3 Things you Need to Survive in the Third World

The electric company is allegedly upgrading the service in my sector of Santo Domingo. As a result, the power goes out every Wednesday at 8AM and comes back on at around 5PM. Other than those times, I always have service unless, of course, they turn it off for some other reason or it’s raining.

The water services are much better. That is, unless the power problems cause difficulty with the main pump which brings the water from the street. But when the power is working the water flows fine unless, of course, it’s raining.

You see, when it rains all bets are off. The streets flood, all appointments are canceled and taxis become about as regular as Haley’s Comet. You may be asking how we deal with such major inconveniences. The following three things are absolutely indispensable.

Back-up Power

This is my “inversor” or back-up power source. If it looks like two car batteries that’s because it basically is. Otherwise known as an “uninterrupted power source”, it kicks on automatically when the main power line goes dead. Using fans, all of my office equipment and the TV I get about 4-5 hours of power out of it. Unfortunately, it will not power anything that requires 220 volts. Thus, the refrigerator, air-conditioner and microwave won’t work. Regardless, this little baby is an absolute necessity in the Dominican Republic. The whole system goes for a few hundred bucks.

Buckets

Buckets are another necessity. Water is usually not a problem but can still go at any time. 2 weeks ago, without notice, it went out for 3 days. During such times it’s nice to have some buckets around so you can still wash dishes, water the plants and, of course, flush the toilet. In addition, you can take a “bird bath” so you don’t stink up the house. Personally, I hate taking “bird baths” because it reminds me of when I was in the Army and that makes the next necessity even more important.

Friends, Family and Good Neighbors

No matter where you live, you need a support network of friends and family. And if they live in different sectors of the city than that’s even better. Why? Because more than likely they will have water and electricity when you don’t! However, good neighbors are just as important. During our last “water outage” my wife noticed a woman in the apartment complex behind ours (across the same alley where these guys recently fixed my air-conditioner.) Evidently, that complex runs on a different service grid as the lady had a hose in her hand and was watering her flowers. She happily handed over the hose so we could refill our buckets. In exchange, my wife gave her a huge mango which put a smile on her face (see pic). That made me chuckle and for a moment forget how pissed off I was.

Side note: I know that the term “3rd world” doesn’t make sense anymore since the end of the Cold War. However, the new kinder and gentler “developing world” doesn’t make much sense to me either. “Developing” implies some sort of forward movement and progress which I have not witnessed over the past 6 years. Tune in tomorrow for a candid look at why so much of the developing world isn’t developing.

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