I have been in the Dominican Republic this week for the first time ever and the Dominicans have just given me a great lesson: one of patience and simplicity.
Merengue, a fun Latin music to dance to, runs in the veins of the Dominicans. They have produced most of the best musicians out there in this genre: Wilfrido Vargas, Juan Luis Guerra, Los Ilegales, and more… You hear merengue everywhere: in the streets, cars, restaurants, you name it. When they move around town they do so as if they follow the beat of merengue, because they are just so lively. They talk in the same way—as if they were singing. Well, in fact, they are singing most of the time! Music seems to be a fundamental part of their everyday life and that makes them such a lively people always with a big smile on their face. They are proud of their country and are happy to tell you its history and the names of their numerous rivers.
Something that has struck me as being very different from back home in America is how slow the service at restaurants is! Here you can expect to be at a restaurant for over two hours, because the servers are in no rush to serve you, or at least it seems like that is the case. We asked the people we are working with why the service is so slow and why the servers would not come around to our table more often to pick up the dishes or see if we were ok. Our Dominican friends told us that to do so would be considered rude—as if the servers would want you to leave the restaurant. Of course, people here don’t eat out as much, so there are no people waiting in line at restaurants. And then I thought of the times when we go out to eat in Houston and how rushed we are sometimes—we are impatient about ordering our food, about getting the food, about eating the food, and about leaving the restaurant. It seems as if we don’t even enjoy our experience, because we are so rushed! Rushed to do what? I don’t know!
Gasoline is quite expensive here, about $4 a gallon, so many of them don’t own cars so they have to wait in long lines for buses—but even while waiting for such a long time, they do it with a big smile and dancing to the music that may be playing on one of the businesses close to the bus station.
There is a serious problem with the electrical infrastructure in the Dominican Republic. There is not enough electrical power supply to all the communities; as a result, blackouts that last anywhere from a few hours to three days is quite common. Just as common is the number of businesses and individuals that buy their own power generators. Nevertheless, the poorest people cannot afford them, so if there is blackout during the evening they sit on their small patios and talk while the blackout lasts.
I have sensed a great deal of solidarity from those we have worked with. They are concerned about the issues with electricity and fuel supply in their country, so they want to do the right thing with their businesses and donate utilities to the surrounding communities. In fact, they already donate material for the construction of highways and small farm roads.
Despite the high unemployment, the frequent blackouts, the high gas prices, you see them smiling and so honored to have you visit their country. These wonderful people have suffered the same fate of many Latin American countries immersed in poverty and negligence from the part of their governments and yet they can still smile and patiently wait through the trials they face every day.
What a great lesson we have to learn from people like the Dominicans… a lesson of humility.
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