Lindsay the Paralegal

It has been a busy couple of months. As Danilo is now a fully fledged lawyer, he is working on lots of cases, and making court appearances, together with his all important pom pom hat. This is a picture of him about to go into the courtroom in Puerto Plata.

Many of the cases he is working on involve expats, and so I find myself working as a paralegal, explaining everything to the clients, and acting as a bridge between the two, collecting evidence and statements, translating documents in Spanish to English for the clients, so I can add the role of paralegal to my job description.

When foreigners go to court in the Dominican Republic, by law, if they do not speak good Spanish, they are entitled to a legal interpreter. However, there are few legal interpreters around, and although the court pays them, it is a paltry US$20 a day more or less, plus, they have to wait months and months to be paid. Hence, they often state they are too busy to attend, especially if they can earn more elsewhere on that particular day. But if the hearing date comes around, and there is no interpreter, or they were booked but then don't turn up, the hearing is cancelled and another date set, which can be very frustrating.

Some courts allow the expat to bring their own interpreter, but the interpreters usually charge US$100 for the day. If Danilo is the expat's lawyer, then he offers me free as part of the package! So on top of my other work, I now operate as a free interpreter for the cases Danilo is handling.

As well as working hard as a secretary/paralegal, I am also getting on with book 3, which has good days and bad days, depending on my memory, but is around two thirds written now – well the first draft. I am pleased with the way it is going, so I hope you enjoy it when it comes out – eventually!

As I think I have mentioned before, I am a member of the We Love Memoirs Facebook group, and I will be in the Spotlight on this coming Sunday, 27 October. This means that from 9 in the morning until around 6 or 7 at night, I will be answering any questions the members want to ask me. I did it a couple of years ago, and it was great fun. If you would like to join in, or just listen to the conversation then you can become a member here. It is a lovely group, with great conversation and lots of free memoirs to be won as well.

We are still in avocado season at the moment, and look at these two whoppers we had.

A German PhD student came to stay for a week to interview the locals about getting old in the Dominican Republic, as her PhD is on retirees in the Dominican Republic and she wanted to understand how the locals approach retirement and whether it was different from the expat viewpoint. She interviewed all of my neighbours and each one gave her gift of something.

These avocados were one of the gifts, and she left them for us. Having eaten them, and they were delicious, I am hoping the pits will sprout and grow and in 10 years or so we should have a tree!

Finally, the animals are all fine, and Grumpy Grace, the mangy boxer pup who turned up here nearly a year ago now, is now into selfies!

Sorry for the delay

I know it has been months since I blogged, but really it isn't my fault. It is the fault of my brain! I am still having issues, and one of them is an inability to concentrate for a long period of time, and I can't multi task. I knew I should blog, but couldn't bring myself to do it, so just kept putting it off. Anyway here is the long awaited update!

First, and most important, I have started writing book 3. It has been a slow process as writing is not coming as easily as it did before, and it is hard to write a memoir when you can't remember what happened! What I am now doing is not forcing it, just writing when I feel like it, and when I remember things, I write about them. This means it is pretty disjointed but I will pull it all together later - hopefully not too much later.

I have just returned from England, where I went as my 87 year old mother had a hip replacement a month or so ago. My sister took the first shift of a couple of weeks, and then I did the second shift, arriving back home in the DR yesterday. It's a long journey, as I have to get to Punta Cana in the east of the island first, which takes a day on 3 buses, then I spent overnight with a friend and then flew out the following day. Next step is to get a train up to near mother's house, where my aunt and uncle came to pick me up. It was lovely to be back in England again, where I ate like a horse, but also had to do the things which mum can't do, like washing dishes, pushing the trolley round the supermarket, washing and ironing. But it was still a lovely time, although my brain did funny things as usual. Mother told me that bottles go in the blue bin, which is the recycling bin (there is a green bin for garden rubbish and food, and a grey bin for everything else). Idiot me put a bottle of wine in the blue bin, which was half full of wine as brain computed bottles  go in blue bin, not bottles go in blue bin WHEN THEY ARE EMPTY. Also we met up with lots of family members at a funeral, and I greeted my cousin by name, no problem, but I called his wife of 30 years by the name of his first wife. Ooops! I still forget words in both languages but a new symptom is that I have also started using totally the wrong word. For example if I need to go to the shop I say "Just popping out to the cheesecake" or something equally daft.

Still, all my mishaps are not life threatening, so fingers crossed things will slowly improve.

The journey back was even longer as I boarded the train at 6.40 am, meaning getting up at the crack of dawn, and 20 minutes into the journey I had a message from British Airways to say the flight had been delayed by 3 hours. Deep joy not. But we were given vouchers for lunch. £5 for sheep class people, which was me, and £10 if you were in higher classes - obviously they have to eat better than the plebs. Given that a bottle of water was £2.50, there was not a lot left for food. Following 6 hours in Gatwick's non-smoking departure lounge we boarded, only to wait for another hour and then the pilot announced the plane was late as they were trying to fix the water - they couldn't and there was none. No tea or coffee and no water in the toilets, which meant the stewardesses handed out bottles of water each time someone used the loos. I did get a message on my phone when we landed saying sorry. So that's all right then.

The big news is that Danilo has been sworn in at the Supreme Court so is now practising as a lawyer. Hooray, at last. He is loving it and has been asked to join a local practice so he is over the moon.

Waiting to be sworn in along with a couple of hundred other lawyers

He also is the lawyer for his first case, which is a murder trial and he is prosecuting and loves every minute of it. Here he is about to go into court - not forgetting his pom pom.

Dogs, cat, chickens are all fine and Grumpy is growing into a beautiful dog. They were delighted to see me on my return last night.

From this...

To this!

The big event in Cacique was that my friend, la bruja Angela married her husband ( well they have lived together for 30 odd years but like most Dominicans they were not married). I was appointed to be official photographer as I am the only person in the village with a camera as opposed to a smart phone. It was a tad stressful as the priest forgot about the wedding so he was nearly an hour late once he was tracked down. He bore a remarkable resemblance to David Ortiz the shot baseball player. The service lasted two hours and people were constantly giving me directions as to where to stand, usually in very intrusive places like right next to the couple as they were getting married. I was literally dragged from place to place by half of the congregation. Here are a few of my (ahem) masterpieces.

Catholic church, Cacique

Artistic photo of bride waiting in air conditioned car - for over an hour until priest arrived

Priest David Ortiz lookalike, bride and groom and witnesses

Amazing cake - no idea if it was real though

The house is now full of goodies which I brought back from England including cheese, chocolate, Branston pickle, Oxo beef and vegetable stock cubes,  Bisto gravy powder, horseradish and Walkers cheese and onion crisps. And even better, when I arrived home, my friend in the US, Grace, had sent me a massive box of goodies which had been topped up by Canadian friend, Robyn, so there was all of that to unpack as well. Loads of clothes, kitchen utensils, chocolate, tins of real tuna and mushrooms and loads more. I will be feasting for a long time!

Think you should all be up to date. If I leave it as long last time, please feel free to nag me!

Animals and books

It has been a busy few weeks and I am pleased to say that my brain is slowly beginning to work a little better. I forget fewer words and have had no more coffee maker disasters.

There is a man who lives in Mao who breeds Great Danes and he wanted to bring a female Dane here who was on heat, to live with Goofy for a while. I said no, Danilo said yes, the dog arrived. She had only just started her heat as he wanted them to fall in love pre-bonking. Goofy predictably fell in love with her - her name was Matari - Lobo was not allowed to be with his best mate Goofy and fancied Matari as well so they had to be kept apart.

Grumpy was upset her boyfriend Goofy was with another woman so it was a stressful time for all of the dogs and me! No idea if Goofy did the deed, but Matari left after two weeks, leaving Goofy howling at the gate for a few days. Dogs are now back to normal - thank goodness.

Sticking with the animal theme. as you know we no longer have water delivered from the local water company into our cistern. So we buy it every couple of weeks from Water Man. You call him up, he goes to the river, sucks the water into his truck, comes to us and pumps it into our cistern. Trouble is, the river has more than just water in it, so this time, he deposited a frog into the cistern along with the water. I only realised when I saw the lid of the cistern propped open with a wooden ladder which Danilo had put in there for the frog to climb out.

Please note, the metal box in front of the WATER CISTERN is the box for the main electrics for the house. Please also note the prevalence of taypee sticking all of the wires together.

I thought this was daft until I Googled and found out that all over the place ladders are put in drains for frogs to climb out and what is more, frogs and ladders are used to forecast the weather as they only climb out of water and up ladders if it will be fine, and if it is going to rain they stay in the water! No idea if our frog climbed out, but the lid is back on.

Remember I said the todys were back - the gorgeous tiny green and red birds. Well they disappeared after a day and Danilo discovered they had unwelcome squatters in their little hole in the base of the tree - a family of tarantulas - mum, dad and lots of babies. He disposed of the squatters and the other day the todys returned! I just hope they stay this time. The female is higher up the twig as she has a little bit of black on her green wings.

Oh and even more news, I am a grandmother again! Ana and Alberto (stepson number 2) welcomed Adriana to the world a month early. Though a little small, 6.5 pounds, she is lovely and Danilo and I went to see her in Ana's mum's house, where Ana is staying for the 40 days she is "at risk". Not sure what she is at risk of, but most all women here have to be with their mothers for the 40 day period with a whole list of things they cannot do - like go outside, look at the moon, and they have to have cotton wool in their ears so the cold air doesn't get to their brains.

Proud grandpa Danilo

Ana, Adibel and new baby Adriana

Alberto with his new daughter

Mother's day is very important in the DR, but this year I had no visits from the kids as Ana and Alberto stayed with the baby and was Adibel's, number one granddaughter,  fifth birthday. Danilo was on a course in the capital and returned in the afternoon, cooking me a massive sancocho for my Mother's Day celebration. We ate sancocho for a week.

Finally, as you know I love reading memoirs and this last month I have read two fabulous books, both brilliant and both different.

The first was by Beth Haslam and is called Fat Dogs and French Estates part 1.

This was my review on Amazon.

"I was attracted to this book as the title mentioned the words Dogs and French – and I love dogs and love France. I was certainly not disappointed. The book describes the author and her husband travelling throughout France house hunting, well, estate hunting, to find their perfect home. They took their fat dogs with them.
The characterization of Beth’s husband, Jack, the dogs, and all of the French people and estate agents they meet along the way is superb. There are fabulous descriptions of the estates and the countryside and you really feel you are sitting in the back of the car along with the dogs. In addition, there are unexpected history lessons about different parts of France as well as interesting information about many of the towns and villages.
That in itself would be sufficient to make a good memoir, but what moves this book from good to great, and even fabulous, is the humour throughout. I started off smiling sometimes, then giggling occasionally and eventually was collapsed with laughter, even snorting at stages. It is so very funny I have not laughed so much in months.
I highly recommend this book, and I know I now have no choice but to read the rest of the series. I must admit I was concerned that they might not live up to my now high expectations, but having checked the reviews on Amazon – they are all five stars as well. Thank goodness! I can’t wait."

There are three more books in the same series so my next task is to get those. Really worth it, pure escapism, some learning more about France, and just pure fun.

The second was by Gina DePaulo and is called Unopened Doors.

My review says: 

"In brief, the author describes how she was victim of a mugging which caused a Traumatic Brain Injury and that in turn led to flashbacks of her childhood and a rape and near-death strangulation when she was 19. She then decides to revisit her attack of some 40 years ago and with the help of a Cold Case investigator she slowly unearths the past.

The book is beautifully written and it goes backwards and forwards between the present and the past in a seamless manner. It is more than simply a memoir; however, it is a detective novel, it portrays life in the USA in the 1960s, and you really do find yourself transported back in time. In addition, DePaulo adds in stories of other victims of violence, rape and murder during the same time period in the same area.

More than a memoir, more than a detective story, overall a truly excellent read. I defy anyone not to enjoy this book, which I was unable to put down as it draws you in from the very first page. In fact, this was the best book I have read in years."

This book really resonated with me, having had a couple of near death experiences and now suffering from brain injury. But even if you have been lucky enough not to have those, I promise you will really enjoy this book.

And for those of you who enjoy reading and enjoy reading memoirs, I really do recommend you join the We Love Memoirs Facebook Group. Why? Because the members are writers of memoirs and lovers of memoirs. There are lots of free memoirs to be won, chats with authors, competitions where you can read memoirs and, the best thing, all of the members are lovely people!

Holiday in England

Wrist slapping time as it has been over 2 months since the last post. I do have a raft of excuses such as being in England, followed by the flu, followed by what I am calling The Incident which I will explain about in the next blog post.

So off I went to England - alone, as there was no visa for Danilo and Chivirico. It was a long journey to the airport, around 12 hours on three different buses but it was simple enough and the long distance buses are very comfy with aircon, big seats and wifi so it was actually nice to relax.

I was met in Punta Cana by my great friend Ilana and her husband Pedro and spent a lovely night and the next day with them and Ilana's friends before being taken to the airport for the 8.30 pm flight. Fab flight and I had three seats to myself so I managed to sleep all the way to England. This was my first time on a plane for 12 years and they had certainly been upgraded with seat back TVs and loads of channels to choose from.

Mum met me at the airport and looked exactly the same as the last time I was in England some 12 years ago - how you go from age 74 to 86 looking the same I have no idea but just hope I do the same!

To be honest it was all a bit overwhelming at first. We stopped about an hour from the airport so I could get some coffee and smoke a cigarette  - not necessarily in that order - and as I had no English money I asked mum for 10 pence to get a coffee. She laughed and gave me a 10 pound note - around US$13. I walked into the store and there was the coffee machine. First I had to choose what type of coffee I wanted and there were a million choices most of which I had never heard of - so I pressed cappuccino. Next, small, medium or large. Did that, got my cup, put it in the right place, out came the coffee and then it told me to use my App. No idea what the machine was talking about so I went to the cashier and she told me to use my App to scan something. I explained I had no idea what she or the machine was talking about,  so I paid in cash (think around 2.50 pounds - bit more than the 10 pence I expected). What was it with all the Apps - they had invaded the country, everything was scanned or Apped or whatever - I think I was the only person paying in cash in every place we went to.

I stayed for three weeks. I spent time not only with my mum but my aunt and uncle, brother, sister and brother in law, cousins, friends and it was quite simply the best holiday I have ever had. The food was out of this world, all the things I cannot get here, and I managed to put on 10 pounds in weight! Rather than telling you all about it in words, here are just a few of the pictures I took over the three weeks.

Fresh raspberries and cream

Roast lamb, sprouts, new potatoes, peas, mint sauce!

English breakfast!

The local town, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire

Mother's cutlery drawer - so organised!

Sister's spice rack - alphabetical order of course

Mushrooms!!!!!!!

House in mum's village. I had forgotten how beautiful England is.

Local pub in Houghton where I spent many a misspent hour in my youth!

Another house in the village I grew up in, Houghton

Frosty Christmas morning in mum's back garden

Christmas lunch including PARSNIPS and Yorkshire pudding. Beef barbecued by brother in law, Gary.

I went through a whole range of emotions in England - not sad ones at all. It was so lovely to be with family and I had forgotten how much I loved them all. It was also interesting to compare life in England with my life in the DR, and rather than explaining it here, please do go to Janet Given's website and blog where I have done a guest post for her on how I felt. When you are on the site, do check out the other blog posts and the rest of the site ,as Janet is a well known writer and author and I know you will enjoy browsing. I came across her when I read her book At home on the Kazakh Steppe which is about her time in the Peace Corps when she did just what I did and gave it all up and ended up in Kazakhstan. Fabulous book and well worth a read!

In a few days (I promise) I will blog again to keep you up to date. In the meantime, here is Grumpy, the mangy boxer who turned up here a few months ago. Not mangy anymore!

Week from hell followed by a tiny ray of sunshine

Long time not blogging again. Apologies. November was a bit of a disastrous month, but with an uplifting and rewarding ending.

It began with both Danilo and Chivirico having their UK visas denied. Danilo as they did not think he would come back – most odd as why would a Dominican lawyer want to stay in the UK and why would his wife who works and lives in the DR want to stay there as well,  and Chivirico was denied as Danilo would not be going and they seemed to think he would be going unaccompanied and forgot I was going. No right of appeal or review or question or anything so we will try again next year. It was really really disappointing but in the meantime I am going on my own for three weeks and cannot wait to see everyone and eat British food for the first time in 12 years.

Next problem was the goats as we have had a terrible drought and they did not have enough food. We would buy hay to supplement their food but there was none, due to the drought, so every day Danilo had to go off with his machete and search for food for them. We did not want them to be hungry so in the end we had to make the difficult decision to give them to daughter in law’s father to look after. He has a little farm next to a river so there is always plenty of food there for them. I do miss them though.

Adios Bahama, Harry, Chilli Pepper and Oregano

Now we have two empty paddocks, and Danilo is busy thinking what animals he can keep in them, animals which don’t eat as much as goats. Every day he comes up with another suggestion. We have gone from horses, cows and donkeys, through llamas, ostriches, peacocks – so far nothing there but I am sure some animal will have moved in by the time I return from England.

Next trauma was Rasputin, who hated Goofy with a passion. He would bark and growl at him but Goofy just ignored him, until one day he had had enough and attacked Rasputin. We hoped it would be a one off but it happened every time they were together, so, sadly, Raspi had to go for his own safety and our nerves. He is now happily living in Mao and has been renamed El Rubio. They send us videos of how happy he is so all is well.

Rasputin and Goofy in happier days

Then, the traumas continued. I was sitting at my desk working at 3 pm and  Danilo was off working in Mao. The local mayor starts shouting for me at the back wall. I went outside thinking now what as the goats couldn’t have escaped as they weren’t here any more. He starts talking about the big dogs - Lobo and Goofy the Great Dane. I said they are here and turned round  and they were nowhere to be seen but the gate was open. He says they are in the street and the Great Dane was hit by the truck which delivers our water. I grabbed two leads and rushed out up the road where Goofy was lying on the verge and Lobo was looking on from the other side of the road. The truck has hit Goofy hard in his back end they said and threw him across the road. A crowd of people were gathered and said they would stay with Goofy as Lobo took off running down the road. Eventually running through people’s houses and yards I cornered Lobo and took him home. I ran back to Goofy. He couldn’t  move. I asked  the locals to call 911, not sensible as it doesn’t operate in our area, but a guy then turned up with a wheelbarrow. He said it was canine 911! Everyone was too scared to lift him. He had no obvious sign of injury but he wouldn’t  move. I called Danilo who said he was on his way and I sat on the ground with Goofy's head in my lap. We waited. The crowd increased covering the road and slowing down all the cars. Danilo arrived in Alberto's car. Goofy still wouldn’t  move. The boys and Danilo lifted him gently into the trunk of the car and drove him home. They opened the trunk and.....GOOFY JUMPED OUT AND RAN ALL AROUND THE GARDEN. Slightly lame in his front paw and that was it. What a bloody drama queen.

The Great Escapees

Just after the Goofy incident, one morning Danilo yelled at me that there was a baby boxer dog in the garden. She was tiny, covered in mange and starving – you could see every bone in her body.

We gave her some food and water and expected her to disappear. She didn’t.

She moved into one of the spaces under the balcony. So we bathed her and with the help of some friends began to treat the mange. As we began the treatment her fur began to fall out and she moved from under the balcony to the back door.

Slowly she began to put weight on, the mange went and she moved into the house.

Grumpy Grace is now growing her fur back and is an established member of the family!

Visas and Island Life

The visa applications took for ever. One each for Chivirico and Danilo. You apply online, pay US$200 each and set up an appointment at a visa centre in Santo Domingo. No longer are they issued at the British Embassy, which is a shame as I have friends there. Once the online application is done you have to get all of the paperwork together - birth and marriage certs, proof that Chiv is at school and Danilo graduated from university, house title deeds, utility bills, sponsor's invitation letter, 6 months of bank statements, proof of income, proof you will return to the DR etc etc. I was printing for days. Everything in Spanish has to be translated into English by a legal translator so my friend Olga did that for me and I printed them all out.

The day before we set off for the capital on the bus - Caribe tours.

Chiv at the Caribe tours bus stop

We decided to stay at a hostel in the Colonial Zone, owned and run by fellow Brit, Chris. We had chatted a bit over the last few years. I wasn't really sure what to expect - thinking it would be long dormitories and somewhat basic but when I checked out the web page for Island Life Backpackers Hostel I was surprised that there were double and triple rooms as well as rooms of all different sizes and some had private ensuite bathrooms.

The hostel was charming. Formerly a 400 year old colonial home it has been beautifully restored and still has lots of original features.

The courtyard

Our room was the first door on the left

The room we had, had a double and single bed, great quiet aircon and a lovely bathroom with a powerful shower and piping hot water.

But what makes Island Life so special is the atmosphere. Not a stuffy impersonal hotel but a casual, comfortable and very friendly place. When you walk in, you go straight into the bar which is just like a traditional English pub.

Chivirico took no time at all to make himself comfortable with a coca cola before beating Danilo at pool.

In addition to the facilities, Island Life has its own resident Great Dane, Schumacher, who is very well behaved as well as being enormous. Chivirico took charge of the camera to take snaps of him - this is the only one which isn't of his bottom - the dog's bottom not Chiv's.

It was great to finally meet Chris and we chatted late into the night.

So there you have it. Island Life is certainly a great choice for somewhere to stay in the capital. So many interesting people from all over the world to talk to, friendly and helpful staff, fast wifi and everything you need for a comfortable stay.

Before continuing with the visa story, we had a couple of hours to kill the next morning and given that Chivirico had never been to the Colonial Zone, armed with my camera around his neck off we set to explore. I will just post a few of the pictures he took, as there were loads!

Juan Pablo Duarte's house and museum

The ferry to Puerto Rico

Top of the Pantheon

Chiv and the Choo Choo train which tours the Colonial Zone

Christopher Columbus

Beginning of El Conde with Danilo's back on the left!

La Puerta del Conde where independence was declared and my back and Danilo's back

Tour over, it was back to the hotel to meet up with Olga who brought her stamp and stamped and signed the myriad of translations.

Then off to have some lunch and taxi to the visa centre which is in a residential area of the city. We arrived early, said goodbye to Olga and sat down in a freezing room with very squeaky chairs to wait. No photos as they are not allowed. We were early and eventually went in and handed all of the papers over to be scanned to somewhere. A note on the wall said the decision would be made at the British Embassy in Colombia and if granted the visa would be issued in Jamaica. Danilo and Chivirico had their photos and fingerprints taken and surprisingly no questions were asked. So much for all the rehearsals.

Now we have to wait, not sure for how long but the website says 85% of decisions made within 15 days. There is no way of tracking the applications, but we have the Fedex receipt so once the passport starts going somewhere we can track that. At the moment it is not moving!

Then back to Santiago on the bus, this time Transporte Espinal as the last Caribe tours one had gone. We then had to get another bus to Esperanza when Danilo's sons met us and brought us home. Unfortunately we were minus the camera as I had left it on the bus, or, as the Dominicans would say, which I prefer, the camera left itself on the bus.

Quick phone call to Transporte Espinal and the camera had returned itself to Santo Domingo, so once again my "go to person in Santo Domingo" Olga, picked it up and put it back on Caribe Tours to Mao where Danilo picked it up! What luck! Now the waiting continues.