Nature or Nurture?

I ended up going inside to pick up my lunch rather than waiting in the line for the drive-thru because the line was so long. As soon as I entered, there was another line right there in the restaurant. Without even thinking about it, I just got in line and waited, assuming that line would get me where I wanted to go. And I was right. But it made me start thinking about what if everybody didn't have that common understanding about lines?

What if you were waiting at a crowded bus stop and there was just a mass of people and as soon as the bus arrived, people pushed their way in front of you and got on even though you were the first person waiting there? Or if you were at a fast food place waiting to order your food and people just walked in front of you and ordered? That's how it is in South America. It is awesome. I remember waiting at a bus stop and I was clearly in front of this old grandma, and when the bus came, she pushed her way in front of me and I think if I would have tripped and been on the ground, she wouldn't have even thought twice about stepping on my neck to get on that bus. So awesome. I love that about Chile.

Want to know another thing I love about South America? Pedestrians will never ever get in your way if you're driving a car. They will sprint across the street and get across just fine and sometimes it is pretty chaotic with people running across without any regard for crosswalks, but they would never dare cross your path. If you are driving down there, you will never get held up because some person audaciously assumes that they are walking and therefore have the right-of-way. The other day I was going to lunch with some friends and I had stopped at a stop sign and I saw these two women walking, but they hadn't yet gotten to the crosswalk so I started to go. At that point, one of the two begins walking out early into the crosswalk and shakes her head at me as I'm passing before she even had gotten on the street. And I wished at that same point that I was living in a country with little regard for somebody assuming they carry more weight than a car.