Ubiquities 2

Cafeterias, Colmados, and Comedors -- There seems to be at least one of these on nearly every block. A colmado is a corner store and most of them are tiny -- some just about the size of a closet. They seem to sell more beer and water than anything else, but in some you can buy a tiny quantity of flour or oil or sugar or rice. Most appear not to be very clean, and seem to be neighborhood 'hangouts,' with people sitting in plastic chairs outside on the sidewalk, just chatting, maybe with a beer in hand. Cafeterias and comedors are sort of 'fast food' joints with very limited menus. The majority prepare large quantities of one particular combination platter daily usually chicken (sometimes beef or pork) and rice and beans. They are quite inexpensive, and the one time I ate at one, I though the food was pretty tasty. Sometimes a sandwich can be purchased there as well.

Bright colors -- Many of the older, traditional Carribean style Dominican houses are painted in bright colors: robin's egg blue, cantaloupe, hot pink, or canary yellow. It was explained to me (I didn't quite understand this) that the bright colors are more suitable or reflect the light or something of the tropical sun. At any rate, I know I've read newspaper articles in the Star-Ledger about how neighbors complain if a home on their street is painted a garish shade. Not so here.

Chickens. Yes, chickens -- live ones, that is. Both Fr Hipólito's have chickens. I asked if they were for eggs or meat and was told 'neither, we just like to hear their songs.' I've heard the crowing of roosters in the middle of a city just as often as I've heard the barking of dogs. Yesterday I was walking down a main avenue and a chicken jumped out in front of me from behind a dumpster. With a chick in tow. Another time there was a rooster simply wandering around an outdoor market. I think that some of them are rescued from a life of crime -- the cock fights that are popular in some areas of the country.

Gomerías. This is basically a tire repair business. With so many potholes, bumps, and divots in the roads, flat tires are pretty common. So are shops to repair them.