Dispatches from Republica Dominica Part 5: Lunch with Teo
The school, affectionately known as “ Casa Goethe ” has round-the-clock security. At first I thought it was simply to comfort the international students staying at the school, but here security guards are all over the place – at bars, hotels, ATM machines – no kidding, and they almost always pack a shotgun. I’d be willing to bet that only a few of those are actually loaded, but they get the point across if you know what I mean. We saw these guys everywhere, chilling in the ubiquitous white plastic chair in front of their ATM with a pump action 12-gauge across their knees, or going to work on the back of a moto, carrying their lunch box and their shotgun – just another day in the DR. At the school, our night time guard didn’t pack anything except an excellent sense of humor, a joy of life, a love for all of the students under his care, and a can of mosquito repellent. His name is Teo, which is close to the Spanish word for uncle (tio), ...