I am from Utah, where the public transportation system is sometimes anything but highly efficient. Most of the people here have cars and usually do not ride the bus. When people try to ride the bus, they (the busses) are typically late, they only come every hour or less, or sometimes they do not even show up.

It was quite an experience for me when while in Latin America for the first time and was able to see their public transportation system. People, especially those in the smaller pueblos, do not have cars so they have to rely heavily on public transportation. City busses usually leave for destinations about every 5 to 10 minutes and are for the most part very efficient at least in regard to keeping a regular departure schedule.

My first experience on a city bus was, to say the least, a real shocker. All the seats were taken so I moved myself to the back of the bus, stayed standing up, and held on to the rail. As I stood there, more, and more, and more, and more people continued to get onto the bus. At first it was not so bad, and then suddenly I was pressed in so tightly I could hardly take a breath. I felt like a sardine and wondered what the fire code enforcers would think if they could see all the people packed into our bus. I did not even need to hold on to the rail anymore; all the people were packed in so tightly, there was no way someone could have fallen down if they tried.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a sign that said the maximum capacity for the bus was 35 people. I knew that we were blatantly breaking a rule of some kind.

I am roughly about 6′ tall and most Latin people are at least 6 inches shorter than me so I decided to count them all since I did not have anything else to do but fight for every breath. Finally, by counting the people I could see, I came up with a grand total number. There were a 72 people on that little bus that was supposed to hold only 35! I was amazed and had never seen so many people fit into such a confined space. It sort of felt like a circus act where a person fits into a very small box by moving their body in all sorts of ways.

As our destination began to get closer, I began to wonder exactly how I was going to get out of the bus. All of a sudden we arrived and the person I was with began to aggressively push and struggle his way to the front and off the bus. For a few moments, I felt like I was in a violent hockey game (where people fight just for the fun of it). Amazingly, we were able to get off the bus without serious injury. I immediately wondered if I would always have the same occurrence riding busses in the city.

The next few times I went into a city I had very comparable experiences.  One day I had a very different experience; I was one of the last people to get on the bus. The bus doors were open and about nine people were on the entrance steps of a completely packed bus. The bus employee hoisted me up onto the last available step. I had just enough space to put one foot on a minuscule area of the step and hold on to a rail outside the bus. My whole body was completely outside of the bus and my life was being supported by one foot and one hand! For any of you that have driven in Latin America, as you know, it can be a little crazy! Car drivers were whizzing by me going top speed. They came within, it seemed like, a fraction of an inch of knocking me off my perch. Fortunately I survived.
Now try to guess the moral of this week’s little story: (multiple choice)

a. Before you get on a Latin American bus, take a long, deep breath first because it may be your last for a while.
b. You should learn how to count to at least 72 in Spanish.
c. Practice pushing people so you will be prepared to muscle your way off when you arrive at your destination.
d. Do not worry about the bus, take a taxi, and life will be much easier.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

While I first lived in Latin America, I found out that there were tailors (people who custom make clothes) that work out of their homes. Many of them would be found in lower-income areas (small pueblos), and worked full time in their career as a tailor and would support their whole family by selling clothes that they made. Their work/office area generally consisted of the front room of their small adobe homes with a dirt floor and a sewing machine located in the middle of the room. Since there were so many frequent power outages, they usually had an old-style treadle sewing machine which required moving the foot pedal up and down to make the machine work; no electricity was required.

I had always figured that the sewing machines were antiques that had been passed down from relatives that had deceased. Until I was in some larger cities, I passed by a few stores that actually sold the “old-style” treadle sewing machines as brand-new models. As mentioned previously, the “treadle” style was necessary for the small pueblo areas that had frequent power loss.

I had an interesting incident once with a tailor (“sastre” in Spanish). Once, I went into a tailor’s home/shop with a Spanish speaking friend who inquired about a new suit for me. The tailor gave him the price and it sounded very practical for a complete suit — especially for one that was going to be custom-made. I then asked about a pair of pants (“un par de pantalones”) and was very surprised at the high price. I tried my “I’m an American, don’t give me such a high price” line (discussed in a previous newsletter) but he was set on the price. I could not comprehend how, for a pair of pants, he could charge almost as much as a suit.

We argued back and forth for about 10 minutes or so about how pants should cost a lot less than a suit because the suit includes the pants, uses much less material, and would take a lot less time to make, but he would not budge on his price. He thought I was off my rocker. Finally, after we were both very frustrated with the situation, it dawned on me what was really going on. In English, or at least in the U.S., when we say “a pair of pants”, we are referring to ONE “pants” (I have never been able to figure out why we put an “s” on the end of the word “pants” if there is only one of them). In that region of Latin America, if you want one “pant”, you say “I would like a pant'” (Me gustaría un pantalón). The word “pants” would mean more than one and in turn, a “pair of pants” would mean to them “four pants” instead of “one”. IT IS NO WONDER HE WANTED TO CHARGE SO MUCH MONEY! I was asking him for the price of four “pairs of” pants!! I then asked him how much just a “pant” (“un pantalón”) was and he gave me a great price.

From this lesson, I hope you can see that cultural and language differences may cause some frustration. In a conversation, two people may think they are talking about the same thing but may actually be talking about two entirely different things. My suggestion is to be patient in communicating and try to learn something new from each conversation you have.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

For this week’s culture lesson, I am going to talk about a distinct cultural difference found in Latin America. I am letting you know about this difference to help you avoid becoming offended and so you will know how to avoid it.

It is common to see men “take care of business” right in the streets. Fortunately, they generally are not blatant about it; they turn so most of the public cannot see them, but they urinate (pee) right in the streets. I understand this is also done in a few parts of the United Stated., parts of Europe, and a few other parts of the world — those of you from other regions, please let me know if I’m wrong (or right).

This was a bit shocking for me the first time I saw what was happening. Where I am from, people just typically don’t do that. I can truly say that this is one particular cultural trait that I have never had a desire to adopt or try.

When I was living in Latin America, something happened that I will not forget. I was in a city that had a large main street with an island that ran down the middle of the street. The island was beautifully landscaped with shrubs and trees. Towards the center of the city, in the center of the island was a large sign that said “SHOW YOUR CULTURE, DON’T PEE IN THE STREETS!!” . . . Can you imagine a sign like that posted in your hometown?!

When I first saw the sign, I began to laugh out loud. I could imagine a city council meeting together to discuss ways to improve the reputation of their little city. What they came up with was a sign that advertises to the world that people in their city may pee in their streets and that they making an effort to cut back!

I wanted to let you know about this so you would not be as culturally shocked as I was the first time I saw this cultural difference. The next time you are in the streets of Latin America, if you see a man turned away, standing in the same spot, you now know what he is most likely doing and can now turn away if it might offend you.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com