4/5/14
Griffin
O’Connor
My Blog
Costa
Rica was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Every day was fun and new,
and we did so many cool things. I quite enjoyed going into the city and buying
things, and coming back at the end of the day with a bunch of new things and
new experiences. On one such occasion, it was just Zach, Jared and me walking
through the market. Several times during our outing I had to have Zach haggle
for me when I wanted to buy something. It’s not that I can’t haggle for myself,
it’s just that I can’t haggle in Spanish. I know how to say the numbers, (uno,
dos, tres…) which would have been enough to explain how much I wanted to spend,
but you seem so much more confident when can speak fluently. The vendors will
try to swindle you if you seem confused, so I left the talking to Zach. Towards
the end of our endeavor, we stopped by a shop where I wanted to buy a pendant.
I called Zach over and I spoke through him to the vendor, before settling on a
reasonable price. As we were walking away, purchases in hand, Jared turned to
me. “
You know he spoke
English, right?”
He was talking about the
vendor. He explained to me that the guy wasn’t even speaking Spanish to Zach,
and that I could have just as easily talked to him directly. I thought about it
for a moment before realizing he was right. I distinctly remembered him using
English words when talking to Zach, yet I had waited for him to relay the
message to me. Then I had spoken my answer to Zach, who then stated to the
vendor, in English, my response. We laughed about it, even though I kind of
felt like a fool. Even worse though, I realized how confused the vendor must
have felt. Why isn’t this guy just
talking directly to me? He must have wondered. We walked back to the beach,
and enjoyed the rest of the day.
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