Monday, November 13

More Street Scenes ...

I took my camera along on my walk today. It is a bright, sunshine-filled, warm Monday here in Sosua. Below are some of the street scenes I encountered while out on my walk.

I love the streets here. So different from life in the United States. In a 1st World Country like the United States the streets are usually very orderly and quiet (at least where I am from in the midwest). The people are generally affluent. At least they are much more affluent than the average person here.

Back in the states, people's homes are equipped with most everything they need to pass the time. They have their televisions, their computers, their central air conditioning and comfortable places to sit on their patios and verrandas to pass the time.

But, here in this 3rd World Country, the people are so much poorer. They don't have the things we take for granted.

Their homes are about the size of an average American's garage. The average home in the barrio consists of a couple of small rooms. The entire family sleeps in the small bedroom. There is usually a cooking area, a small table to eat from, two or three plastic chairs and usually an old television that is the center of family life when the electricity is on. Often the floor is dirt or has wooden slats.

So the people flock to the streets for their entertainment and to try and make enough money to feed themselves and their families. The streets are always active and below are pictures of some of the things I saw on my walk this morning.

A shoeshine guy.

There are lots of young, usually Haitian children, walking the streets making a few pennies shining shoes. You can get your shoes shined for 10-20 pesos (less than a dollar).

Al banco seguridad. This is one of the security guys who stand outside my bank on avenida Pedro Clisante in Sosua. He struck this pose for me.

The produce guy selling his produce at one of the many small colmados (neighborhood grocery stores) found on every block. That is lettuce in his hand (lechuga) and in the back of his truck is a staple in the Dominican diet, plantains (plantanos).

A money-changer guy. These guys are everywhere trying to get people to change their dollars or euros for Dominican pesos. My advice ... go to the bank. The exchange is better.

I'm sure you have pulled up to a stop light in your city and in the car next to you is a young guy with his very expensive stereo turned up to the max. The bass from his stereo shakes your entire car and reverberates to the most inner portions of your ears. Here in the Dominican Republic some of the guys take the street music a step further. It is important to note that music is one of the most important things in the culture of any latino country and especially so here in la Republica Dominicana. Here they drive around with these huge speakers mounted to the top of the car and believe me, you can hear the music blaring for miles and miles.

A guy on the street selling sunglasses.

Yes, the lottery (loteria) is alive and well in the Dominican Republic. Here is one of the many places around town where you can buy a lottery ticket and live the dream of one day escaping the extreme poverty of life in the barrio.