Step number one: don't be white. Yes, I mean that if you are white, you will be assumed to be a tourist. This is one area that I can't really change except by getting a tan - more on that later.
Step number two: don't wear shorts unless you're on the beach. I have yet to see a local here wear shorts except on the beach, and if you're caught in public anywhere except a beach in shorts or sandals, you're a tourist.
Step number three: Oh, fuck it. The rest is pretty straightforward - all summed up in not asking stupid questions, and not acting like Americans.
To be fair, there are certain advantages to acting like a tourist - namely, when locals ask you for money for no obviously acceptable reason, "no habla Espanol" is a perfectly acceptable response.
On the flip side, not attracting the "hey look, it's a tourist" sort of attention is definitely not a bad thing.
Other interesting things - spent yesterday at the Boca Chica beach, outside Santo Domingo. Fairly stereotypical Caribbean beach - lots of people, hotels, salesmen, etc. That being said, we also had our own, personal bus-boy, beach chairs, etc. We also managed to rent a peddle-boat, and headed out to some off-shore mangrove groves, and did some snorkeling. Saw some fish - some even colourful - lots of wildlife, and a random local acting as the "flagman" on one of the other peddle-boats. Note to self - random guys wandering with their dicks hanging out is equally disturbing when abroad as it is at home.
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It's 'no hablo espanol'. The 'o' is rather important.
Anyway, I thought you might be interested in a new website that I'm checking out: www.bigthink.com. Check it out, it looks like your kind of thing too.
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