On my way to pick up the kids from school, I usually try and stop at the store nearby to see if they have items that my usual joint doesn’t. This is is a smaller store and the closely spaced aisles make line forming difficult. On this particular day, the lines were especially long and I only had a couple items.

So, there I am standing in line for about 20 minutes about to reach the cashier when this older lady cuts right in front of me and starts putting her items down. Now, I’ve become pretty relaxed about such petty things, but I thought it was rude for the 5 other people behind me who have been waiting, too.

Thinking she may have been confused because of the strange layout of the store, I move a little closer to her and say “Senora, yo pienso que la cola esta alli”. That’s when my own personal Armageddon broke out.

The woman began screaming at me. Not only that, she was shaking her hips and making funny gestures with her fingers – which I think was an attempt to imitate my behavior. The only words that I was able to make out was trains, banks and always like that.

The worst part was that all the employees were just giving me a funny look. I couldn’t tell whether they were sympathizing with me or condoning the woman’s behavior. I know that people probably don’t assume I’m a foreigner by looking at me, but I thought the fact that I said NOTHING in response could have tipped them off. Still confused by the rant, I put my items down (in front of the crazy lady), paid and quickly left.

Here’s where it gets good. I left that store thinking that the woman was upset about waiting in line everywhere; hence the trains, banks, etc. comment. But, as I started telling my husband the story, his first question was “Was she an older woman?”. I said “Yeah, I guess.” Then he explained that senior citizens do not stand in line here – it’s the LAW. So, what I thought was her complaining about the lines in Caracas, was her saying that she does not have to wait in line and it’s like that everywhere – trains, banks, etc.

At that point, my embarrassing moment turned into a bunch of other negative emotions. I felt that even though she was right, the yelling, finger pointing and gyrating were unnecessary. I also felt let down by the way the employees were looking at me. I still have yet to go back to that store because of this…

Do you think I’m overreacting or justified?

As the months are starting meld together, I am reminded why I wanted to document these little milestones. I don’t want to take for granted all the effort my family and I made to get settled here. This will be good information to have if and when we decide to do this again, as well as help us appreciate what we have been able to accomplish.

So, for the past two months, I’ve noticed the following:

- The cost of living has increased a bit since we arrived. It’s happened faster than we are accustomed to, but the prices of staples have stayed the same. I have now begun negotiating my taxi rides because I figure it can’t hurt. The one time the driver wasn’t willing to budge, I moved on to the next cab.

- Having had to take my 2 year-old to a Spanish-speaking pediatrician and understanding most, I think I have made a lot of progress with the help of my course. What I find has also happened is I am more confident. If I don’t understand someone, I am embarrassed to ask them to slow down or repeat what they say; especially since Caraquenos are notorious for talking really fast.

- The kids are learning Spanish must faster than I anticipated. My daughter tends to blurt things out in Spanish randomly and I think she gets to hear a lot of it even though she is not in a Venezuelan school. My son of course, goes between the four at any given time. We’ll see how he continues in the next year.

- It has sunk in that I live in Caracas, Venezuela. As my days have become more routine and I know more what to expect, it has become a reality. I think I am feeling about ambivalent about it right now, but isn’t that always what happens when the honeymoon phase is over?

By the way, contrary to popular belief, Venezuelans do not hate Americans; or at least I have yet to meet one. I think there are lot of misconceptions about Americans anywhere you go, but living here is far from what I suspect it’s like for an American in Baghdad.

Overall, we’re still going strong

After calling at least 10 places, I finally found one that was available and could accommodate our group. The catch was the owner wanted to a deposit of half the total amount (understandable), but the only way to get it to her was by taking it there (out of the question) or depositing it into her account (worth a try, right?).

I left my house at 8:30 AM – to beat the rush (the joke’s on me) – and arrived at the bank at 8:40 AM. I took my number from one of those ticket machines and proceeded to wait my turn. At 9:45, the bank manager announced that they had to close for the day because the network was down. So, I left the bank on a mission to find another branch. I called my go-to Venezuelan, who is patient enough to try to understand my broken Spanish, and he informed me that usually when one branch has problems, all of them have problems. He encouraged me to try anyway   .

Good thing I did, by 12:15 PM – after another hour wait – I was finally able to make the deposit. The best part of this day was finding out that I could have made the deposit online through my bank account.

I don’t care what anybody says, this was one of the most informational days that I have had thus far

Step #1: Make your shopping list with the Spanish translation of each item.

Step #2: On your way to the store, repeat over and over in your head ”Permiso senor(a), tiene…?”

Step #3: If you are anything like me, when in the US I frequent the same stores simply because I know where everything is – so you must search the whole store for every item that you want since they are not likely to be where think they’ll be.

Step #4: In case of emergency and you cannot find your item after looking through the whole store at least twice, find the nearest employee (one who’s stocking shelves) and use your memorized text “Permiso senor(a), tiene <missing item>?” He/she will likely answer you with what seems like a thousand words that you have yet to memorize. Simply nod and say “Bueno, gracias”. Walk away and do another walk through the whole store to try and find your missing item.

Step #5: Now for paying – the cashier will ask you for your Cedula (your ID number that gets used for EVERYTHING), but it will sometimes sound like “Grrbbb”. Simply say your number. The easiest way to complete the transaction is by using cash, but if you must use a debit or credit card – you’re going to need more memorized words. In this instance, the cashier will ask you if it will be with the same cedula – again “Grrbbb la misma?”. You say “si” and then he/she will swipe your card for you. Once it has been read, he/she will hand you the keypad to enter your PIN. Please note: you can avoid everything but the Cedula by paying cash.

Step #6: This one should actually be done simultaneously to step #5 – start bagging your stuff. Sometimes, a roaming bagger will come around and help you out, but for the most part – you are on your own.

Step #7: Some of the stores will ask to see your receipt as you leave (sometimes to stamp them). This is similar to the Wal-Mart practice in the states.

And presto, your shopping trip is complete! Like I said, this has worked pretty well for me. It isn’t easy, but it can be done .

One more thing, at some of the larger supermarkets, they offer babysitting services for FREE. I have used them on two different occasions and the kids love it!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcouch/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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