…You know the key to winning in dominoes is shouting loudly while you violently smash your ficha (domino piece) on the table. (FYI it’s a different version of dominoes, played 2 v 2. No Mexican train here).
A moment of calm in between violent smashes.
…Your baseball helmet doubles as your motorcycle helmet.
…Your standard of “cold” is not having to have the fan on.
…You refer to all breakfast cereal as “conflé” (comes from “cornflakes”…sounds like “kone-FLAY”)
Look mom! Look at all the different kinds of conflé!
When you talk, your syllables disappear, your words sound like syllables, and your sentences sound like words: ’Ah, pues, está bien’ = ‘Apotabien’. ‘Cómo tú estás?’ = ‘Comotuta?’
Ever heard the term “gringo”? Ever wonder what it means?
The meaning of Gringo
Spanish-speakers use the term “gringo” to refer to Americans, white folks, and/or any foreigner. Some consider it a derogatory term, but really it depends on the context. To the vast majority of people, it simply means “American.” In some contexts, it refers to negative perceptions of American behavior/attitudes…He thinks he owns the place, how gringo of him. You just have to know the context, like any other word.
There are some variations on the word: gringa = American girl/woman; gringolandia = USA…leave a comment below if you know any more!
The origin of Gringo
The popular story that most everyone believes (including me, before today), is that the term originated when US troops invaded Texas/Mexico in the 19th century (Battle of The Alamo – 1836). The Americans were wearing green coats, and the Mexican soldiers defiantly yelled, “Green, Go!”…or something like that. From there, the term spread to the rest of Latin America and Spain.
Wrong.
The less dramatic but more truthful version (which I only just learned) is that the term originated in Spain. It was most likely a variation on the word for Greek, “griego”…and referred to a foreigner. If you need evidence, look no further than the 1786 Terreros y Pando’s Spanish dictionary (Diccionario castellano con las voces de Ciencias y Artes y sus correspondientes en las 3 lenguas francesa, latina e italiana) which says (translation):
‘gringos’ is what in Malaga they call foreigners who have any kind of accent which prevents them from speaking easy and natural Castillian [Spanish]; and in Madrid they give the same name in particular to the Irish.
Other scholars think it might have come from (pere)gringo, meaning ’wayfarer, stranger’. Either way, there are numerous sources that prove the term was used long before the US-Mexico incident.
Now you know.
Gringo Sightings
Your typical gringo is not particularly adept at blending into Latin American societies…especially tourists. This is why:
2 gringo tourists somewhere in Latin America. This is why they make fun of us...
“You can observe a lot by just watching” – Yogi Berra
Hello there readers! I’ve decided to start a new mini-series here at the blog, based on my everyday observations of Dominican culture.
The concept is simply to complete the sentence, “You Might Be Dominican If…”. I’m hoping to drop a new YMBDI for you each week. It’ll be a fun way to let you in on life in the DR.
I need your help though…I want to hear from you! So, if something is particularly funny, surprising, puzzling, or reminds you of a similar experience – leave a comment! I’ll try to answer your questions about Dominican culture as best I can. That way, all of us in the MarshallBirkeyBlog family can share the blog love. (If you’re not sure what that means…I’m right there with you.)
Disclaimer: These are meant to be light-hearted exaggerated generalizations based on my own experience. This list does not describe every Dominican, nor is it meant to be insulting. I love Dominicans and Dominican culture.
So without further ado:
You might be Dominican if…your family of 6 travels by motorcycle. That’s one motorcycle, all at the same time.
Culture lives in streets and homes and daily routines, but it shines in creative expression: literature, visual art, music, dance, gastronomy, theater. Last weekend’s musical Esperanza: el Musical at the Teatro Nacional was one such experience – a slice of pure Dominican culture.
The Story: Childhood sweethearts Manuel and Esperanza are separated when Esperanza’s family moves to the city in search of a better life. Years later and all grown up, Manuel leaves the countryside to find his cousin, (supposedly) a successful businessman in the city who will surely be able to help Manuel with his fledgling career as a musician. Turns out his cousin is a poor tire salesman in a run-down barrio. But who should live nearby? You guessed it – Manuel’s long-lost-but-never-forgotten love, Esperanza. But the sentimental reunion is dampered by the fact that Esperanza is to leave the very next day to pursue her dream – three years of university in New York City. Tension builds. Relationships are strained. What becomes of these star-crossed lovers? You’ll have to see it for yourself!
The story isn’t nearly as profound as, say, Les Miserables, but dilemmas presented are very Dominican. The dream of a better life. The dream of making it to America. The dream of success and fame. The dream of love.
In the barrio.
The Characters: Aside from the main characters, the rest of the cast are as typical as it gets, stereotypes of the people you encounter in everyday Dominican life.
El Colmadero: Sporting his flashy diamond earrings and Lakers jersey, he runs the local colmado (bar/corner store). He’s a man of the streets, a joker, a smooth operater, and he knows everyone.
Shawn the Gringo: The American…nerdy, awkward, bad accent, can’t dance, he runs the local internet café. In love with Esperanza but doesn’t realize he doesn’t have a chance.
The Bodacious Dominicana: Loud, plump, flirty and forward, she wants an American lover so she can get a visa for the States.
La China: Grouchy Chinese immigrant who runs the local dry cleaners. Easily identifiable by her slumped posture and shuffle/walk, she’ll occasionally surprise you with a joke and a high, whiny laugh.
The Rich Girl: Shows up when her SUV gets a flat tire. Lives vicariously through her BlackBerry (I can attest, this is very typical here) and her fashion sense.
El Frutero: Sells fruit from his pushcart, he’s a passive character who observes everything in the barrio and offers his philosophical insights to the audience.
The Music: It´s hard to imagine that one man’s music could literally be universally loved by a country, yet Juan Luis Guerra has achieved just that. Quite literally, every Dominican knows and loves his music. He has so many hits that you could turn them into the soundtrack for a musical. And that’s exactly what they did.
You see, Esperanza is based entirely on the music of Juan Luis Guerra. Every song. Spicy salsa, movin’ merengue, beautiful bachata ballads, and everything in between. Guerra, born in Santo Domingo and trained at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, is a master of Latin music and has achieved huge success in the Latino world. His songs are a celebration of Dominican life. Here’s one that made it into the musical:
The Dancing: It wouldn’t be Dominican if it didn’t make you want to dance!
All in all, a very cool It was quite fitting to go out for typical Dominican food at Adrian Tropical afterwards. Dominican experience! A special thanks to mis amigos Angie and Krudo for bringing me along!
Dominicans have their own vocabulary, or dominicanismos. For example, aplatanarse means something like “to become a legit dominican”.
Here’s how I’m progressing:
Several initial nicknames: Americano, Marcial, Moro, and Yunerko. Notice the progression away from something that automatically says “gringo”.
Typical foods I have eaten: moro (standard dark rice & black beans), sancocho (ridiculously tasty vegetable and meat stew over white rice, served with fresh avocado), yuca (yuca), mangú (mashed plantains), and mondongo (I dare you to google it). Mondongo is tripe, which means it is the stomach lining of a cow. This is something I learned hours after I ate it. I’ll probably steer clear of it from now on. It was chewy.
Baseball: The Dominican Republic is the most educated country in the world. Every Dominican has their doctorate in baseball. If I want to make a new friend, all I have to say is that I’m from Chicago and start talking about all the Dominicans who have played for the Cubs. Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Marmol, Starlin Castro…I already met someone who knows Sosa and is neighbors with Soriano.
Dominó: Baseball is what every dominican dreams of, but Dominó is what every Dominican plays once they realize they aren’t going to get signed by the Yanquis (Yankees). I played for the first time last night with a bunch of guys. This ain’t no Mexican train. You use a 28-domino set (6 is the highest number), 4 players with your partner across from you. The rules are pretty simple: everyone picks 7 pieces and you go around playing them trying to get rid of your pieces on the community-shared 2-ended domino train. But the strategy gets very complicated and involves watching your partner, keeping track of which dominos have been played, etc. I did alright and even won one round, but I won’t say I knew what I was doing. By June I should have it down.
The ultimate dominican test is probably to buy a moto (motor scooter) and survive one day in Dominican traffic. Dominicans are self-admittedly crazy drivers. Today I saw a guy doing a wheelie down a busy street on his tiny motor scooter. As much as I want to (I don’t), I won’t be driving here.
This week was very encouraging as I am beginning to wrap my mind around what God has in store for me on my trip to Santo Domingo and beyond. Our team had a good bonding time over dinner this week. We are comprised of 10 students, 6 guys and 4 girls ranging from Sophomore to Senior. Before January I had never met most of the team, so I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone.
I’m also glad that my good friend Ben “Chappy” Chapman is on the trip, too. Ben, a sophomore, is in my fraternity and we share a similar passion for Christ and the Spanish language. Ben spent last summer interning at a missions organization in the Dominican Republic, so he has all sorts of insights into the culture (aka all the coolest words and phrases they use!). So far I’ve learned, “Oye pana, ¿qué lo qué?” (translation) “Hey dude, what’s up?”.
God has also been amazing so far in providing financial support. We raised about $500 from our pretzel fundraiser and just learned this week that the college is going to cover 33% of all our travel costs. God is good!
Looking ahead to this next week we will be doing some cultural training, complements of Grove City’s Office of International Education. I’m not really sure what that will entail (hopefully some samples of traditional food!), but I’m sure it will be helpful.
I thought I’d put together a little cultural training of my own, just for you…
Dominican Republic – A Brief Description: If you were Christopher Columbus, where would you set up camp and establish the first capital of the New World? You would land on the island of Hispaniola and establish a little town called Santo Domingo. Though I’m sure Martha’s Vineyard was a close second choice.
The Dominican Republic in the Caribbean
Today, Hispaniola is shared by two nations – Haiti on the west and the Dominican Republic on the eastern half (observe the nifty map). A relatively young democracy, the Dominican Republic is the Caribbean’s second largest nation next to Cuba. Biggest exports include food, minerals, and Sammy Sosa.
While the Dominican Republic has enjoyed more economic prosperity than some of its neighbors, it has been hurt by government corruption, fraud, and extreme monetary inflation (another kind of fraud). According the the US State Department, Dominican children in public schools average only a 6th grade education level. And while GDP per capita (estimated average income) is $8,217, 16% of the population lives on less than $2/day and 29% are malnourished. Check out this UN Development Report for more statistics.
Numbers and statistics, however useful, never tell the full story – or even half the story for that matter. I won’t be going to the entire nation of the Dominican Republic. I will be engaging one city, one neighborhood, one family, one face. I am leaving my native soil to go meet people, to see how they live and worship, to hear their stories, and to serve them with the little I can offer. Most importantly I will learn – from others, from failures and frustrations, from God.
Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for team unity and friendship. Pray for patience and faith, especially since several members of our team have never had any previous experience with mission trips. As for me, pray that God would fill me with humility and prepare my heart to serve those in Santo Domingo by finding ways to serve my team this week in our preparations.
Culture lives in streets and homes and daily routines, but it shines in creative expression: literature, visual art, music, dance, gastronomy, theater. Last weekend’s musical Esperanza: el Musical at the Teatro Nacional was one such experience – a slice of pure Dominican culture.
