Am I Crazy to Be Doing Business in a Foreign Country?

Ogden Nash said,

“Foreigners are people somewhere else,

Natives are people at home

If the place you’re at

Is your habitat

You’re a foreigner, say, in Rome.”

As a general rule, Americans take one of two different views about foreign countries, and, in my experience, both of these views are bullshit.

A) We are the greatest country in the world! Everyone else pales before us! We have more freedom, better everything and everything outside of America that isn’t like us is worse!

B) We’re all citizens of the world. There is no such thing as a “foreign country”. Any differences between us and other countries is just superficial and a matter of preference. There is no better or worse. Just go with the flow.

If you know me at all, you may have gathered that I am not so much of a “go with the flow” kind of person. Let me give you an example of the things that might make you crazy in Chile:

Obvious point number 1 (presented by Captain Obvious in her obvious hat)