Make Fellow Foreigner Friends with Caution

Word of advice, be careful who you decide to keep around you. With the anticipation of experiencing a new culture, you don't bad company making a reputation for you.

In regards to living abroad in a developing country, I’m not flat out saying don't mingle with fellow foreigners, but I am saying tread carefully keeping in mind of how you would like to be perceived. Especially if you are planning on staying awhile. When you're in a different country and you somehow bump into a fellow foreigner, it's an instant connection. Everyone is on the same page, you both share love for the country you're in, and in many cases not looking to return back to your old country. The refreshing feeling of speaking your native language is like a breath of fresh air, and the conversations are endless. You feed off each other, with key insights, like go to spots, cool places to visit and useful information to carry on with. You made a friend, sounds good, and why not? You're here in new lands, and making a new friend couldn't hurt, or could it?

Some of the people that travel or move to a new country have bad intentions, and you might just be meeting them before they make their reputation known to others or expired. These people can be difficult to spot like a needle in a haystack. They might act all prim and proper with you, but that reputation with others is making its way around the town like an incoming storm. It reminds me of the time when my friend and I went to a casino to watch the Superbowl. When we got there, we join a connecting 2 tables with his friends and their friends. A large group of expats and a few guys just on vacation. Everything went well that evening, the food and the service was great, nobody complained about anything. One guy in particular was nowhere to be found when the bills came around. He wasn't known to me or my friend, but his friends were being grilled about his whereabouts? It appeared that their friend ran out on his bill. The two that knew him were embarrassed by his actions. At this point the whole section and staff were looking at them. This is Latin America, running out on your bill doesn't fair lightly. His friends were calling him and he wasn't answering his phone. I guess those two guys had to remain there and sort it out with the establishment. At that point we and everyone else that didn't know them paid ours and left.

These are the types of undesirables that you don't want to associate with when you're newly living in a different country. Word would get around and people will tie you in with those people of bad intentions. Believe or not, some people pray on the unfortunate people in what are known as “third world countries.” These people could care less about experiencing the culture or the people, it’s all about exploitation. You don't want the bad reputation of another person too tag on to you. Well, all of this of course depends on your plans and intentions being new in the country. Reminder of an old saying, “birds of a feather flock together.” By how that person talks, you'll quickly be able to recognize who they are, what they’re about, and if that is the person you would want to stand beside.

On this next one, I say to each is own. I prefer to just stay out of the way when it comes to others and their love interest. That meaning if one of the friends comes to visit and they are just on vacation as a weekend warrior, and looking to mingle and just have adult consented fun. It's not a good idea to set them up with someone that is close to you expecting damn near marriage or something of the sort lol. I’ve seen it happen between two friends of mine. One came on vacation and left, and the other one who remains living in the country never heard the end of it. He’s probably still hearing about it to this day. It’s totally different when one is vacationing and when one is trying to live a new peaceful life, in a different country.

In most case scenarios the people you meet living abroad are going to be some of the best people you will come across. Thinking alike has gotten you both away from where you've known, to where you are in this new beginning. A friend in a different country is such a valuable tool of enhancing the experience of living in a new country. Here in Dominican Republic, it’s very easy to make new friends with other foreigners and those from the expat community. Foreigners just want to connect with other foreigners, to help make your time in the country greater. When you do hear English being spoken, the ears pop up almost like some type of radar lol. You look at them, and they look back at you. Long awaited friend, and that's how it begins.

Life in Dominican Republic is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.