Things I’ve Found Are Not So Good To Do Here:

*Initiate a handshake-one should pretty much always give a hug or a kiss on the cheek (well, minus young guys and men…)

*Clap after someone gets up front during church-the correct way to applaud is to wave at the person (have decided it is better just to keep my hands in my pockets during programs to help me remember…)

*Give a high-five or a pound (kids will stare at you blankly)-thumbs up are definitely more popular. Working on it, but the kids are still missing the point a little, now they give high-fives for everything even if it is not appropriate for the situation…)

*Say hello as a greeting-people say it occasionally but usually stick with good day, afternoon, or evening depending on the time of day (usually I get mixed up and go through all of them before I get the right one…)

*To be on time-if so you might surprise people and throw them off guard, 10-15 minutes late will usually just about do it (see, I am not the only person who thinks being fashionably late is a bad thing…)

*Trying to correct people when they say your name wrong-American names are always slaughtered (I have decided to embrace the name “Brigny”, at least I am that now instead of gringa!)

*Ever admit to being single-everyone here is just as excited as to try hook you up with someone (maybe even more so than my friends and family in the States…)

*Bring up the topic of the weather-it doesn’t matter that it is roasting hot here everyday, if you bring up the weather, a local is bound to go off about how incredibly hot it is for at least ten minutes. (Usually this leads into the topic of the importance of you wearing more sun-block so that you won’t get any more tan, gotta keep that beautiful white skin…)

*Outwardly show too much interest in one child-you will inevitably be asked to be the child’s madrina (or godmother) which means that you will support a child the rest of their life, largely with money…

*Think that shorts and a tank will always cut it-last Sunday went to a youth social in my sofies and old navy tank top and found that everyone else was wearing banquet style of dresses-oops...

*Volunteer to pass out crayons during the kids part of our evangelistic program-no matter how you do it, having 50 kids fighting to get to you to get different colors of crayons is never a fun job (have found that grabbing a little cute kid and holding them in your arms usually exempts you from this job…)

*To spend too much time with the people-because you will learn to love them…