Confessions

There are days that the culture differences really rub you (me) the wrong way. I am by nature a very kind and sweet person....at least that's what I am told. I don't know if the "honeymoon" phase is over, or if I am not able to play the "I don't understand what you are saying" card anymore, because in the last 2 weeks there have been a few times that I have had to count to 10 and take deep breaths.

1. Today, for example, my friend Pam and I were eating lunch at a "western" restaurant by our house. It was gross and expensive. She ordered "pizza", and I ordered beef and salad...NOT GOOD. However, the company was well worth it and was the reason for being there so no worries. The time came for the bill and we both handed the waitress a 100 and were going to split the change. (not American dollars) The waitress took my 100 but looked at Pam's and said, "sorry, I can't take this." Why? The corner was ripped.....barely. I explained to the waitress that she could take the 100. She disagreed. We had no other money and our cute little visa cards don't work here (except at the bank) so they were of no use either. She quickly went and told her manager. The manager again told me that my friend's 100 would not be accepted. I told her that was all we had, that the money was real not fake, and a small tear would not be a problem. She agreed the money was real, but had a tear and asked me to walk myself to a bank, use my cute visa and get more cash. I told her no. She asked me to call a friend and ask them to bring me money. I said no and again told her she could take the money if she wanted to, and since my friend and I had no other money that was her only choice. She took the money and quickly brought the change. After she left I asked if I was rude, but my friend said I was polite and smiled the whole time. :) Good.



2. Then, there was last week, when my kids were playing outside and some older ladies were also playing mahjong outside. My kids were riding their scooter down the hill. (see this post) They were having a great time laughing and playing, then the noise stopped. I went out onto the balcony to check on them and they were all just sitting. Upon investigation I discovered....one of the older ladies had been yelling at them that they were bothering their mahjong game. When they proceeded again to go down the hill, she got up and threw her water bottle...full of water...at Hudson's head. (it missed...he dodged it) Hannah, being my sweet daughter, picked it up and handed it back to her. However, the kids got the message and were afraid to slide down the hill anymore. Upon hearing this, mom wasn't happy. However I decided to wait a few moments before telling the older ladies it was not OK to throw a bottle at my son's head. Not too long after that, Rob came home and I relayed the situation. He very kindly told the ladies that it wasn't ok to throw things at children and that the children could play outside, just like they could play mahjong outside. Come to find out, it was only one lady who was having a bad day, the others had no problem with the kids. In fact, the other ladies agreed with Rob. Phew...

3. Ordering burgers at McDonalds....made to order. There is difficulty here getting some people to "think outside the box". Anything out of the ordinary is a stretch. So, when you go to McDonalds and one person wants mustard only, another wants ketchup (catsup...however you like to spell it) only, and the other two want it plain and dry....what do you do? Now that we are much more daring and persuasive with our lanuguage (and dare I say persistent) we can usually get our desires across. But every now and then, you get a new worker who doesn't know us and our weird requests.....and it is like starting from scratch! So, if you are ever tired, frustrated, or hungry.....just order like it is and don't ask for anything special.