Cultural Differences
August 26th, 2008I was making breakfast yesterday morning when our empleada arrived. She walked by the kitchen, glanced in and said, “Buenos Dias” to me before continuing on to the pantry to get ready for the day. She then came back and asked me if I was making breakfast.
“Si,” I said. “Yo preparo el desayuno.”
“El desayuno?” she asked me.
“Si,” I said, a bit uncertain now of my Spanish (I often confuse the words for breakfast and lunch…dinner I’ve got down fine.)
“Papas? Potatoes?” she asked me.
“Si,” I said, “Papas fritas.” (Yes, fried potatoes.)
“Para desayuno? For breakfast?” she asked.
Ah, now I understood the source of the questions. I was dicing potatoes to fry with some onions and garlic. Once fried, I’d make some scrambled eggs for a great breakfast. “We never eat potatoes for breakfast,” she said. “For lunch and dinner, yes; but for breakfast…never! I’ll eat them, but for me it will be a new experience. I’ve never had potatoes for breakfast.”
It was my turn to laugh. “We have potatoes for breakfast a lot in the states,” I said, “but we never have rice for breakfast.”
“Oh,” she said smiling, “We have rice all the time!” In fact, she’s made some fantastic gallo pinto for us for breakfast.
Cultural differences are fun, and we have been really enjoying learning the differences.
Another example of a difference we heard about, but didn’t experience ourselves: At a church service recently, the pastor wanted to celebrate the birthdays. To do this he invited every person with a birthday in August to come forward. A handful of people made their way to the front (including a woman visiting from America), where they stood as the congregation sang “Happy birthday” to them. The song complete, the pastor then went down the line asking each one how old they are…in public…regardless the age… The American woman experienced a bit of culture shock when she had little choice but to admit in public that she was 54.
I can’t wait to discover more differences.
Be blessed in all you do today.


