Island Stress

I get a bit miffed when people refer to the Dominican Republic as the Third World. First, because that term really ended with the Cold War and secondly, it seems to denote an idea that the Dominican Republic is somehow less than the United States. Sorry. But, I don't feel in my gut that the US has any claim to superiority anymore. The history is different for sure and being a much smaller nation where corruption and poverty is abound means things don't get done in the timeframe we Northerners want, if it gets done at all. But, corruption exists everywhere and as does the fight between the rich and the poor. 

Still, there are a few things that I have come to appreciate about western industrialized nations, for example; flushing the toilet without a thought for where it all goes, which goes hand in hand with turning on the faucet and having potable water (although I'm from Michigan not far from Flint and that gave everyone in the State pause when it came to water quality), consistent electrical power (although that is also getting less and less reliable with the aging infrastructure...), and for the most part, security in and around the home (and, here again, it very much depends on where you reside in the North and here in the Caribbean.) 

I spent my time in the First World frantically driving from work to school to grocery store, parking and walking through slush, from heated car to frigid outside temperature or muggy summer heat to overly cooled air-conditioned stores, feeling like if I were marble I would have cracked at some point, versus it just being hot here, there and everywhere in Cabrera.

Stress was a constant companion and had nothing to do with the truly important things of life, but rather mankind-created time deadlines, pay schedules and the workweek demands. Stress on an island is more about trying to have those things you left behind when maybe you don't really need them? But, we all have a dream of a house with ocean view and a care-free life of leisurely strolls down the beach and all-day cocktail hours with friends which comes with a price...island stress.

That brings me to the most important and hard lesson we have learned about owning a home in the Caribbean. You need to know how to do EVERYTHING YOURSELF. We have only found a couple individuals, Dominican and expat, who really know what they are doing and many who claim they do, but they really don't. The standard answer to the question "Do you know how to..." is "Yes." or "My brother is an expert..." Maybe this would be better if we lived in a bigger city, but based on many discussions with people living in those areas, my guess is it would be the same. Luckily, my husband is Master of the Impossible which comes in handy when inevitably...

Plumbing issues ensue: (Note: waterlines in the Dominican Republic are not buried. No frost line to worry about. Yay! But, this means everyone and everything has access. Boo! See below. Haha!)

• Cows trample your newly installed-in-a-safer-spot waterlines.
• The original builder decided an open pipe through the roof just above the electrical box would enjoy a little refreshing rain.
• "Plumbers" working on fixing neighbors' waterlines, cut yours and hijack your water source.
• Repairs to your North American style washer, makes it a Dominican style washer. (Still my favorite tale of trials and tribulations)

  

  water coming out of a 'dead' line?

• Road crew yanks waterlines so hard in an attempt to connect new lines that they break off your connection and they just leave it that way...?
• Or a re-introduction of cattle to the adjacent property means the cows need water and get yours.
• Our favorite water problem in our little barrio of Naranjito is the guy whom everyone called to fix water lines was caught breaking them on purpose...to get the money to fix them!  Hahahaha...(Don't ask me if that means he no longer is the one who is called to fix water lines...I really couldn't tell you.)

Eletrical issues ensue:

and then there's the "How do you
even get to the eletrical problem?

• The power company doesn't understand the inherent dangerous chemistry of intertwined copper and aluminum wires. (I didn't know this one either...but then it's not my job to go around repairing electrical systems...apparently, the chemical reaction creates fire!)
• The power company gets a bit 'cut' happy with all the power lines on the pole; yours, your neighbor who pays late, your neighbor who doesn't pay at all. (Why physically cutting the lines which then requires someone to come back out an reconnect them which is dangerous and, given the road conditions*, time-consuming, instead of just charging fines, is beyond me...)
• Lightning strike blows fuses of your very necessary power inverter, but somehow a blown fuse is too much trouble to look/test for resulting in candle-lit dining and no fans to move hot stagnant air about for about a week?!
• Frankly, there are just too many little annoying things that go wrong because the electrical grid is constantly fluctuating and going through 'up grades' that I just don't have the desire or time to list them.

Miscellaneous issues that you never knew could be a problem ensue:

• *The road is nearly impassible due to flooding, deterioration due to that flooding, piss poor construction that doesn't take anything like grade, drainage, or engineering of any kind into consideration, or maybe poorly implemented protests that block roads with fallen trees or old tires which may or may not be on fire. (Here again being from Metro Detroit, home of some of the worst roads in the United States, means my expectations were low to begin with.)
• Painters don't bother moving anything... so get used the paint speckles all over your wooden furniture, windows, deck...
• The gardener that you pay for two days of work is often tasked to do things for and by the neighbors during your scheduled time for which you are still responsible to pay...for their

  

  Concrete: Weather AND renovation proof!

   convenience?...while you watch! It's a test of your ability to negotiate the fine line of neighborly friendship between "WTF?!" and "Will you keep an eye on things when we travel back to Capitol/the States for a few days?" Seriously, on an island, your neighbors are the first line of defense when the police are definitely NOT going to come when called.
• Everything is CONCRETE, not the easiest stuff to rearrange just because you didn't like the layout of the rooms...
• [INSERT GRIEVANCE HERE] (I'm sure I'm not fully recalling all various incidents...but, if I have managed to forget a couple then I am further along towards my goal of Zen wisdom than I thought.)

So, before you think that I regret life on an island, let me just say. All of the troubles we encounter here are due to our own high expectations and with that knowledge, they feel conquerable and less stressful.  It helps tremendously that I am just the arm candy to my handy significant other...in other words, totally useless when it comes to repairs and maintenance. Hahaha...This definitely means I feel less stress.