A while back we wrote about the idiosyncrasies of Colombia that we have come to love. This is the second installment. I have written this post over the past number of weeks and have added things as they have happened. It shows that loving a place does not mean it is perfect.
1. Ok, ok – this first one is not really something I have come to love. In fact, it actually drives me crazy. There are a fair number of elevators here, at least in our neighborhood. The part that drives me insane is when someone calls the elevator. About half the time, they call it in the direction they want the elevator to go, not the direction they want to go. For example, I am in my building and the doorman, trying to be helpful, calls the elevator for me. He pushes the down button because he wants the elevator to come down for me instead of pushing the up button because I want to go up to my apartment. The result is that when I get in and turn my key to light the button for our apartment, the doors close and then open again. I know it is extremely petty but it is so annoying. I guess it is really one’s perspective. Is it the elevator that you want to move or is it yourself?
2. JTP is convinced that Colombians love lines. At his work people are fastidious about them and they are at church as well. I have had a much different experience. I have experienced more “cutting” than anytime in my life. Maybe it is because I go to different places than JTP. I have been waiting at doctor’s offices and had someone literally cut in line and ask the receptionist to help them while have been waiting patiently in a line for her to help me. They always say it is just a quick item but it never is. Sometimes, I think to myself, “I just need a little thing also – WAIT YOUR TURN!!”
3. One of the greatest aspects of living in Colombia is that we have a full-time maid. I suppose this is not so much an Idiosyncrasy as it is a reality of our lives here. Sonia comes everyday for about nine hours. She cleans up after us, watches the kids when I go out, cooks for us and generally takes care of the house. I will admit it is strange to have someone that is essentially a stranger in my house all the time. With time, I have gotten used to it. It has definitely helped my Spanish! I also never really lack adult conversation. If I want to talk with an adult I go and talk with Sonia. If I do not, I keep to myself. The best part of having a full-time maid is that things magically happen. About a week ago, I was taking BLP to swimming lessons and started to get our things together. I realized, when I opened the swimming bag, that everything was there – ready and waiting. Additionally, the hand soap dispensers are always full and we never have dirty towels or sheets, or any dirty cloths for that matter. Sonia is also wonderful with AJP and BLP. She cares for BLP during my classes and BLP loves her. Employing her has given me a lot of flexibility. We really appreciate the work she does for our family.
4. When I had only been in Colombia for a few months, I realized a disturbing and sad part of the Colombian psyche. Our whole family has very fair skin, light eyes and light-ish hair. Everyone was saying to all of us, especially AJP and BLP, “Oh, que monos”. At first I was a little disturbed since “mono” means “monkey”. I asked Sonia what everyone meant by "mono" and she said it meant that our skin was light colored. I was still disturbed that, as a culture, they would call anyone "monkeys" for the appearance. Then one day it hit me. Mono (mona for females) also means pretty or attractive. It made me wonder if instead of insulting fair-skinned people, they were actually making a judgment on what is (and is not) pretty. Culturally, people were saying that fair-skinned people with light eyes were the standard for attractiveness. I found that equally as disturbing. Somehow, I felt some connection to colonial times and mistreatment of indigenous people. I am sure I am making more of this than is really there but somehow it disturbed my sense of fairness or equality.
No comments:
Post a Comment