I just saw a man in his underwear!
And it wasn't Papi.
It was my Plumber Friend, and no he didn't have butt crack.
He's in our pool, putting in a piece that has fallen out.
Here, in the Dominican Republic, men don't always use a bathing suit.
Definitely, the majority of the children don't. Mostly because they don't have enough money for one.
Men and children just strip down to their boxers or tighty whities and jump on in.
The first time we invited Our Unadopted Child into the pool, we were a little taken aback that he just pulled down his pants and in he went.
We understood pretty quickly, that it's because this family doesn't have money for a swim suit. They're used to it.
Most toddlers don't have diapers, they just run around in their little undies until they have an accident, mom pulls off the offending ginch, dips the child into the communal bathtub and puts on a new pair of drawers that had been drying from the last piddling episode.
A lot of toddlers just run around naked.
Gotta pee? No problem. Do what all the other males do.
Side of the road, in plain view. No, don't try to hide your 'man zone' or anything.
This Canadian Queen will get used to it.
Prince Papi just laughs as I cringe and wanna click my heels to get back to Vancouver, for just that moment.
Maybe I need a teleporter. That would be faster, and I could just come back when they're done.
In Canada, they'd be fined.
Here, the police don't care. They probably do it too, when they're not in uniform extorting people.
Anyway, I'm not used to it. At all.
It's fine with the wee ones. They're not going to trigger my P.T.S.D.
Especially the cutest one I ever saw, running around with nothing on but gumboots, that were definitely a size for an adult.
Sometimes, I wish I could have my video camera perched 24-7 to have caught that one.
However, it's not a good idea here.
It will get nabbed and there will be no more YouTube show.
Papi has decided that we need to get more dangerous with our videos and go into places that are potentially a threat to our well being.
He says we need to up the ante on our movies.
OK. Fine.
You wanna do that, YOU are the one holding the camera. They might not think of stealing it from you because in this country, tattoos mean you've been in jail.
Imagine their first thoughts of me? A female criminal?
It's not the same as in Canada, where there are many women desperate enough to be corrupt and wind up in jail.
Here, the men do the big stuff, with guns and masks, and the women do it covertly, like stealing your toothpaste one squirt at a time.
Yesterday, the women in my village made sure I knew that the night before, there was a gringo bound and gagged at gunpoint, while the thieves stole everything from her house.
She lives just a few doors down from us.
She doesn't have a gun.
She doesn't have a wall.
She doesn't have cameras, or dogs and she was all alone.
They got her and there are no police here to come and help her. They'd probably send Mr. Extortion to tell her to give them money just to rub salt in the wound.
I know that everyone in Vancouver's 'community' who judged me, then abandoned me for putting up a wall probably don't read this blog anymore, because I'm now labeled a horrible person.
But you know what?
It wasn't me that got attacked.
So fuck all of you, who think that just because you read a book or went on a holiday to a developing country, you know how it works here.
I'll be holding my gun a little closer.
Gratitude List, Last day. Have you been keeping up with yours?
1. I am grateful we have security in place to deter the thieves.
2. I am grateful for the rain to feed the plants in the yard.
3. I am grateful to have electricity for 2 days in a row!
4. I am grateful for the warmth to heal my back.
5. I am grateful for the good people here who restore my trust.
6. I am grateful to have eaten well for 2 days.
7. I am grateful to be feeling stronger.
8. I am grateful for the love of puppies.
9. I am grateful for the love of friends.
10. I am grateful for this list and that I doubled it up for a bit. It really helped.
And it wasn't Papi.
It was my Plumber Friend, and no he didn't have butt crack.
He's in our pool, putting in a piece that has fallen out.
Here, in the Dominican Republic, men don't always use a bathing suit.
Definitely, the majority of the children don't. Mostly because they don't have enough money for one.
Men and children just strip down to their boxers or tighty whities and jump on in.
The first time we invited Our Unadopted Child into the pool, we were a little taken aback that he just pulled down his pants and in he went.
We understood pretty quickly, that it's because this family doesn't have money for a swim suit. They're used to it.
Most toddlers don't have diapers, they just run around in their little undies until they have an accident, mom pulls off the offending ginch, dips the child into the communal bathtub and puts on a new pair of drawers that had been drying from the last piddling episode.
A lot of toddlers just run around naked.
Gotta pee? No problem. Do what all the other males do.
Side of the road, in plain view. No, don't try to hide your 'man zone' or anything.
This Canadian Queen will get used to it.
Prince Papi just laughs as I cringe and wanna click my heels to get back to Vancouver, for just that moment.
Maybe I need a teleporter. That would be faster, and I could just come back when they're done.
In Canada, they'd be fined.
Here, the police don't care. They probably do it too, when they're not in uniform extorting people.
Anyway, I'm not used to it. At all.
It's fine with the wee ones. They're not going to trigger my P.T.S.D.
Especially the cutest one I ever saw, running around with nothing on but gumboots, that were definitely a size for an adult.
Sometimes, I wish I could have my video camera perched 24-7 to have caught that one.
However, it's not a good idea here.
It will get nabbed and there will be no more YouTube show.
Papi has decided that we need to get more dangerous with our videos and go into places that are potentially a threat to our well being.
He says we need to up the ante on our movies.
OK. Fine.
You wanna do that, YOU are the one holding the camera. They might not think of stealing it from you because in this country, tattoos mean you've been in jail.
Imagine their first thoughts of me? A female criminal?
It's not the same as in Canada, where there are many women desperate enough to be corrupt and wind up in jail.
Here, the men do the big stuff, with guns and masks, and the women do it covertly, like stealing your toothpaste one squirt at a time.
Yesterday, the women in my village made sure I knew that the night before, there was a gringo bound and gagged at gunpoint, while the thieves stole everything from her house.
She lives just a few doors down from us.
She doesn't have a gun.
She doesn't have a wall.
She doesn't have cameras, or dogs and she was all alone.
They got her and there are no police here to come and help her. They'd probably send Mr. Extortion to tell her to give them money just to rub salt in the wound.
I know that everyone in Vancouver's 'community' who judged me, then abandoned me for putting up a wall probably don't read this blog anymore, because I'm now labeled a horrible person.
But you know what?
It wasn't me that got attacked.
So fuck all of you, who think that just because you read a book or went on a holiday to a developing country, you know how it works here.
I'll be holding my gun a little closer.
i stand firmly in my belief in myself
Gratitude List, Last day. Have you been keeping up with yours?
1. I am grateful we have security in place to deter the thieves.
2. I am grateful for the rain to feed the plants in the yard.
3. I am grateful to have electricity for 2 days in a row!
4. I am grateful for the warmth to heal my back.
5. I am grateful for the good people here who restore my trust.
6. I am grateful to have eaten well for 2 days.
7. I am grateful to be feeling stronger.
8. I am grateful for the love of puppies.
9. I am grateful for the love of friends.
10. I am grateful for this list and that I doubled it up for a bit. It really helped.
sheeet that sux. can you visit this woman or did she leave town?
ReplyDeletethought u were gonna say it was the woman with the piano. oh hell! have gun will travel!
Dear E - Tell me 4 real- r u loooooosing it? Up the ante? u crazy ass son of a turkey baster. why not just drive thro town n shoot mailboxes? Bob's yer uncle too. lol
I think u just need more cowbell.
I'm gonna bring Mr Fudge (my BBC size of my fist and as long as my forearm) with me when I visit youz. and use him as a STP device. I wanna see if that will stop traffic. u can fyckun film it!
cHUCKles the clown
we're going to find out who she is today and go see if she needs support or anything else.
Deletexoxo
I'd be lying if I said that I didn't worry. Take care sweetie. <3
ReplyDeleteme too gwenneth. i was already careful, but now i'm VERY aware of EVERYTHING around me.
Deletehad to sleep with the windows open last night because there was no power, even though we have bars, it won't stop someone with a gun pointed at our head through them.
i slept with my gun beside my pillow last night.
Sounds like how most American guys would prefer to have it, actually. Guys seem to look for excuses to show women as much skin as possible, only basic etiquette here demands that you find a legitimate or semi-legitimate excuse.
ReplyDeleteOf course, "I was talking to her on the internet and thought she'd like a pic" tends to be a seen as a legitimate excuse.
good god yes. and just b/c we're female, we're asking for it.
Deletejust by being alive.
i wish it was legal for me to do target practise on them when they have it waving about.