would be wetting himself. I think everyone is just more cheerful over here.

Getting about also meant that I had my first taste of Dominican public transport. We first went in a bus. They don't really have bus stops here; basically the conductor just shouts at people on the side of the road to see if they want a lift. Next we went in a 'concho'. This is a taxi that functions as a bus. As you can imagine, it was a bit of a squeeze... I was disappointed and impressed to note that a battered old taxi with 8 people in still had better acceleration than my skoda! I had experienced crazy driving before in China; luckily this wasn't as reckless, but it was still pretty intense. I would classify it as measured crazy. Here the drivers are very alert and wary, although they do make some outrageous manouvers. In China, I never felt safe.

I've also tried some Dominican produce. I had some 'Presidente' yesterday, the local beer, which was pretty nice and is served in litre bottles. And for lunch I was eating what I thought was potato and Cristian told me it was basically a mix of mashed bananas and butter, called 'mangú'. I still don't understand how it tastes of potato... I also had some 'pig lasagne', or at least that's how it was eloquently described to me.

I'm told we're going out again tomorrow and Saturday so things are starting to get busy!