Often I am asked the price of gas in Mexico or wherever we are currently living. I often have to sit and calculate that one. We buy gas by the gallon in the US but by the liter here in Puerto Rico as well as most Latin American countries. As we have traveled I am finding some interesting combinations of the English and Metric systems in the various places our husbands teach. For instance here in Puerto Rico the distances on the highways are listed in kilometers but the speed limit is in miles. I tend to associate the metric system with speaking Spanish (like in Mexico and Colombia) and often befuddle the clerk in the deli by asking for "doscientos gramos" of sliced ham in the Caribbean where they use the English system of pounds and ounces. I am now recognizing the confusion I have caused and quickly change my order, but sometimes "someone who speaks English" has already been fetched by the employee. It keeps me humble.
(posted by Marlene)
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