La Vida Idealist

As a gringo in Colombia, more often than not, you will be asked, “So what did you think of Colombia before you decided to visit?”

Being objective, before you make the trip, cocaine cartels and violence will pop into your head to some extent. You may not mention this and opt for a more pleasant, roundabout answer that doesn’t say much, like “Well I don’t know, I thought it would be cool, heard good things about the people, I want to learn about the culture, just came to check it out .. and I’m here.”

The media portrays Colombia as a war zone. Watch Law + Order, gangster movies, or even Modern Family on ABC and you will get that impression. There is some truth behind the stereotype. Colombia supplies more cocaine than any country in the world and a lot of violence takes place. But the vast majority of  the 50 million Colombians are friendly and peaceful; they have nothing to do with the illegal narcotics trade. This is what causes ire in a lot of Colombians when they see their portrayal in the media only addressing the worst citizens of their country.

On the reverse side, how do Colombians view Americans? Could some of them come to a wrong impression about us? One of the first channels on TelMex cable is MTV. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never visited the U.S. and watch My Super Sweet 16. It would be pretty tough not to feel a sense of contempt for the girls complaining about receiving an Acura instead of the Mercedes they wanted. The reality is, while the U.S is the wealthiest country in the world, most teenagers in the United States don’t act like that. But this is all they see, if they haven’t had the chance to visit.

I have seen a lot of foreigners get worked up in purchases of food or other nominal items when they paid a little more than they thought. In a lot of cases, it was a gringo price. In others, it was an honest mistake. Most of these foreigners care about making a good impression of their culture to the people here in Colombia. However, they don’t want to get ripped off. Plus, there can be an ego/pride win/loss attachment to the negotiations.

On the other end, I can feel the justifiable anger of poor street vendors to the rebuttal of a rich tourist. They know you come from a lot more money and the difference of .50 cents is nothing to you, but a lot to them.

I am not arguing that all gringos should accept being ripped off with a smile on their face. But is important to keep in mind how you are perceived and the value of the disputed price to the buyer and to the seller. Or else you may very well fulfill a stereotype that you tried so hard to prevent…

For more about gringoes in Latin America, check out “Day in the Life: To Haggle or Not to Haggle?” and “Let’s Talk About the ‘G-Word’: Gringo” by fellow La Vida Idealist blogger, Dan Malin. For more about Colombia, check out posts by Rob Packer.

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