Dominican Republic. I have been ALL OVER the DR and to haiti twice. I have been to more than 25 countries and have lived in the 3rd world almost my entire adult life. In my time in the DR I have had numerous guns pointed at me, seen a few shootings, had a knife pulled on me, seen the police beating and threatening to kill a family member of my wife in front of his 3 year old son for sitting on the hood of his car, seen the police pull guns on people because they thought it was funny, have seen countless fights where guns were pulled, have seen more than one shooting, have had friends get jumped, robbed, drugged, and raped, and have had to pay police numerous times. I myself have been robbed. I have talked to somebody that has been literally afraid to post valid concerns on this site because they were afraid of possible reprecussions. Thats just the tip of the iceberg. The Dominican Republic is bigger than the sections of the capital where the comemierdas hang out. I have also recommended to many people to come and study here. Yeah you will have headaches, but you can become a doctor. I purposly didnt comment on the school or education because the post was about UNIBE, and I dont study there. I responded to what I thought was a gross misrepresentation of the safety issue. It is offensive to me to suggest that we are in some sort of place where this doesnt happen. I know what I have seen and experienced these past couple of years, and it is a dangerous country.

ffffffffff

what makes you assume that english is a 2nd lang for me? did i not write in proper english?


Ok you asked and I am going to tell you. Your command of English is abominable! Just in the above sentence alone there are five (5) gross errors. I shall enumerate for you.

1. When you begin a sentence, the first word is capitalized.
2. English (or the proper name of any language) is capitalized
3. “lang” is not a correct abbreviation for language or did you make it up?
4. “did” is capitalized as the beginning of a sentence
5. Again, English is capitalized.
These errors were just in TWO sentences.


i dont know much about this situation.. it was a discussion i made with some other fellow students i met. as i said before, this list are opinions of i and others.

YOU CERTAINLY DO NOT KNOW MUCH BUT SPEAK AS IF AN EXPERT.

You apparently do not know the use of punctuation marks, especially an apostrophe. When you write a word as a contraction, such as “don’t”, there must be an apostrophe to indicate the omission of the “o”. Throughout your dissertation you fail to use punctuation marks.

*dont trust the watchguard/security in your building as well. [according to some ppl, a student (female) was raped and killed by her watchguard. she was european, however this could happen to ANY student. every student is in risk.]

Check with your dictionary, there is no such word as “watchguard.” You probably mean to say “watchman” or “security guard.” And again, the word European is capitalized.

i doubt there is any place like that in the US at all. every house near unibe has bars, that really does say something about the danger we might face.

As I stated previously, three apartments in Southern California were the same set up. One apartment in Long Beach and the other two in Temecula. If you are really that interested I can give you the addresses.


the atms only give in pesos. ifyou want to change it to dolars you have to go somewhere else, which is outside of school

Why do you find this strange? If you utilize an ATM in the USA do you not receive your money in DOLLARS? In fact, unless the law has changed, it is illegal to use money for transactions other than the coin of the relm (Pesos).

no i am not talking about getting out at 8pm and going to a bar. i am talking aobut going outside of your house at 8 pm for any reason. even if you are getting out of school at 8pm, it is not advised to walk around even if you are 2 ppl.

My grandkids are out in the streets (three blocks from Unibe) playing ball and otherwise terrorizing each other until late evening. Should they be admonished to come in at 8 PM.

NOT ONLY COULD THEY STAB YOU BUT 4 STUDENTS IN ANOTHER CITY (SANTIAGO) WERE MURDERED FOR THEIR CELL PHONES. BUT THIS NEVER HAPPENS IN THE USA.
yes, and i think all students should be notified about this.

I believe they were notified in orientation and it was in all the local papers and news.




The bottom line to this diatribe is simple. I am where you want to be.....
NOT necessarily in the Dominican Republic but a RETIRED PHYSICIAN. After 40 years of practicing medicine I retired and now I am trying to impart to neophyte students some of the things I have learned in that 40 years of what I consider a fantastic career. I have been in 90 countries; I have been around the block!

__________________
ERNEST C. HOLBROOK, M.D. FACS

ha! is that so? well i dont waste my time checking whether one person capitalized the first word or not. i am not writing a thesis paper here! i see you couldnt find anything else to argue about and you just wasted your time writing that!

you say i dont know much. well i spoke with the students themselves. i am sure there are many students who would want to know that so i put it on the list.

i know how it is and so does the others. i hope at least those who apply to this school would take everything i wrote into consideration.

the bottom line to all the new students: know what you are going to face with before you even apply to this school.

gringostudent: thank you for your post. im sure many will appreciate it. after all, everyone wants to know the dangers that one would face with before they go to another country.

my only pupose for this thread is to inform others of what they might face with. you will be surprised to hear how the school officials say that "it is the safest place" when these incidents happened to themselves!

immunologic: "As for your coments on not being accepted to Harvard, thats true, but it raises questions as to why a US MD is at UNIBE , why does he not enjoy the USA in his last years"

i suppose unibe was his last resort!

what makes you assume that english is a 2nd lang for me? did i not write in proper english?

You asked the question and to your dismay I answered it for you. If you don't want an answer don't ask the question. I am not trying to have and argument or arm wrestle with you. I monitor this board to correct what I consider to be misinformation. And believe me there is a great deal of that. For example, no federal loans at Unibe but private loans. Unibe qualifies for Stafford Federal Loans.
I think it advisable for any student to visit the campus of a prospective school prior to enrolling. Saves a lot of grief in the long run. I would definitely not select a school simply on the premise of what I read on some internet board.
And as for your personal question of why I am at Unibe. I think I already mentioned I retired from 40 years of active medical practice and I retired to the Dominican Republic because I have family here and enjoy the climate for health reasons. Unibe contacted me when they established the English Section of the medical school and offered me a teaching position which I accepted. I have enjoyed teaching for the last 15 years. during those 15 years I have had many students, most of which have become good friends even following graduation. I have also earned their respect by always being truthful with them regardless of the situation. If someone wants to know the truth about a situation, they will ask me.
I am a graduate of a U.S. Medical School and I am licensed in 4 States and the Dominican Republic. I am Board Certified in my Specialty and a Fellow, American College of Surgeons. I was Chief of Surgery at two large Medical Centers and also Chief of Staff at the Same two medical centers following which I RETIRED. Does this answer your question as to why I retired to the D.R.

As for writing a thesis; physicians are expected to use correct English both written and spoken otherwise they may be thought to be uneducated.
If your physician used improper English would you not question his educational credentials. Most people would.

__________________
ERNEST C. HOLBROOK, M.D. FACS

Dr. Holbrook....why do you waste your time explaining to some idiot that which he/she will NEVER understand. Those of us who know Dr. Holbrook spend our time trying to learn from him not waste his or our time spouting useless info.

Grow up people. One of the biggest problems at UNIBE is what one of our favorite Pathology teacher (yes the female one) calls the "New UNIBE student syndrone". You all know who you are. Your are the typical student from who has grown up in locked up at home for the the past 18-19 years then come to DR. You forget that the rules the your parents attempted to instill in you. You flash money, you rent cars and get into accidents and blame it on the DR. Yes, DR can be dangerous. ITS A DAMN 3 WORLD COUNTRY!!!!! Get used it, be aware and get over it. Spend 3 dollars and take a taxi at night. There are many trusted ones, ask a friend for a recommendation.
When I was in DR, I lived in my mom's 500,000 DOLLAR apartment (more than some houses in US). This is the middle of a great area. Did I go out at night? Hell no. Did I trust my watchman....Hell no (and yes, you can be cordial and still not trusting).
So come on people. Stop spreading useless rumors.
Another thing is: Parents (you know what ethnic group I am writting about) have a good talk with your kids before you send them to DR. When the get here, they drink, smoke, do drugs (coke, weed, meth). Have a strong hold on them. Everything is available in DR.
And study....half of the people here wouldn't be complaining if they just studied!

What was your route of DR licensure?

__________________
================================================== =
Take this soul, strand it in some skin and bones
take this soul. and make it sane, sane

what no man can own..... only God can take
take this heart, take this heart. take this heart

and let it break

__________________
ERNEST C. HOLBROOK, M.D. FACS