Today I had to buy a pillow. A simple task, but only because I knew where to go and how to get one. I knew, for example, what type(s) of store(s) would have pillows, and what the general price range would be at each store. I am familiar with the brand names and know their general cost and quality. So all I had to do today was go out and get it- I knew which exact store would have the best pillow at the best price. I knew where the store was and the best route to get there. In a foreign country, buying a pillow could take all afternoon, or multiple attempts on several days. For starters, you have to figure out what kind of store is going to carry pillows (or whatever the item is) and then find out where one of those stores are and how to get there. Once you get there, that store may or may not actually have what you're looking for, or it may have it at too high a price or too low a quality. This scenario played out many times in Argentina, where "an afternoon's worth" of errands could take a week, or two. I once spent over 4 hours going out to get a wedding gift for a friend only to end up getting something other than what I wanted to because it was the only thing I could find, and later finding out I'd gone about the process entirely incorrectly for Argentina. I'd tried to use a gift registry in the same way I'd used one my whole life. Advent candles were another item I remember scouring the city for and paying too much because I was so relieved just to find something that would work.
Looking forward to how all this plays out when trying to stock my apartment in Bangkok, in two short weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment