1. Punctuality
The other day I was half an hour late to meet a Colombian friend of mine, for no reason other than I was being slow and disorganised. Not only was I late, I also blamed both the traffic and public transport.
2. Double Parking
I have developed a habit, a decidedly Colombian habit, of scheduling appointments at the same time on the basis that a) Someone will surely cancel and b) If they don’t, I assume I am some kind of wizard capable of attending two meetings at the same time. How do you think that works out for me?
3. Chauvinism
The other day I was leaving the office in the company of a male colleague, who was walking slightly behind me. When we got to the door, without even realising it, I stood and waited for him to open it for me. Naturally, he did so – giving no thought at all to the feminists below him, spinning furiously in their graves.
4. Fake Smiles
I was in a Bogotá café famed for its outrageously bad service (I have no idea why I still go there, given that I have walked out in the past) Anyway, I was forced to call, politely, to a passing waitress before I could order a couple of coffees. She stopped in her tracks and took a very obvious deep breath before turning to face me. Afterwards I commented on her fake smile to my friend, who laughed and said: “But you did exactly the same fake smile back.”
5. Hygiene
We have spoken a lot about hygiene. When I am with British friends I excuse my exacerbated preoccupation with the topic with excuses like: “Sorry, I am just going to go and wash my hands, you know I have that OCD thing…” even though not only do I think it is completely normal to wash your hands every time you arrive somewhere, I also think it is fine to use napkins, plastic ‘grease’ gloves and full cutlery, even for cake and pizza.
6. Religion
I am not particularly religious and, like the majority of my countrymen, I was neither born nor raised a Catholic. But the other day I was on the bus near my house when we passed a mangled taxi that had crashed and flipped onto its roof. My neighbour and I looked at each other in horror and crossed ourselves simultaneously. I felt weird the whole day.
7. Discounts
I was in a market when I found two jumpers in a discount bin (Colombian or not, I remain a bit of a scruff) They were marked as having been 75,000 pesos each but were now under the label “Everything 40,000.” I took both of them and asked the girl how much it would be if I bought two. “Well, the thing is… they are already discounted,” she said. “Okay,” I replied patiently. “But how much?” I wasn’t even embarrassed when I was forced to hand over the 80,000.
8. Smileys
Remember how much I laughed about the cuteness of Colombian dating? Well I have to confess I am now the worst for sending smileys or messages that say: “Hola,” and the worst part of all is that I still have a pre-paid phone, so those smileys cost me as much money as if I was sending something vaguely intelligent.
9. Free Love
There are some people in this city – foreign and Colombian – that I love as much as if they were my own family. I would do anything for them and when I hang up the phone and say “I love you,” I mean it. But I have also fallen into the “te quiero” trap which means I am just as likely to say “I love you,” to people for whom the sole extent of our friendship is a fondness for the same Bogotá bars. Nothing wrong with free love, but it is very un-British.
10. Blurred Lines
In the beginning I struggled with the huge gulf between amiga (friend) and novia (girlfriend) but nowadays I don’t even balk when male friends say to me: “Well, I would only call her my novia if I thought I was going to marry her,” even though the relationship they have with their girlfriend is exactly that. And while I may laugh about turning up late, crossing myself and asking for discounts, this is the one that worries me the most. A British friend said to me recently: “Be careful what you tolerate, you have standards for a reason,” and even though I was not her biggest fan, it reminded me of Margaret Thatcher’s advice: “Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Like this? You’ll love Colombia a comedy of errors.
Banana Skin Flip Flops 
Hee hee! I too am turning into the type that waits for a man to open the door or hold the lift doors open with their arm while I enter. However I’ve also found that if I am with female colleagues I will take on the door opening role. It’s as though I have the hierarchy in my head as women before men or where there are no men, Colombianas before extranjeras.
Hahaha, of course! I do the same, mostly because I cannot be bothered to wait for a man to appear 🙂
#8! My smiley use in texts, Facebook and chats is out. of. control.
Mwah! 🙂
So, it IS ok to blame my Colombian roots for my smiley use and being an “i love you” slut!
Thank God!
Yep! You also get to blame lateness, bargaining, hygiene obsessions, chivalry and strange relationship statuses on it too!
Another excellent post my love! 🙂 I would add to number 10 the ridiculous confusion of calling someone your “pareja” or “esposa” when they’re simply your serious significant other.
Ha exactly… probably because it takes so long to call someone your novia, by the time you get there you may just as well say eposita! 🙂
Totally OOT (and hopefully not creepy), but did you use an internet cafe in Pasadena, in front of a Carulla, last week or so? Tall, blonde, with a foreign accent, it HAD to be you!
Hahaha, well I have no idea where Pasadena is and, despite the rubbishness of my phone, I don’t think I have used a net cafe since 1995 so I am going to go with no… probably someone I know though! If you see someone matching that description in Juan Valdez dunking alfajores into hot chocolate then it is definitely me so please come and say hello (unless I am slamming my head on the computer… that means the article is not going well and I should not be disturbed!)
buenísimo! Gracias, me hiciste reir! I have to say I’ve “lost”most of those traits by being in Canada… it has sort of had the opposite effect on me.
How did you change? I am curious…
Haha, always funny to see how we adapt (become corrupted?) by new surroundings! I’ve just moved to Chile and it’ll be a while before my list is made, but I’m looking forward to seeing what makes it!
I totally love this blog. It makes me laugh and think about the roots and the habits I have. My novia is still trying to get use to my lateness. No proud of it though, but is an special part of myself. : )
Jajajajajaja …. I just enjoy toooooo much reading your posts, they are pure free smiles 🙂 🙂
I love the little things we pick up when we live somewhere else for a while. 😀 Good for you, girl. At least that means you don’t try to create your own “mini Britain” like some ex-pats do when they live abroad and completely disassociate themselves with the culture around them.
All of this made me smile — it was so lovely to meet you, and I’m looking forward to sharing more laughs and observations!
Thank you lovely lady, see you soon and promise not to be late… well… 🙂
Have not checked your blog in a while but I am glad to read it again. This is brilliant as usual.
You just made me realize, though, I am turning into (or have already turned into) a bona fide gringo. I guess my relative’s astonishment when trying to set up a meeting with then with a start AND an end time when I last visited Colombia should have been a hint and I should not have been surprised either that none of them were there when I showed up at the appointed time.
Hahahaha, I am currently in London and met up with an Argentine friend today. He arrived an hour late, cool as a cucumber. I meanwhile had slipped into my inglesa ways immediately (despite only being on a three week break) and was exactly on time!
Still don’t understand why it’s gloves for chicken fingers, but a napkin will do for sloppy hamburgers. I refuse to use the gloves … I guess if I ever do, that will be the moment I become Colombian .. 😉
http://saritaconsuguitarrita.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/8-tips-for-surviving-in-colombia/
This is great! ESPECIALLY the lateness thing. This is a post I wrote when I just arrived here, but also feel I am slipping into these things. Especially the keep asking until you get rule!