The way things should be

Today I got mad because the ice cream store didn’t have cups.  Only cones.  You could get an ice cream cone, or an elaborate sundae served in a glass dish at a table.  But I didn’t want a cone, or a sundae.  I wanted one scoop, in a cup, to go.

After some discussion, and confirming that they really didn’t offer a cup of ice cream (just cones), the salesgirl nicely offered me a scoop of ice cream in a paper Coca-Cola cup.  So I got what I wanted, in the end.  But I was still mad.

It’s not a communication thing here — not really.  I’m fluent in Spanish.  My dear husband is a native speaker and was standing right beside me.  So we communicated just fine.

And it’s not really a culture shock thing, either.  At this point, I’m not at all surprised that they don’t have cups.  That they don’t do things like we do.  I’ve been here long enough that I know not to expect that.  So it’s not a shock.

But the problem is, I still think they should do things like we do.  They should have carry-out cups for ice cream, not just cones.  And when they don’t — even though I’m not surprised — I still get frustrated.  That things aren’t just the way I want them.

I suppose that’s always the reason we get upset — because things aren’t the way we want them, regardless of the where or why.  And I suppose, too, that living abroad means that happens more often.  Even though it’s not a shock, it’s still a cultural difference.  Something you’re used to isn’t available, or isn’t the same.

It gets better — I get better — and I don’t get mad as often as I used to.  I’ve come to expect — to accept — that things are different.  That often times they don’t do things the way I think they should.  And I try to let go of the “shoulds.”

But really?  They should have more flavors with chocolate chips.

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