Colombia Forum

themedellingringo
Joined 2016
Posts: 194

8 years ago

This is SOOO confusing....

8 years ago

Chime in anyone as I am trying to wrap my mind around this one...

I was talking with a girl, having some drinks, when I pointed at a nicely dressed man to tell the girl I liked his jacket.

My oh my did I get an ear full about how it's not polite to point in Colombia.

Ok, cool, I get it. Pointing is rude and I shall not point out of respect to the great people of Colombia.

HOWEVER...and this is the part that baffles me - it's rude to point BUT it's not rude to stare?

By the time I get home at night I have a massive hole in my face from people staring at me all day.

I mean just this morning in my cab, a man on a moto for some reason turned back, scanned the cars, and then zoned in right at me and didn't stop looking at me til a horn honked at him to GO!

It wasn't a man looking for someone to rob either. This actually happens a lot.

Mind you, I was 3 cars back.

WTF. For real. It's rude to point something out but it's not rude to stare at people???

When someone looks your way and you are NOT looking at them, you KNOW when they are staring. You just do. So you look that way, it's innate. It just happens. So it's not like I look at people and they catch me looking and then they stare me down.

If no one notices this, it may be because you are just tuned out. For those tuned in, you know exactly what I mean and maybe you have an answer.

Anyway, she had no answer to why it's rude to point but not rude to stare. I LOOK like a Colombian too so can't play the ol' card that "You're a Gringo, they are curious."

Old people, young people, men, boys, girls, women....they all do it.

Don't get this one.

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