As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
What would you do if a friend visiting your country violated a serious local taboo that you told him about?
This is what the person in this story struggled with and wants to know how he dealt with it.
Check it out.
I invited my college friends to come to my country to visit and tour my hometown and we had a great time.
It’s a strange custom, but I guess it’s easy to follow.
An unwritten rule in my country (and I may be embarrassing myself here in front of those who know) is: If you see an old person (anyone, really, but especially old people) falling down in the street, you should NEVER try to help.
This is supported by a historical case where a poor guy helped a random old lady on the street, who then turned around, accused the guy and demanded compensation.
The court ruled in favor of the old lady because “why should you help her if you don’t push her?”
We were on the street when we saw – you guessed it – an old man lying on the ground.
I quickly tried to drive my friends away, but some of them wanted to help me, especially because they saw the passersby running around as if the old man was invisible.
I explained the story to them and that as their host I was responsible for their well-being, and most of them understood.
Honestly, it would be difficult to simply ignore someone in such a situation.
But one of my friends still complained about how heartless I was.
I thought I had managed to get the group going, but she ran back when I wasn’t looking up and decided to help the old man.
And what everyone expected happened.
Ahh, it was a scam.
It was a nuisance, the old man claimed he had made up all kinds of injuries and demanded about $1,400.
We had to call the police, who suggested that we simply pay the old man because he was old, otherwise we might have to open a case and the old man would have to go to the hospital for a check-up, which might get us higher fees because he seemed to be the type of guy who “knows” the doctor.
They seem to be very particular about not opening a case even when the financial limit for a case is well reached, and have made it very clear to my friend how much trouble it would cause her if they did.
In the end, my friend gave in to the pressure and agreed to pay.
At this point I may be an idiot.
She asked if we could all help with the money, especially me, since she was not rich and did not want to be penniless in a foreign country and was not familiar with the payment systems, while I was the host and responsible for her.
I refused, for myself and basically for everyone else, saying that I am responsible for your well-being, but not for your stupidity.
In the end, the old man took us to an ATM and she paid herself, and there was hardly any money left in her account.
I thought that would be okay because we were staying at my place, so she would get free breakfast and dinner, and she had already purchased her return ticket.
I can understand why she’s upset, but it’s not your fault.
Many of the activities we planned (like going to malls and parks) are free, but she holed up in my room for the rest of the trip, refusing to talk to any of us and only posting cryptic posts on her Insta.
They are all back home now.
The rest of my friends say it’s not my fault, but their parents recently texted me to tell me what a bad host I am.
Should I have helped her pay?
Is this possible?
Wow, that’s a weird story. I don’t know what to make of it.
To gain some insight, let’s look at the comments.
It would be hard to resist.
I must admit, I’m curious.
This comment sums it up well.
It was stupid, even if it was compassionate.
This person suggests a simple solution.
The culture of this country is really strange.
But to each his own!
If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws free accommodation in exchange for babysitting. However, things changed when they didn’t keep their end of the bargain.
