Pre-Trip Resistance: Just Do It.

Pre-Trip Non-Resistance: Booking a room.

My family can attest to this: I disklike the phone (thank you amygdalae). I really, really dislike making reservations. Let’s face it, I’m not a huge fan of calling people period. I also hate (yes, hate) asking people for things (like a restaurant reservation). It’s silly, but it comes from a deep sense of resistance— that fear of looking like a fool. Now add to this my very, very, very limited grasp on Spanish. The thought of calling a hostel in Liberia and booking a room in Spanish made me a little nervous.

So I did what Serteens and productivity blogs have taught me: do the hard things first. The night before, I wrote down a list of phrases I would need. (While resistance is futile, planning is not). Then, first thing in the morning-- before resistance could get in my way-- I called la Hospedaje Casa Vieja and asked the essential question: “Los siento. Habla Ingles usted?” I held my breath. Had I said it wrong? Oh, please, please let the woman say “Si!”

“No. No hablo Ingles.”

Crud.

I regurgitated the phrases gleaned from Spanish apps, podcasts, and dictionaries. Finally, after a round of “Ah, por manana?” “No. No manana. Por dos de Frebreros, por favor….” The poor woman went to find someone who spoke English. It didn’t take long, as most people outside of the US can speak a second, third, and even fourth language. I booked the reservations (hopefully for the rights days), and now can only hope the staff at la Hospedaje won’t hold this lingual ignorance against me.

Lesson:

While my Spanish turned out to be less than successful, I learned that it’s better to override the resistance and try what you are afraid of. By giving myself a limited window to second guess the decision to call, I actually made it easier to accomplish the task. It's that "don't look down" theory while climbing. Your focus on the goal helps to eliminate the first obstacle to any task: resistance. It also allows you a clear head space to plan (although in this case, not so well) so that other obstacles that might fuel resistance are better addressed. So while it was nerve wracking to call and be the dumb tourist, knowing that a room is waiting for us when we get to Liberia late in the evening is so much better than having to hunt a room down on foot, in a new city, speaking (apparently) very poor Spanish.

Score:

Katie 1 Amygdalae 0