The other day I was sitting in the executive lounge of my hotel in South America having breakfast before heading off to a long day of work. Since the coffee cups used at the hotel are super tiny (about half the size of a typical mug we are used to having in the U.S.), I gulped down the three sips of coffee in no time and wanted a second cup. Sounds innocent, right?
Well, I felt like I was in a slow motion diner. There was nobody to be found for about 10 minutes. You know how things move so quickly in the U.S.—with waitresses running around fairly regularly filling up your cup. That was not about to happen here. If you travel at all, you will notice that the fast forward pace is largely a U.S. thing.
Most places around the world just don’t move as quickly as we do in the U.S. We want everything now, now, now!
As the clock ticked with 10 minutes left to go in my breakfast schedule, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I got up and tried to figure out how to use the idle coffee machine in the corner of the room.
Well, you would have thought that I was trying to do something illegal. A waiter swooped out of nowhere and embarrassingly insisted on taking the cup out of my hand to get the coffee for me. Thank goodness, I got my second cup of “joe,” and then went on my way.
The next day at breakfast, the same thing happened again. This time, however, I also took a minute to look around and see why nobody else seemed to be searching for the waiter and the coffee pot like me. I realized that not only did I appear to drink the most coffee out of everyone in the room (I know, this is my weakness), but also I seemed to be the only one rushing and staring at my watch.
Honestly, everyone else seemed to be more at ease. It made me think—could it be me? Was I trying to insist on living American style, while in fact I was actually NOT in America, but a lovely country six hours south?
I guess I got my answer at lunch that day, when I took off at 12:30 p.m. to a corner restaurant, with my colleagues, and didn’t get back until 2:20 p.m. It took 30 minutes for us to get the bill! Again, while the smoke was starting to percolate inside of me, everyone else was laughing, talking, and not thinking much of the situation.
These incidents have given me an opportunity to be reminded that part of the fun and excitement of travel is to see and experience how others live. If we all lived exactly the same way, that would be no fun—would it? In my opinion, much of the world lives at a slower pace, and enjoys the company of others and their surroundings more. Well, “when in Rome do as the Romans do,” right? The next day I decided to get up earlier so that I could have more time at breakfast—to enjoy and experience the slower pace that my temporary home has to offer me. I did in fact get my second cup of coffee, but this time it was at their pace. Guess what? It was nice. I wasn’t as stressed out and maybe enjoyed my food just a tad bit more.
The moral of this story is to remind us all that that when you travel internationally, don’t expect things to work like they do at home. Keep an open mind and embrace your new surroundings. You just may learn something or adopt a new way of approaching life. Who knows, maybe this new slower morning routine will follow me home and be the best souvenir.
Happy Travels!
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
