Dominican Culture - Getting along in a New Culture
Ah ha! You’re reading this! That’s a good start! If you’re the sort of person who can accept cultural differences, you’ll enjoy Dominica. Personally, I find it a little hard to accept a new culture. It’s not just a matter of watching the traditional dances at the village fete. However, now that I’ve done it, I’m glad I have
a job in Dominica and don’t ever have to put up with a Nebraska winter, again. In Dominica, being friendly is not just a little thing, it is a matter of culture. Speak to people in passing. At least say, “Ok” which is the efficient Dominican way of saying, “How are you? Fine thank you, and you? I’m ok.” If you hear someone shout, and you think they might have shouted your name but aren’t sure, shout back. It doesn’t matter if you’re mistaken. It happens all the time. No one cares.
The use of English in Dominica is different enough so that it is easy for misunderstandings to develop between students and Dominicans. I once said to one of my favorite students that it surprises me how little prejudice there is in Dominica, and he said, “What do you mean? They’re always saying things.” I said, “You mean like Hey, white man! Come!’” Yes, that was
it. In Dominica a white man is just what I am. If I was in south Chicago and someone shouted, “Hey, white man. Come!” my first thought would be to wonder why I never had the supercharger installed on my car. If I ignore a Dominican who shouts “Hey, white man,” I have been offensive. “Boy” doesn’t mean anything, either, though I doubt that I will ever be able to bring myself to call a Dominican “boy.”
In general, if you find yourself having trouble with a Dominican, and it’s not your landlord, think of language and cultural differences that don’t need to be a problem if you understand them. For example... Don’t take pictures of people without their permission. Enough Dominicans believe in voodoo so that you should ask. (Pictures can be used to do magic.) Silly? A majority of Americans believe in ESP, therapeutic touch, alien abductions, and many other
matters which Dominicans, thankfully, are likely to recognize as silly nonsense. Students are rich. Nevermind that you don’t think you’re rich. You have a point of view which could only be held in a first-world country. Because students are rich, they attract Dominicans who will hustle them if they get the chance. In general, it is not a good idea to give money or buy goods from someone who hustles you on the street. You won’t get a
bargain, and once you give a hustler money, you’ll never get any peace. They all have stories that will prick your conscience. Do remember that everyone who approaches you on the street is not out to hustle you. There are very few hustlers in Dominica. It’s just that every hustler in Dominica is drawn to Ross University. I have embarrassed myself more than once by recoiling from someone who came up to me on the street with a friendly greeting, who wanted no more than to say “welcome to
Dominica.” You can wait until someone asks you for money and then say “no” firmly but without ceasing to be friendly. Once the hustlers get to know you, they’ll still be friendly, but they won’t ask. You will have made a real mistake if you leave Dominica without acquiring a few Dominican friends. Friends here are truly helpful. I knew I had made my first real friend in Dominica, a fellow named Buddha, when he watched me pay $2 for a jellynut (coconut). He just said, “No,
a jellynut is $1.” Recently, Buddha stopped by my house and spent three hours working on my car, getting rattles out of it, tightening the belts, and so forth. He got a beer for his efforts. He did it because I give Dominicans a ride when I pass them on the road. The faculty at Ross University will teach you the science of medicine, but there is also an art to medicine which requires you to be caring and nonjudgemental. You can learn something of this art from the Dominicans.
Many young Dominicans have an appearance that Americans find slightly threatening. Forget it. This is not south Chicago. This is just a poor country. The rough looking guy carrying a cutlass (machete) is just a friendly, working class guy. There are sneak thieves, but there is surprisingly little violent crime. Lock your doors as you would in the States; if you’re a woman, don’t going walking down dark trails alone at night; but don’t expect anything bad to happen to you.
I got a good lesson in both my safety and the risks of miscommunication when I decided to move to Tantan - a village which, to tell the truth, has a reputation for being...well, a sort of transportation hub. Two days before I was going to move, I was riding my bicycle through Tantan and stopped to talk to a friend along the road. I barely noticed two fellows talking about 30 feet away. All of a sudden, the two guys were facing me with rocks in their hands,
and one of them was shouting, “If you don’t want to get killed, you’d better get out of here.” I got. The next day I wondered whether I should really be moving into Tantan. So, while it was still daylight, I got on my bicycle and peddled down the road. My friend was still sitting there, so I stopped saying, “Is it safe for me to get off my bicycle, today.” He looked a little puzzled and then he said, “Oh, they weren’t mad at you. They were mad at each other. They just wanted
you to get out of the way in case one of them threw a rock.” You have come to a country where drug dealers throw rocks and warn innocent by-standers to get out of the way; where misunderstandings occur; where you can talk to anyone, anytime. You have come to a country with a culture as different as any you can find in the western hemisphere, and you don’t even have to learn a foreign language to come to know it.
Don’t isolate yourself among students who think there is something wrong with Dominica because there is no McDonalds. If McDonalds is the height of American culture, you’re better off in Dominica. And please don’t join in the exaggerated Dominica bashing you will sometimes hear on the transports. After all, the driver is Dominican and rightfully proud of it. In America, we don’t have a lot of the patience we need in Dominica. In America, when things
get tough, the tough get going. In Dominica, when things get tough, put your feet up someplace where you can look out across the Caribbean, and see if you can remember whether its Summer or Winter back in Nebraska. Back to top | 
