As we have outlined in our About Us pages, we are constantly
updating our contents, so there will always be some parts "currently under construction". We are confident, that
once we have more routine and experience we will keep the construction periods much shorter though.
Where do you get all the detailed information from?
Even if we are just kids, we have been able to gather lots of material from mass media publications and what we do
not find there is provided by Thomas our coach (he is very patient and knows a lot of people to ask for answers).
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Your HTML code is a little shaky!
Answer from our coach: I decided not to correct the kids code as long as it will work at all on different
browser environments without doing any harm. As they are learning by doing, they have already found some "not so
perfect" parts and have changed it accordingly.
Lots of typos!
Ooops! We are so eager to get out on the Web that we probably have not spell checked enough.
Thank you for pointing that out to us.
Where did you learn to speak such good English?
Jeniffer, our group leader is raised bilingual as her father Thomas (our coach) was born and
educated in Europe and was raised himself in English and German.
Note from the coach:This is why the lingo may sound more British than American!
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Do you kids really compose all the contents on your own?
Yes we gather, sort and decide on the material to be posted entirely within our group, then write the
code and present it to our coach before we upload it.
Note from the coach:I do make suggestions for changes, especially if content or syntax may be in conflict
with any laws,netiquette or the rules of GeoCities.
How much time to you spent creating the pages of your project?
Our group spents about 2 to 3 hours daily on this project (after school), this includes gathering of new
materials, voting for new contents and updates, discussing with the coach and writing the HTML code.
Can one submit topics to be included in your pages ?
As we want to be a platform for topics on our country, we are certainly open
to any suggestions our visitors are making, though the group will decide whether to answer your input
in the Inbox, feature it in one of our sections or reply to you individually.
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Why don't you use more graphics and photos on your pages ?
We do not want to be judged by the number and quality of our graphics and photos but by our content !
And we try to keep downloading times to a minimum by not blowing up our content with large images.
We also try to include links to other sites containing images related to topics in our own pages.
Why don't you post your pages in your native language-- Spanish?
You are right, we should ask ourselves that question, as we are very proud of keeping up
our traditions and national identity. But the more people can read and understand our pages, the
better we can serve that purpose -- that's why we have settled for English !
Actually there is no official national dish and there have been a lot of discussions on this topic.
The Dominican cuisine may be described as "creole" with European and American influences and
great regional variations of the same dish. The two meals which are mentioned most often as typically
Dominican are:
La Bandera Dominicana:White rice, red beans, coleslaw and stewed chicken.
Sancocho:Thats a very hearty soup or stew with pieces of starchy edible roots like yam and
yucca, spiced with a parsley like herb called "cilantro" (=leafy plantlets of coriander).
What is Larimar?
Larimar is a semiprecious stone of turquoise to light blue color and belongs to the family
of pectolytes in this variation only to be found in the Dominican Republic. It is therefore sometimes
referred to as the Dominican national stone and turned into jewlery of all kinds and shapes in
combination with gold and silver -- a perfect Dominican souvernir as the government prohibits
the exportation of the raw stone to keep it exclusive.
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Where did Larimar get its name from?
The man who discovered the comercial value of this mineral and who had the Smithonian Institute
examine and certify its unique status a few decades ago, named it after his daughter "Lar issa" and
the Spanish word for sea-- "mar" because of its color.
Are there any domestic flights?
Yes, since July 8th a new domestic airline Air Santo Domingo
has taken off and serves all mayor domestic airports with regular flights using brandnew turboprop aircrafts.
Can one charter planes for special flights?
a) If you have a valid (private) pilot licence, you may charter small aircrafts for domestic flights on your on schedule,
but the current Dominican practice is that you will have to share the cockpit with a Dominican pilot " for safety resons ".
b) You may charter a wide range of aircrafts as a passenger for any possible domestic as well as international destination
(check the local yellow pages).
c) You can book an organized flight full day excursion covering not only the flights but sightseeing, boating, horseriding,
jeep safaris etc. etc. according to your taste. Those are very well organized and reliable but pricy, although you get a good value for your money !
Most local tour operators ( representing the mayor international operators ) offer such flight excursions.
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Can a tourist cross the border to Haiti?
Besides that you should check the visa requirements of your country to enter Haiti, there are
two border crossings by road from the Dominican Republic to Haiti:
Dajabon and
Jimani
The borders are open and passable but be armed with a lot of patience because there usually is a lot
of activity and traffic and do not mind the strong military presence, it has always been this way.
Is it dangerous to travel individually ?
Generally spoken no ! Of course, as in every other country on this planet there are people with not
so friendly intentions, but compared to most other tourist destinations in this area there are few incidents
-- especially those involving tourists, whether travelling organized or on their own. Please bare in mind,
that when you are travelling in a Third World country you should never provoke a crime; if you, at home, do not
walk around in lonely aereas at night exhibiting all your jewlery and other valuables, why should you do it somewhere else ?
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What is the cost of living ?
There is more than one answer to this question:
Dominicans:The average Dominican family needs to raise about RD$ 6,000.00 (=Dominican Pesos)
-- currently about US$ 430.00 -- per month for their most basic needs.
For foreign residents:Supposing you want to enjoy an equal standard of living like in your homecountry
and supposing you originally came from an " industrialized civilization " your cost of living will be as high if not higher
than where you came from. We will discuss this and similar issues more deeply in our new section
A Good Place to Live ? .
How about Dominican Carnival? (can't find anything on your site)
Unlike in most other countries of this world, Dominican Carnival does not go by the regular calendar but
traditionally coincides with the highest public holiday, that's the 27th of February--Independence Day.
Our contribution to this event(s) has been posted in March in our section
Portrait of the Month.
How do Dominicans celebrate Easter?
Easter, referred to by Dominicans as "Semana Santa", means big party time !
"Semana Santa" traditionally starts Palm Sunday and ends Easter Sunday.
By Good Friday morning the capital Santo Domingo and many other cities in
the interior are deserted; their inhabitants are all to be found on the countries
largest beaches ( Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, Puerto Plata, Sosua, Cabarete, Samana, Punta
Cana etc.) celebrating a nonstop giant beach party. Some don't make it quite to the beaches
so they gather at the principal river banks.
Over the past years many negative incidents like fights and car accidents have turned
the "Semana Santa" into a surveillance nightmare for the authorities and this year many
critical media reports have pledged the nation to remind themselves about the real
purpose of the Easter celebrations, comemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.
Can you tell me where Serena Key is ? I can't find it on any map
It is a fact that the Dominican Republic is one of the world's mayor resources of amber. It is further true that
what is offered to a visitor as amber may perhaps be a polymer (plastic) from Taiwan. Fakes are so good that it not
only looks like real amber but also feels and reacts like the original. To avoid fakes you have several options:
Decent jewlery shops and outlets always have an ultraviolet lamp ready to demonstrate you that real amber
reflects itself in deep skyblue under such a lamp -- plastic does not !
The most secure demo whether its a fake or not is the fact that real amber floats in salt water -- plastic does not !
So when you are planning to buy amber in a souvemir shop near the beach, just ask the vendor whether you may dump it
into the sea water -- and watch his reaction !
Is there a Malaria risk, I was told there are many cases recently?
According to the local health authorities as well as the WHO there always has been a
certain risk of Malaria in the Western provinces towards the border of Haiti and Malaria
prophilaxis is recommended. We have also been told by specialists that since February of this year
there have been some 20 cases of Malaria in the Eastern provinces of our country (which is
where one of the most popular tourist areas -- Punta Cana -- is located ). Those cases have been
mostly attributed to previous visits of the concerned in the Western risk area before the outbreak of
the desease. All people we have talked to though recommended that you check with the local health officials
in your country about the latest development when planning your trip.
Is it dangerous to visit your country during the Hurricane season ?
The answer is a simple but firm NO ! Although the official Hurricane season lasts from July until end of November, this should not stop you from visiting our country; even our recent experience with devastating hurricane "Georges" has not really seriously interrupted "the system" as far as tourism has been concerned - it was right 10 days after the hurricane's pass that almost all resorts and tourist attractions were able to welcome guests again.
Many books compare the Dominican Republic with life in paradise - true ?
Paradise as in rewarding lanscape climate and people, yes; paradise as in living on a shoestring or getting rich without working hard, no.
Is there a Dominican identity at all ?
The evolution of the Dominican Republic and the Dominican people (not
to say race) has always been lead by the struggle for a national
identity. If you ever followed the historical developments of the island
of Hispaniola (that we share with Haiti), the ancestors of the people
who
now may call themselves Dominicans always have been surpressed in their
efforts to develop such an identity by others trying to force them to
adapt to their own identities; the struggle still goes on today; here an
example to illustrate it:
If you walk the streets of most Dominican cities you will rather see and
feel the likes of an urban environment from the United States.
Most Dominican industrial companies have converted themselves into
importers and distributors of foreign merchandise as opposed to be
producers and exporters of national products.
The quality of the postal service ?
It is a fact that the Dominican State Postal Service (INPOSDOM) does not have the highest reputation regarding speed and reliability, though it has improved over the years. Therefore many businesses and private citizens (including foreign residents) use the services of one of the many existing and highly recommendable private postal companies for sending and receiving their international mail and packages. An alternative for domestic mail are the bus companies who will transport mail, parcels and even valuables for a reasonable fee to all of their stations in the interior of the country.
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