{"id":255,"date":"2011-04-18T17:08:29","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T22:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=255"},"modified":"2016-02-19T20:21:46","modified_gmt":"2016-02-20T01:21:46","slug":"5-little-differences-between-english-and-colombian-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2011\/04\/5-little-differences-between-english-and-colombian-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Little Differences Between English and Colombian Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obviously when moving to a different continent you expect there to be many cultural differences. Language, for starters, but even the way people greet each other or say goodbye, the way families interact and the foods people eat can take some getting used to. These sorts of things, however, we come to expect and they\u2019re part of the fun of travel. What I\u2019m interested in today, however, is the more peculiar things I\u2019ve discovered living and traveling in Colombia<\/a> that are very different from back home in the UK.<\/p>\n

Milk comes in a bag<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Don’t expect this sight in Colombia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A carton? Sure. A plastic bottle? Definitely. A glass bottle delivered to my doorstep? Even better. These are all containers that I\u2019m accustomed to for storing my milk. If you\u2019re planning on a Colombia vacation<\/a> and you\u2019re attached to your milk coming in any of these forms, be prepared for a shock. Milk here comes in a bag. Now I know what you\u2019re thinking, a bag?! Why a bag?<\/em> Well, dear reader, I\u2019m not sure entirely, but what I can do is calm your fears. Contrary to what you might think, it actually doesn\u2019t make a difference how it comes, in a carton, bottle or a bag, it still tastes great in your Colombian coffee.<\/p>\n

Rum comes in a carton<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
We don’t recommend using a straw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While we\u2019re on the subject of cartons, another form of container us extranjeros<\/em> may find peculiar is the use of cartons to hold alcoholic drinks, such as rum, aguardiente and wine. Cartons remind me of breaktime at school, sipping milk, juice or Um Bongo through a straw, so needless to say whenever I drink rum from a carton I feel like I\u2019m living those rebellious teenage years I never really dared to put my parents through. It makes the already delicious rum (brewed near Medell\u00edn<\/a>, don\u2019t you know?) that bit sweeter.<\/p>\n

You can get buses from anywhere<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
One of Colombia’s colorful local buses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Us Brits love to bemoan the disorganization of our public transport systems. The bus says it\u2019s going to be here at 1.35, why isn\u2019t it here at 1.38? Here in Bogot\u00e1 things are decidedly different. For starters, you don\u2019t need to wait at a bus stop; anywhere along the roadside will do. Secondly, you don\u2019t know exactly when your next bus will come but that really doesn\u2019t matter since so many buses run similar routes pretty much in conjunction with each other. All you have to do is wait a couple of minutes for one that has a sign that corresponds with where you\u2019re going, stick your arm out and the bus will come to a screeching halt, no matter where you are. A pleasant change from your British bus drivers, who seem to revel in driving off just as you approach the bus stop.<\/p>\n

Coffee doesn\u2019t seem to affect people<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The perfect cup of coffee… Who could resist?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a rule, I don\u2019t drink coffee after 4pm. Well, I used to at university but that was for educational\/cramming purposes you see, and so it was different. Now if I drink a cup I\u2019ll find myself in bed late at night, restlessly switching between reading and checking Facebook as I try and tire my eyes into sleeping. Things, as you may have guessed, are different here. People meet for coffees late in the evening; people happily consume 10 cups during their working days; people basically drink coffee as much as us Brits drink tea. And that\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n

No matter what you think, you can\u2019t dance<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
They make it look so easy…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ll admit that after a few swift pints I think I\u2019m a bit of a dab hand at throwing shapes on the dance floors of England. My head raised up to the ceiling, my arms thrusting upwards in salute to the DJ and my feet moving steadily from side to side in time with the thump thump thump <\/em>of the music. Firstly, here there\u2019s very little arm-in-the-air thrusting. Secondly, they want me to engage my hips<\/em> when I dance. I didn\u2019t even realize people\u2019s hips could move in so many directions (I secretly think there\u2019s some kind of Latin hip double-jointedness that us Brits don\u2019t know about). Thirdly, my skilful foot shuffling is null and void here. Let\u2019s just say I haven\u2019t risked falling over so much since I learned to walk.<\/p>\n

Paul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obviously when moving to a different continent you expect there to be many cultural differences. Language, for starters, but even the way people greet each other or say goodbye, the way families interact and the foods people eat can take some getting used to. These sorts of things, however, we come to expect and they\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[2870,25,58,356],"yoast_head":"\n5 Little Differences Between English and Colombian Culture - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2011\/04\/5-little-differences-between-english-and-colombian-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Little Differences Between English and Colombian Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Obviously when moving to a different continent you expect there to be many cultural differences. 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