‘Tis the season for traveling. I mentioned in my last post
that I had been back to Iowa to visit family (see here). But my travels for the next couple of months will only involve day trips in Central Texas. However, as friends and
coworkers set out on their seasonal adventures near and far, I remember past travels
and lessons learned. Some were learned with a little discomfort, mostly to the
ego. Below is part of an email I sent out to people when I was in Guatemala that illustrates such discomfort.
Hello everyone. Just an
update from Guatemala. I finally went away for the weekend after a full month in
Xela already. I went to Panajachél for a night, which is a town on the shores
of Lake Atitlán, supposedly one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It
was lovely. There are hardly any boats and I only saw one jet ski. The only
boats I saw transport people to the villages surrounding the lake. I didn’t do
that on this trip because I didn't really have time.
I stayed in a little
hotel on a tiny street set back a little from the lake. It is owned by a local
family and has only ten rooms. It was nice and the family was great. There is also a terrace for all guests and the view was fabulous.
 |
| View from the terrace of the little hotel I stayed in in Panajachél. |
If you are not going to
one of the other villages, there isn’t a whole lot to do in Pana but eat and
shop. I did find some great restaurants, one of which was vegetarian! There are
stalls all over, lining the streets and alleys with textiles in all forms:
bags, table cloths, scarves, shawls, skirts, etc. I am talking about beautiful
weaving in beautiful colors and patterns. I have seen a demonstration of
weaving and it is an incredible thing, very complicated and intricate. The
women usually use "back strap looms" which are strapped around their
hips and the top is tied to the ceiling or some other high point. It is pretty
amazing. So I know the work that goes into these items.
But there are so many
things and so many people trying to sell them, mostly women and girls. It’s
overwhelming. And because the competition is so fierce, the sales tactics are
very "in your face." You see something you like in a stall and stop
to look at it, and pretty soon the woman is finding a ton of others similar to
it to try to sell you. And forget about buying one, why not buy two? Completed
the sale? No matter, didn’t you see these other lovely things over here? There
are also women and girls selling textiles on the street, just walking around and coming
up to you, sometimes even when you are eating a meal. I found that if you
engage them at all, then they never leave. I feel bad, and don’t want to be
rude, but a simple
"no thank you" and then turning away is often necessary.
The most interesting
story of the shopping experience was my last purchase. I had decided to stop
buying things. "No more!" I told myself. So I went to eat lunch at
the vegetarian place on Sunday afternoon. I was sitting on the patio and this
cute Maya girl (all those selling textiles are Mayans and speak
various Mayan languages) walks up to me with her weavings. But she didn’t start
selling right away. She just started talking to me at first. In English. She was only 13
and made all the weavings she had. We talked about her family,
how her father doesn’t help the family at all, how she goes to school and
weaves and does homework at night, etc. She was definitely charming. She
showed me some table runners that were very pretty.
The problem with having
conversations with people on a personal level is you then feel obligated to buy
something from them. I can often say "no" without a problem, but I
really liked this girl, so I was trying to figure something out. The table
runner was, according to her, 200 Quetzales, which is about $26. I told her I bought a
much bigger piece in Xela for 100 Q, so I knew her prices were too high. But
she kept talking to me, and said that she only sells on the street because then
she doesn’t have any overhead and she can charge less. Makes sense. Strange to
hear business talk from a 13-year-old girl! Anyway, I don’t know what happened,
but in short, I bought the freakin' table runner for 150 Q. That is like $20
and is probably more than twice what I should’ve paid. I didn’t feel bad about
it until I overheard these guys at another table bargaining with another woman
and the guy got two pieces (one quite large) for around 100 Q. Then I knew I
had been nothin’ but a big sucker!
It actually bothered me
because I knew what a good price was. But I just wasn’t thinking. Now I am
telling myself that she needs the money more than I do, which is very true.
It’s hard, even with a young girl like that, to get over the fact that she was
just making a sale. She knew how to sell, that is for sure. Whether or not she
used the truth or not I will never know. Often when these women and girls are
bargaining and you are getting ready to leave, they will ask you how much you
can pay because they need to get food for their family. Try ignoring that one!
This girl did not use any such methods. She didn’t plead or anything. She just
talked, like a very wise 13-year-old girl who was interested in using her
English and speaking with foreigners. She was interesting. She was smart. And
she was obviously smarter than I was. I was told later that I probably could
have bought it for 60 Q, which is like $8. So I am thinking of it as a
contribution to that girl’s education. She has street smarts, that is
for sure. Now she can hopefully get nearer to obtaining book smarts, too.
Suckered by a
13-year-old girl. Wow. But I would rather be the one losing out to a girl
who has little but her charm and powers of persuasion. If I had not paid
enough, then I would have felt even worse about that. I prefer that she came
out ahead. I just felt a bit stupid in the end.
I told my host “mother”
about it and she said that it has happened to them too, even though they are
locals. She said it is always better to know the going prices for something in
the market before you buy it. Then you know what is a fair price. It’s part of
the culture of shopping here ... you don’t want to be unfair, and sometimes the
first price they give you is still way less than you’d pay in the U.S., but you
also don’t want to spend more than is normal. I mean, why would you? It’s
always more fun to get a bargain. But it’s not always easy in Guatemala.
So as you travel this summer, wherever you may go, be smart
about your purchases. Don’t let the excitement of being in a new place keep you
from watching your budget. Sometimes being a little off your bargaining game
ends up being better for someone else, and that is okay, too. Everyone has to
make a living. And there are times
when a bargain is worth a lot less than helping out a kid who has much less
than you do.
