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Small Things About Colombia That Confuse Every Foreigner

Matt Griffith - The Americano

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ABOUT THIS VIDEO
After living in Colombia for years, I’ve learned it’s the small everyday things that surprise you the most. Tiny coffees, rationed napkins, sudden rain, four names, supermarket bill payments, and the very serious rule about not slamming car doors.
None of it is bad just different. And once you live here, it quietly changes your idea of “normal.”
What Colombia quirk surprised you the most?

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Little Things About Colombia
00:55 Coffee Comes Small Here
02:05 The Napkin Situation
03:20 Feeling Tall by Accident
04:25 Saying “Buenas” to Everyone
05:40 Waiting for the Check
07:00 Four Names, One Person
08:05 Bogotá Rain Rules
09:20 The Car Door Mistake
10:35 The Truth About “Ahorita”
11:50 Bills Next to the Bananas
13:10 What Living Abroad Teaches You
14:00 Final Thoughts

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20 Comments

@fredr1840 3 months ago

Most locals believe that cheese is the perfect extra combination for ANY food. hot chocolate, aguadepanela, fruit salad, vegetable salad, soups, etc.

@jagotato 3 months ago

10:41 slam the door car and they will say you: "¿se la va a llevar o que?"

@tomasrestrepoa.1247 3 months ago

A colombian here, love your program. Loved your description of our tinto: " it is like the country that is best at coffee, decided to enjoy it in the smallest possible increments.."

@dph4944 3 months ago

I cracked up instantly when you mentioned the napkins. I'm Colombian and this gets on my NERVES. It's like napkins are some kind of luxury good.

@MikeNahari 2 months ago

I'm colombian. I absolutely love content creators who are foreigners living here, bc they give us perspective about the good and the bad things we have. And it's important, bc we only are aware of the bad.

@DNPFranCDCES 3 months ago

The napkin 😆🙌🏼 so true. You cut a napkin into 4 pieces. That’s part of the pre shift duties at bars and restaurants. Oh the memories 🇨🇴💕

@halsar1729 3 months ago (edited)

The nice story behind a small cup of coffee, is to never give a friend enough to be satiated, so they stay. The non-freind is said to be given a big cup in hopes they leave. I guess they like us.

@FernandoRodriguez-pj5uh 3 months ago

Putting cheese on hot chocolate. I do that here in the states and it has become a full topic of conversation with local friends.

@davidgodfrey3322 3 months ago

I love the friendliness in Colombia. In Australia they all stare at the ground in the elevator with awkward silence. I know which I prefer.

@tomasrestrepoa.1247 3 months ago

Seen your clips, it is like a self-recognition therapy, absolutely love it! It is like, the Americano really nailed us, there we are....

@fenomozo9108 3 months ago

The door slam one is hilarious. The thing is that closing a car door softly is quite difficult. I was training a lot of that skill cause they always told me the opposite thing: "quedó mal cerrada" (is not properly closed). You can say that you are colombian if you know how to gently close a car door.

@NomadInterpreter 3 months ago (edited)

@theamericano, EVERYBODY HAS A BEAUTIFUL FULL BREED FUR BABY !!! , Even the person with the lowest income that I met , they love them and care for them . I’m originally from the DR , there are thousand of stray dogs in the streets suffering , here in Bogota have only seen 1 , literally one stray , in a city this big ! Those babies are allowed in the IKEA carts , at clothing stores , at a lot of nice restaurants, I mean it’s like they are people ! that’s one on my favorites things about walking around … seeing soo many beautiful and well taken care dogs :)

@DAnar-T2U 3 months ago

Bueeeenas, bueeeenaaas to everbody 🎉👋

@JeyDotC 3 months ago

In the Caribbean region we also have some extra things about climate. For example, we take the heat and the sun very seriously, hence we have a sentence: "cuando baje el sol" (when son goes down), meaning an undefined time of the day where the heat is tolerable (usually after 4pm), so, it is common for us to say things like "iré a la tienda ahorita que baje el sol" (I'll go to the store when the sun goes down).

And we have this weird skill that allows us to know when a hot day will end in rain, we call it "sol de agua" (water sun), and we announce it with: "Éste sol es de agua" (This is a water sun) and it is almost guaranteed that it will rain that day, no matter how clear is the sky. 😬

@jerrymanderfield3927 3 months ago

Saludos from a Iowa farm boy in Medellín!!

@tatiscolombia 3 months ago

So funny and so true. As a Colombian that has visited other countries and has hosted tourists I totally agree with this fair points. Also, we all resent the lack of napkins 😅

@OiganAEsta 3 months ago

EYEEEEE LOOOOVE Matt’s dry humor and sarcasm cuando habla de Colombianadas!

🤣🤣🤣👏🏼♥️🇨🇴

@DIO-eb4oz 2 months ago

I love the way you learn to love/like our country, and you describe our culture right down to the roots . Love it . ✅️❤.

@bobkeller2409 3 months ago

We were in a small, crowded cafe in Bogotá on the far side from the door. When it was time to go I thought we are going to have to push our way out. I said perdón to the person next to me and it was like the parting of the Red Sea. I am 6’5” and thought no one in the place even noticed me.

@darkmasterkaos 3 months ago

Agregando al numero 7, los colombianos tenemos algo llamado sol de lluvia, que es imposible de describir a un extranjero solo sabemos cuando el sol va a cambiar por lluvia, es una radar incorporado en nuestra genética