The experience of becoming an expat can either be a roller-coaster ride or a quiet drive down a country lane which has a few potholes along the way. In the case of the DR omit the word quiet. Nothing, but nothing is done quietly here. A decibel level higher than what you might be used to accompanies everything from funeral to fiesta. Even an everyday conversation can be carried out with the flamboyance, gesticulation and vehemence more redolent of an incipient punch-up. If you don’t speak the language you would think these people are the most pugnacious on earth. Far from it. They just do everything with gusto.

Whether the expat experiences roller-coaster or country lane plus potholes will depend entirely on the expat. The Dominicans will be the same regardless. If the expat wants to experience a roller-coaster they could (and some do!):

1. Insist that everything has to be like it was ‘back home’
2. Become frustrated and angry because it isn’t
3. Treat the locals as somehow inferior citizens

Enough of the prescription for catastrophe! Alternatively, for the country lane with potholes:

1. Realise that although we are bound to compare the new experience with the old, defining as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ can be unhelpful and judgemental. ‘Different’ however signifies the change without attitude.
2. Look for the positives in the new environment – there will be many. That’s why you’re here.
3. Take the trouble to find out what is acceptable conduct in the new environment. The locals may be far too polite to tell you when you have broken an unwritten rule. In a developing country where wealth can separate expat from local, they will certainly be too polite to tell you. Their employment may depend on it.
4. Realise the ‘potholes’ are normal and inevitable. You will survive, you’ll probably thrive. (And if the DR is your country of choice watch out for the real potholes too!)

Ginnie Bedggood expands on the process of becoming an expat in an article published in Offshore Wave March 2007 entitled Culture Shock Revisited - Groping Towards A More Useful Conceptual Framework:

Offshore Living News Offshorewave » Culture Shock Revisited - Groping Towards A More Useful Conceptual Framework - by Ginnie Bedggood