Living the Domincan Life - Viviendo La Vida Dominicana: dominicano

The day has come to get my cedula and surprisingly enough, I didn’t. I was kind of sad because I already had plans to start putting my cedula to good use like opening a bank account. We got to Plaza Naco where I went about three days ago. I got a copy of my birth certificate and then they sent me to meet with someone to verify that my details were correct. Then, they sent me to the back of the offices where I took my picture, did my fingerprints, and put my signature down. *Note: Back in the day when a Dominican went to get their cedula, women had to pull their hair back, wear barely any makeup, and take off their earrings. Not to mention you weren’t allowed to smile.

Hearing these things about how the process was, I went prepared with a hair clip and hoped that they would let me smile and keep my earrings on. It went alright. I smiled very little because the guy said not too much, I had to take off my earrings and, I had to put my hair behind my ears. Also, if you want to add your blood type to your cedula you have to bring proof. I didn’t know that they would ask for this information but I had my American Red Cross card from when I donated blood about three years ago and they took a copy of it.

Well, when I returned to the lady who assisted me, she handed me my birth certificate and told me that I would not be able to get my cedula today. She says that in about 45 days I could return. Apparently they ran out of “plastic” or something like that to make the actual cedula. I asked her if there was another way to speed up the process and she said if I knew a judge, he could submit my papers and something might happen. Well as it turns out, I don’t know a judge here. I’m just going to wait patiently and call them everyday until my cedula is ready. I think they say 45 days as the maximum because they just want to be covered. We will see! ☹


Dominican Cedula Dog lol Click here for picture link

Click here for "How to Become a Citizen of the Dominican Republic - Part 1"

ANY QUESTIONS CONTACT ME

@ mydominicanjourney@gmail.com

or comment below : D

I'm here to help!

Helado Bon Logo
Click here for picture link

The late and great Alfonso Moreno Martinez
Click here for picture link

How can I describe Helado Bon? Hmm. I could say fantastic, amazing, beautiful, uplifting, delightful, and just plain wonderful. Helado Bon is an ice cream shop that is known for selling the best ice cream in the country. From young to old, people enjoy this ice cream everyday. Of course there are other ice cream places you can go to such as Splash but, there's just something about Helado Bon that attracts people. It could be it's yellow and red logo colors or it can be the welcoming employees. I don't know what it is but it's great! The company has been famous since its founder Alfonso Moreno Martinez built its first shop in Santo Domingo in May of 1975. Alfonso Moreno Martinez was actually an ex-candidate for the presidency who went against Rafael Leonidas Trujillo's dictatorship at the time in the Dominican Republic. Since then, 240 shops have been set up in the Dominican Republic and 2 now stand in Haiti. The company has also expanded its brand into franchises. Currently, 160 of the 240 shops are franchises. Incredible!
When I was looking at their website, not only did I find their history but, I also saw that in their Ice Cream and Nutrition section, they explain why all the ingredients they use are good for the body! How thoughtful of the company to give us those facts! I started laughing. "Haha" For example, they spoke about calcium:

Click here for screenshot link

*Translation*
"Calcium: The ice creams containing milk can be considered a good alternative to contribute to dietary intake of calcium. (containing between 148 mg/100 g of average milk ice cream to 89 mg/100 g on the frozen cream), its use is especially recommended in childhood, adolescence, pregnancy and lactation and also in older people."

Another example: Stress

Click here for screenshot link

*Translation*
"Ice Cream reduces stress: Stress is one of the great evils of this world especially in people with very active lifestyles which have to balance work, family and in many case studies it is determined that eating ice cream can help reduce stress both physical (pain) and psychological (anxiety).
These studies have shown that the components of ice cream, such as casein (milk protein), chocolate or sugars are involved in stress reduction mechanisms because they function as exorphins which, in turn, act as opioid system in the nervous system. Producing a feeling of well being. Source: Libro Blancos de los Helados."
This just makes me want to eat their ice cream more! Another great thing about Helado Bon is that you don't have to go to an Helado Bon shop to eat their ice cream. You can practically find Helado Bon ice creams anywhere! You can find them at the gasoline station, waiting for a bus, and you'll most likely see Haitians and Dominicans walking around and selling them in small little carts. My favorite flavor is chocolate fudge and a big cone costs I believe RD$100. In all sincerity, you can't leave this country without experiencing one of their ice cream flavors and a rising characteristic of Dominican culture. Enjoy ☺.