Dominican Republic - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

Culture Smart / Cultuur Bewust

by Ginnie Bedggood, Ilana Benady

Occupying the eastern two-thirds of island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic has something for almost everyone – except perhaps obsessive perfectionists. If you can relax and go with the flow you will experience a land of great environmental diversity with a rich and varied culture, a turbulent history, some infuriating idiosyncrasies, and a people whose friendliness is legendary. The Dominicans are flamboyant, irrepressible, generous, headstrong, and resilient. Their culture is a distinctive mix of an easygoing Caribbean nature coupled with Latino verve and showmanship. For those who choose to break out of the confines of all-inclusive tourist resorts, Culture Smart! Dominican Republic offers a tantalizing insight into this warm, vital, and intriguing people. It takes you on a journey from the unspoiled coastline to the agricultural interior, to the imposing mountains and to the hamlets where time appears to have stood still. It then catapults you into the twenty-first century, through poverty and opulence, to the hustle and bustle of the large cities and the lifestyles of the luxury coastal tourist resorts. It offers practical advice on what to expect and to how to behave in a Dominican home, or in social and work settings. The authors of this book, both long-term residents in the Dominican Republic, have provided a unique roadmap to the interesting and challenging experiences that await you in this beautiful, varied, and complex country.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[W.S. Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, insightful

This is a well written, insightful book about the cultural norms in the D.R., and how foreigners are perceived in the D.R. It doesn’t have the traditional tourist book talking about sites, and history of the different locations, but attempts to express how foreigners are perceived, and how to act if the non D.R. person wants to be perceived as personable, professional, or knowledgeable. It gives an overall summary how and why politics has influenced cultural behavior.

[Kevin Halloran]

This is a helpful overview of the Dominican life and I look forward to others in the series (thank you Hoopla app!).

[Gordon Kwok · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little book about the culture of the Dominican Republic.