There are certain things that, regardless of how long I live here, I just can't get used to. For example, the trucks, cars and vans with giant speakers attached. These mobile promoters go about town at a snails pace, blaring announcements and advertisements so loud that I feel my hearing has been compromised. I'll never quite understand why people choose to walk in the middle of the road when there is a sidewalk available, although I have accepted that most places do not have sidewalks. I am always taken back by major establishments charging for the restroom instead of covering the 100 colones (25 cents) as a service to their clients. I have to admit that at times I even begrudge the services of self appointed parking attendants. To me they represent just one more thing I have to be careful not to back over as I ease my way out of the narrow parking lots onto the street.
These things that creep under my skin make me aware of how I have adjusted almost completely, but not quite. When I stop and analyze why I can't get over these simple things, I realize that they have only replaced equally annoying things that I was totally immune to in the United States. The loud promotional speaker has taken the place of the endless amounts of junk mail that I used to have to shred to protect my identity. The extra 100 colones that I have to dish out to use the restroom is a drop in the bucket compared to mall taxes. As for the parking guys, well I have to remind myself that they are asking for spare change in exchange for a service. This, instead of able bodies sitting at intersections holding signs with clever stories of why they are destitute.
I wonder what habits we have that continuously puzzle and frustrate the locals. The face of their community has changed with the arrival of our culture. There must be countless ways they have had to adjust to our style of business and expectations. I think, for the most part we work well together. Most foreigners try to find the humor in all of the odd things we encounter, and I imagine that the locals do the same. It is like a relationship. If it is going to work, certain things simply have to be tolerated, and compromises have to be made. We just have to go with the flow.
3 comments:
Great point. Go with the flow was the motto for our trip last fall - something really different from our suburban life where that's the last thing on most people's minds. We had a LOT of pleasant surprises as we shed our usual expectations and took things as is. In some way or another, many of the happy expats we met reiterated the point.
Such a great post!!!
Hola amiga,
As we get ready to return to the US next week after our year-long CR adventure, I'm thinking of just how crazy it will be to readjust to US culture . . . especially the junk mail! I'd truly forgotten about it until I read your post. Agh!
It was lovely meeting you and Miguel and the girls. If you'll be near Ciudad Colón before Tuesday, give us a call!
Kathy (and Richard and Alex)
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