Grocery stores in Buenos Aires are inefficient at checking customers out. Yes, all of them. The calico cat is out of the bag.
Today I found a line with only two customers in front of me and decided to stay. Judging from my past experiences in grocery stores this check out (based on total items and customers in front of me) should have taken 5 minutes max. Max. I'm no newbie to calculation, and I think this was a conservative estimate.
10 minutes later I'm looking back just waiting for the looks. Nothing. No looks! I was quietly considering to myself a public display of non-verbal impatience, but I was the only one in that line even close. I'm finally realizing that check out lines are just slower here. (To prevent theft they do a lot of paperwork and id checking at the check out...and they even gloss all oranges with a neutral vegetable wax...a nice little perk.)
Pues, this made me reflect on patience and why I become impatient. One of my favorite books, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, suggests that the root of impatience is expectation of time. I thought 5 minutes was more than a reasonable expectation of time, and so right after the 5 minute mark I became susceptible to impatience. I would bet that everyone around me had doubled my expectation of time and hence...no looks. Not even a set of crossed arms. (And I've seen this here...)
Point being, impatience can take an unneeded toll on my morale and so I think it's good to prevent it. Moving to a different country, one quickly realizes that a lot of things work differently. I'm in Buenos Aires, not Chicago, and it's easy to forget that in a familiar feeling grocery store. Anyway, some things move faster here (like public transportation!!), some slower, and so until I'm better integrated, I'm just going to give myself totally unrealistic and large amounts of time. But then again isn't that laziness? Hmm. I'm going to give myself 1 year to figure that one out.
In the mean time, classes are great and obviously have me thinking, probably too much. And, I was kidding about the glossing of the oranges. Creative license!
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You never cease to make me laugh! Always ending with a little kicker.....some things never change ;) Loved this post.....I felt like I was talking to you face to face....and really understood what you were talking about. I, too, have thought A LOT about patience recently, moreso with the students in my classroom. But the word EXPECTATIONS really got me......I feel like that is what sets us up for many negative reactions, like impatience, anger, pride, etc. When I realize the expectations I put on myself or other people, I become less tolerant, flexible, and adaptable. It's not to say that we eliminate all expectations, but rather, to look at them more carefully and realize how they shape our behaviors!! Good post, Matty....always keeping me on my toes, thinkin! Can't wait to hear more.....I will skype ya soon xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt is true, they try to prevent theft that way, though I don{t believe it works. But that is the way they work and when you are in a foreign country, you{ll find a lot of things that are different from yours and you might find them strange. I also remember public transportation. Pretty normal since having a car of your own is useless as traffic is so heavy that it makes it impossible to drive. My buenos aires apartment was located in downtown and I used to take the subway everyday, it was the simplest way of getting to my destination.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, what you said about the glossing of oranges cracked me up!
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Hi, Matt. This is Pat Floerke. I don't really know how commenting on a blog works, but I'm trying. I sat and read your entire blog the other evening. You put so much of yourself into it. I love the way you throw yourself into life and into the people wherever you are, and I love your soul searching. I'll bet these next two years will be good ones for you and make a huge difference in setting the course of your life. Your trip sounds both short (so much more you could have done) and long (oh, the joys of leaving your toothpaste in the bathroom) and definitely memorable, and it sounds like what you'll remember most is the people - a great priority, and not a common one. It also sounds like you succeeded in not getting robbed, right? Or did I miss something? And tell me, please, about Bolivia. Was it hard to get in? Did you really need advance hotel reservations for every night in country? Was the visa as expensive as they say, and did you feel like it was worth it? I'm writing this as a blog comment, thinking that might be what you're likeliest to see, but you can answer me either on email (pat@jhc-cdca.org) or on facebook, whatever's easier for you. So congratulations on arriving, and I'm glad your studies are starting out well. Peace, Pat
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