This past week was such a great adventure. I flew into the Punta Cana airport and immediately walked into a group of Taxi Drivers just trying to make a Dominican Peso ($RD 38 to $1USD).
One of the workers at our Distributorship was picking me up and his name was Raul. I was told who to be looking for and what he would be wearing upon my arrival. As I came off the plane, and walked through customs, there was a band playing really fun Dominican music. Once I passed the party, you either walked Left (to where the Taxi Drivers were) or you went Right (to where you rented a car). I ended up walking back and forth between both because I didn't know which side Raul would be at. As I'm looking for him a Taxi Car Recruiter walks up and says, "Taxi, taxi!" and I told him, "no thank you, I'm waiting for my colleague." The Taxi Salesman told me that he was on the other side and I asked if he knew Raul and he told me of course. I then asked him if he knew what kind of shirt he was wearing and he says, "one like this." I smiled and asked, "do you know what kind of hat he's wearing?" This kind of response and action is typical in the Dominican Republic and I already knew that, I just had to play along and get a laugh out of it. This is referred to in the Dominican as "El Tigre."
I stayed in the nicest hotel in a town called Higuey which is a small town and a little less privileged economically compared to Santiago, Santo Domingo, or Punta Cana. My hotel did not have hot running water so I had to wake up every morning and do a 10 minute crossfit workout to get warm before I hopped in the shower and then would pump myself up and pray and/or yell in Spanish just to get through!
It was such a great site to wake up every morning and see the city which was nothing to marvel at, but it was nonetheless an awesome experience.
The first day we drove by a Historical Catholic Church not too far away from the office. There were a lot of tourist that came to check it out. The first day, we worked in Higuey and had great success.
The second day, I worked with one of my Route Managers in a town called Seibo that he was very proud of. He got in a fight with another girl in the office who is from La Vega, and the argument was over whose town was established first. Quite amusing! On our way to Seibo we drove by amazing Sugar Cane fields with immigrants that came over from Haiti to find better opportunities. It wasn't slavery but their living conditions were so bad and they worked long and hard out in the fields like slaves would have done here in the States back in the 40's minus the beatings (as far as I know). From Seibo, we drove over to Consuelo and Hato Mayor. There were so many motorcyclists on the rode and these are not motorcycles as we know here in the States. This are scooters that are most likely not street legal here in the States. The crazy thing is you will see families of 4-5 all on a scooter. One time, I saw a man driving with a 2 year old kid asleep between his legs! Another time, I saw an 85 year old lady on the back of one of these and I thought to myself, "wow, talk about efficiency!"
In talking to Jhonny Cotes, my Route Manager, we had a talk about the Haitians in that they are fearless, hardworking, speak 4-5 languages, and are very unified. I really liked that about them. The Dominican is very happy and always looking for a party. I would say a large majority of them drink in large amounts and there is always a Domino Game going on, sometimes during working hours unfortunately.
The greatest thing about the country in my biased opinion is that it is BASEBALL COUNTRY! It's really neat to be talking to kids who play ball and the possibility that some poor kid trying to shine my shoes might just be the next Sammy Sosa or David Ortiz. They seemed to be the fan favorites in the town amongst all the players that have played or are currently in the Bigs and are from the D.R.
Betting is huge there. They have store fronts set up that are called Bancas (I believe), and you go in and put a Bet down on the team you think will win. It's funny and they're everywhere.
Spiritually, I did not get to pray as much as I was planning to nor read the Bible as much as I wanted to. I got to have a great conversation with my friend Jhonny Cotes about the Lord and he seemed very responsive, so that was encouraging.
I ate so much Mofongo and purchased a Dembow CD which is Dominican Rap and amazing and hilarious! Every evening when Jhonny and me would pull up to the warehouse around 6:30, he would blast his busted CD player to the max to some crazy Dembow Rap.
That's a little bit about what I did and I'm sure I will have more to come. Business was good, and I have a lot of follow up this coming week and hopefully we can deliver some batteries within the next few weeks. I had a great time and made some new friends which is the greatest part of my job.
I like to say, my business is nothing about batteries and all about people. I feel most successful when I am able to connect with my salesman, and we are able to provide a better quality of life for all those involved.
Next stop, Colombia!
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