Cultural shocks of an Indian - Part : 2

Hello there – This is the second part of the cultural shock series and I continue with the shocks that I received initially when I came to Colombia.

9. There is no operational railway

Colombia is a big country. It almost is 33% of India for the size but has the population of just 5% of India (Imagine, a fifth of Colombia just lives in Bogotá). For the size, it is fair to expect a functional railway system, but no, Colombia doesn’t have one. For travelling to other cities, buses, flights or cars are the options. Buses are comfortable, but they can never be as comfortable as trains. There are huge lengths of unused railway lines in many regions, which makes think of what if they were operational? Yes, there is the over prized and slow train to Zipaquira, but is not the same. Flights are like lotteries, sometimes you get a better deal than buses, some times you spend more. Sometimes, you end up spending almost the same time as buses for flights. This was a cultural shock as for the country of the size of Colombia, it was puzzling as to how the country moves, without the railways.

Railway lines in Bogotá

10. Bogotá is Bogotá

Bogotá is a big city, no doubt, however, the public transport is not as good for a city of this size. Transmilenio is good, but cannot be compared to the local trains in Mumbai or in Chennai. Shock here was how can a city this big sustain itself with a public transport that isn’t the most efficient. The collectivos that drive rash, with the yellow taxis that want to charge you more, the blue SITPs do their best in carrying the city. You may spend hours in the public transport going from one place to the other (work – home – work – home). Also, the public transport isn’t the safest. There are stories of people getting robbed in Transmilenio, robbers jacking stations… Well, a little scary. Do not be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Inside a Transmilenio Station

Transmilenio

Collectivos

11. Shops close early

In India, it is common to see shops and restaurants open until late night in the big cities, however in Bogotá most shops and restaurants close by 8 pm. Yes, there are some neighborhood shops and restaurants that are open for a little more time, but the bigger ones are not. This is true for holidays as well. Most shops are not open during holidays. So it is not a good idea to plan a late night dinner in restaurants or plan shopping on holidays. With shops closing early during weekdays, it is complicated to shop during the week. Now a days this has improved a bit, with opening of some stores that are always open.

12. Time is relative

Colombians are really nice people. However, time in Colombia is not a measure for meeting, but only a range. If someone says that he is going to meet you at 7, chances are there that he may not have started from his home by that time. Or he is on his way or he is in the shower. This is not to say that Indians keep up time always, but have been better at times compared to here. Almost always, delays are blamed on traffic. This was a shock when I came here. How to overcome this?

Become a Colombian and do what a Colombian does.

13. Agra, Delhi and Jaipur

When Colombians speak of India, especially those that have visited India, India means Taj Mahal. Yes, Taj Mahal is amazing but India is more than that. India is more than Delhi, Agra and Jaipur circuit.  There is more to India than Delhi, just like there is more to Colombia than Bogotá. This was a shock because people do not realize how big India is. Also, when I say that I haven’t visited Taj, they give a look like, ‘You haven’t visited the Taj? Are you even from India?’. Well, Taj is about 2000 kms from my home town, so I haven’t really had the chance to visit. It was a shock that people didn’t know about India apart from Agra, Delhi and Jaipur.

 14. Spanish is the first language

Spanish in Colombia is the primary language and in many cases is the only language. Do not expect people to be able to converse in English. Of course now a lot of people study English, however the number of people that understand the language is very less. A basic Spanish is a must for survival. There are a lot of good apps to study Spanish, so use them.

15. Insecurity - Don't show your phone

I come from Chennai, one of the safest cities in India. When you walk in the streets, we do not cover the phones, or watches. However, we can never do that in Bogotá. More than being actually dangerous, the feeling of insecurity is infectious. I do not know if it is because the people surrounding you exercise precautions, or that my first experience with a robber happened in Bogotá. Better be safe than sorry. Do not show off your phone in the streets or in buses. Petty street crimes are common in Bogotá, so exercise caution. The times that I have been robbed were in Bogotá.