travel log: day 2
Day 2 in Santo Domingo
I woke up before the rooster. I win.
Today was laid back, not too much going on. Just relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead. There’s no knowledge bombs today. Only observations.
There was about a 10 block loop of the neighborhood blocked off to traffic this morning. Plenty of people are walking about it with their dogs, jogging, riding bikes and an exercise class. There were a few vendors, but it didn’t seem like this loop was for anything other than to keep people who want to get out and move, safe from the wild ass traffic around here.
Traffic laws are basically recommendations around here. Red lights mean you should probably stop, but eh, it’s up to you. People drive all over the road, cut people off, make right hand turns from the left lane, and if you don’t like waiting in line to get somewhere you just drive around to cut the person in front off. PARE, must mean stop, since it’s on a red octagonal sign, but I think if you translate it is says “do whatever the fuck you want at this specific injunction.” The scooters don’t stop but they do a honkhonk of their little horns to signal that they are coming, or perhaps it’s just a pray to make it through the intersection.
As reckless as it may seem, I haven’t see a single wreck. I think it is because you have to be a vigilant driver here. No one is falling asleep at the wheel here. If you do anything other than drive for your life, you are going to die, or run over a stray dog, or someone’s abuela trying to cross the road. It’s definitely a departure from anything I’m used to, but it works.
Crossing the road is a bit like playing frogger. Cars give no shits if you have places to be as they will not stop for you if you come to an intersection at the same time. Which is fine once you figure it out. It makes you stay on your toes, literally.
There aren’t any white people other than a select few from España, but they have that European vibe and I do not. I must have that unique American swagger because some random old white dude came up to me and asked in English “what I was doing here?” I explained and he tried to tell me that he knows someone that can “help me out.” He wanted me to pay for a taxi to take the two of us to some other random dudes house on youmustthinkimfuckingstupid street so that we could have a conversation. I was like how about you call or text or email or page or smoke signal that fucker and have him come down here to see me? He didn’t have any of those… Sounds like a giant red flag to me. Thanks, but no thanks.
I might not know a lot of Spanish, but I’m also not a fucking idiot. There are cultural and language differences around the world, but the one thing that doesn’t change is the way people act. Maybe it’s my time working with so many people over the years. I tallied it up one time and I’ve easily had 50000 interaction with people in my working life. After so many you get a feel for certain things. You can see people differently, what they’re after without them having to say anything. It’s an intangible thing you can’t teach, but you have to put the reps in to achieve.
Anyway, it was still a great day.
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Side note: I started up a conversation with a guy on the plane the other day. I told him how much I enjoyed traveling, where I’ve been and where I wanted to go. He responded with “that’s a lot of traveling, so where do you call home?” I told him that I haven’t found it yet. To me home is going to be found in a person. Someone I never want to leave. It doesn’t matter where, it only matters who… You’re out there somewhere. Until then, I’ll keep looking.
I found the prototype, so I know what I want exists. Just have to make it happen.