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SHE SAID…
May 4, 2003
When my children started to travel,
really travel I mean, not just to the corner grocery
store and back, I always made sure that they had little
Canada flags sewn on their backpacks and stuck on their
luggage. Among other things, it was a matter of national
pride I suppose, after all they were all born in Canada.
National pride is something I respect,
especially among Americans where it is so strong and
so prevalent. When I lived in Canada, we used to joke
that the only thing that “united” us from
one ocean to the other was the language debate. But
I digress. Here in Mexico, this pride is obvious, omnipresent
and most commendable …most of the time. Which
is why I cannot understand the behavior of the employees
at the Brasil Steak House Restaurant out in the Paradise
Plaza Shopping Center in Nuevo Vallarta.
I had promised my Brazilian friend
that we would go out to the North Shore, the neighboring
state of Nayarit (the one that’s one hour behind
us) so that he would get to see the beautiful areas
and beaches around Punta de Mita, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle,
Bucerias and of course …Nuevo Vallarta. While
we were at the latter, I thought he’d enjoy seeing
the ultra-modern shopping center at the entrance to
Paradise Village. We walked around, admired all the
shops and restaurants, and when we got to Brasil Steak
House Restaurant (the offshoot of the one in the old
town), my friend said, “Hey, look, they’ve
got the Brazilian flag upside down!” He laughed,
but I didn’t find it funny. It reminded me of
when I was traveling through the then Soviet Union and
the little flags of dozens of countries were lined up
along a ledge behind the reception desk of the hotel
where we (Western foreigners) were staying. They were
all perfect, except for the Canadian one which was at
half-mast. I asked the clerk if someone of importance
had died in Canada. He rushed to fix the flag so that
it would line up with all the others. No such luck with
the folks at the restaurant in Paradise Plaza.
I told one of the waiters that maybe
they should turn the flag around. He looked at me, totally
expressionless. I figured I wasn’t getting anywhere
and was about to leave when another waiter, a little
higher up the hierarchy of the place, came over to me
and asked what was going on. I repeated my statement
to him. He asked that I show him what I was referring
to. I did. He looked at the upside-down flag, turned
to me and in a most arrogant tone asked, “So?”
I asked him how he would feel if he saw the flag of
Mexico hanging upside down in an establishment in a
foreign country. He answered me, “That’s
different. Who can this one offend?” Pointing
to my friend, I said, “Him. He’s Brazilian.”
He just shrugged his shoulders and walked away, laughingly.
The flag is still hanging upside down. I’m not
impressed.
On the other hand, to give credit
where credit is due, I must tell you that the folks
that run “El Anclote” restaurant on the
beach near Destiladeras have the nicest waiters I’ve
met in quite a while, the whole bunch of them. (And
the food there is good too!) Prices there have gone
up markedly over the last couple of years, I know, but
I was a little disappointed to note that they are now
charging $20. pesos just to park at the Destiladeras
beach.
TelMex update: Right after I sent
in my column for last week’s issue of the paper,
I realized that that the insufferable message I’d
been forced to hear every time I picked up the receiver
for the last three months …had disappeared! Gone.
All I hear now is the blessed dial tone. Yippeeyay!
Now, with all due respect and apologies
to our readers who claim to be faithful readers of this
column, I must mention a couple of more mundane things
that we foreign locals know all about - but tourists
don't. I'd like to explain something about the telephone
system here, for those who don't understand why there
may be a whole list of telephone numbers appearing in
ads, on people's business cards, on billboards, etc.
- all for the same person or establishment.
The reason is very simple: Telefonos
de Mexico (a.k.a.: TelMex) has not implemented, at least
not for mere mortals living and trying to do business
in Puerto Vallarta, a system whereby one could have
a single phone number, with an endless amount of additional
lines on a "trip" system like those that exist
in other countries. Example: If a company in Canada
or the States has one main number and numerous additional
lines with which to service their clients, when the
first X lines are busy, the next incoming call is automatically
transferred ("tripped") to their next available
line. Some local hotels do have this system, but that
requires a great deal of money here, plus additional
installations with special telephone systems. The average
restaurant or individual wouldn't even consider such
expenses.
Just getting a single telephone line
here is a most arduous and time-consuming affair. It
is an exercise in saintly patience. One of our readers
in Las Juntas had to wait one year to get her line installed.
Another large enterprise in town, hoping to shame the
ruling telecommunications company into doing something,
resorted to publishing a huge ad in the local papers
asking TelMex why they were still waiting for a line
X months after making their request! Yes, in case you’re
wondering, they did both get "connected" -
eventually.
A landlord/landlady wanting to rent
out an apartment with a telephone line can expect to
receive a higher rent for it than if it did not have
one. Telephone lines are sold here, from one person
to another. And they are also rented out, i.e.: if a
tenant managed to have a telephone line installed in
his apartment during his rental period, and then vacates
the apartment at the end of the lease without "taking"
the phone line with him, the landlord will often have
the line brought in to another unit whose tenant has
expressed the wish to "rent" it. All this
is also the main reason why you may be surprised at
the number of people walking around with cellular phones.
They're not trying to impress anyone, most of them are
on TelMex' "waiting list", waiting for a regular
phone...
I also humbly recommend that even
those who are not interested in matters of real estate
read Harriet’s column in the “Real Estate”
section entitled “Words”. The topic should
be of interest to all.
To all the mothers and mothers-to-be
out there, I wish a most wonderful Mother's Day, filled
with love and happiness. To those of you who are not
of the female persuasion and all of you whose mom is
still alive, don’t forget to honor her on her
special day - great, good or not-so-good, she’s
the only one you’ll ever have.
Hasta luego.
pvmomto3@hotmail.com
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