We have been here a month now, and if there is one thing we’ve learned, it’s slow down. North American standards just don’t cut it here. You want quick service? You won’t get it here. There is a certain sociability factor involved that just won’t work in big city America.
For instance, a fellow we hired to do some work, did it quite promptly. We were told this was most unusual and don’t get used it. And they are right. No one else on the island has delivered like this fellow. But, when it came time to pay the man, it was most unusual. I literally had to chase after him to get him to take the money. We left emails, had phone calls with him, and finally we agreed to meet early on Wednesday. By six pm I was wondering if we had another no-show. But at 6:15 he calls and says he’ll be right over.
He arrives in minutes; hand shakes and greetings all around. We chat a little. I say to Pam, give the man his money will you? He laughs and says, there is no hurry, I wanted to talk to you about…. Suddenly I recall my Dad’s oft-told tale of purchasing a carpet in Egypt and how it was an all day affair. So we talk some more.
I offer him a drink, some water, a beer? He thanks me profusely and says a glass of water will be nice and a beer will be great. Great, which did you want then – the beer or the water? Oh first the water, then a beer would be nice. So we have a glass of water. I learn about his family. How he moved to Holland from Curacao as a young boy, but came home as a man because he missed the island. I learn he’s building his own home. That he has done all the electrical work, the masonry work, the kitchen installation. His sister lives nearby, and his uncles are just around the corner.
Then we have a beer. I learn he hates to do tile work, that his friend does amazing tile work. We should come by and see his new home, not finished, but half done. He talks about the various places to get tile on the island, and discusses their prices, their work habits.
I try to pay the man again. He says, well I need to get some paperwork, so we can do this professionally. I’m thinking oh no, I’ve got this bundle of cash, and he’s going to come back tomorrow with paperwork!
But no he has it in his car. Off he goes and he’s back in minutes. He asks for a pen, signs the paperwork in front of us with a flourish and proudly presents it to us. You see, he says, I have signed it here, and we can be professional about this. So we give him the cash. He counts the bundle several times, crisply snapping each bill to ensure none have stuck together.
He shows us how to use WhatsApp to deliver directions to your current location. It’s an extraordianrily helpful function of WhatsApp, which we already know how to do. He shows us how to use an appliance. We discuss coming over to see how nice his tile work is, since we are thinking of having some tile work done ourselves.
Finally we seem to have run out of things to discuss and the meeting concludes. After he has left we look at the clock and it half past eight! A little over two hours to pay a bill.
Like I said, in Curacao, you need to slow down.
We take her with us to our daily WIFI ritual at the golf course, and she’s a star there. Everyone fawns over her, putting ice cubes in her water dish. The staff adore her, know her name, come over and pet her as soon as they see her. She just loves the attention.