Dominican Republic on Consumption (4)

The Dominican Republic is very different compared to the United States when it comes down to consumption. I traveled there many times and lived there for two years from 2002 to 2004. Every time I go, I stay at a small town named Janico which is on the country side of Santiago. In Janico, people don’t really have money to spare, so they use what they have wisely.
It is hard to find someone over there who has the money to go shopping at the malls for material things like t.v., lap tops, radios etc. Hell, most of them can’t even afford their own clothing! We can’t say that we are rich here in the United States, but we could afford some of those things. Even if we can’t, we still swipe our credit cards to purchase them. They don’t Have that kind of luck.
So you would ask, how do they get what they have? Well, simple. From family members in the United States. We leave them clothing, sneakers, and things which we really aren’t going to use anymore. In contrast to most of us, they don’t care if its used or “outdated”, they are always thankful and value what they get. My first generation Xbox is pretty much worthless over here, but when I left it to my little cousins last year, they felt like they had the latest model. Im not saying this is for the whole country though, there are rich people that could afford goods out there. As for those that are poor and don’t have family members over here, they get clothing and things from others living near them; so they do beat sneakers and objects to death over there.
From what I’ve witnessed, there isn’t much advertisements on new laptops or the newest cars on Dominican Channels, but more like food brands, salons, and some clothing shops in the city. Like I said, even if they did have advertisement, most people can’t afford expensive stuff so it would be worthless.
For Dominicans, Leisure time is all about having fun. At night, they go out and socialize, drink beer, bet on sports, listen to music and dance. In the day time, they go swim and throw cookouts in the rivers. They also get involved in sports, mostly baseball and basketball. Furthermore, they enjoy riding motorcycles and scooters.