Interacting with locals:

It's important to always to refer to someone with respect. In English there is only one-second person pronoun “you”, but in Spanish, there are several forms “tu”, “usted” and “vosotros”. Always refer to an unknown person using the pronoun “usted” because is the formal form of  "you". Forget about “vosotros” it is a pronoun you use in other Spanish speaking countries, but never in Dominican Republic. If you use “Vosotros” you will be perceived as a foreigner. you can drop the formalities, but only when both parts decide to do that. Also if you are an adult, refer to people who look around your age and older as "señor" or "señora", and refer to elderly people as "don" or "doña".

Dominicans are a friendly population. Do not be impressed or take it personally when the locals use expressions such as “mi amigo” (my friend), “mi amor” (my love) or “cariño”(sweetie) they do that a lot but not necessarily mean it. When arriving in the Dominican Republic I try to make my Spanish accent sound like theirs. I live in Puerto Rico, so my accent is mainly Puertorrican, and I can be classified as a foreigner even if I’m truly Dominican. Dominicans come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, This can be seen especially in the cities and in places where there is an established middle class. In other words, you may look like a foreigner but if you speak in a perfect Dominican accent you may be perceived as a local.

Dominican people of Moca