Culture shock can be a confusing experience. I've been here almost 2 years, so i have a few stories. Sometimes I've felt this crushing "I hate this place" feeling in my chest and want to run away or push people off their bikes. Sometimes it's little things that bug me. After such a long time, I've become accustomed to a lot of things. But once in a while, culture shock and fatigue cause me to focus all my discontent and discomfort into hatred of one, small, seemingly meaningless difference in the culture here.
Lately, it's been the floors.
Let me explain.
With the exception of paved roads and areas of concrete, every surface on which people are meant to walk is made with material that becomes extremely slippery when wet. The sidewalks are made of glossy tile. Floors in restaurants, banks, stores, and houses are made of a glossy, marble-looking tile. Stairways are made of the same stuff, and don't have those grooves in them that stop you from slipping. If the floor or your shoe is wet to the slightest degree, you risk slipping and falling - or at the very least jolting your lower back out of alignment.
It's the rainy season here, which means it's rained just about every day for the past 5 months. The sidewalks are always wet. So are the stone walkways in the older areas of town. So are the floors in all the stores, restaurants, banks, schools, and stairways.
When I get impatient with this place, I find myself walking really fast - maybe because I can get a little tense and anxious. The slippery floor and sidewalk thing really gets on my nerves when I'm trying to get somewhere fast. I have a pair of $120 hiking boots that have no traction on these surfaces.
Culture shock can be pretty amusing when you step back and look at it without all the pent up anger and resentment. These days, I hate the very ground I walk on, and daily curse these people for making walking ares so slippery.
