To Credit or Not to Credit…

Leonel and I were talking just before we went to give a presentation about the upcoming National Health Day (Jornada Nacional de Salud) during which every child under the age of 5 will be given a range of vaccinations all around the country. Leo was telling me about the numerous phone calls he has received and continues to receive offering him the “opportunity” to have a credit card. The decision for him is difficult—does he want to own a piece of plastic that on the one hand could empower him to purchase some of the items on his wish-list but on the other hand could being a cycle of debt which, if he is not careful and responsible, could give him endless financial headaches.

I began my evaluation of his decision, naturally, from an American point of view: credit is good. You collect debt which allows you to do more with your money and in addition, you establish yourself in the eyes of the bank as a responsible individual, able to pay back loans on a regular schedule. This in turn allows you to increase your credit limit, decrease the interest rate incurred if you can’t pay your monthly bill all at once, and hence, increase the amount of debt that you owe.

Leo looked at me somewhat blankly. Why does he need to do this? What is the point? He owns his house (i.e. he doesn’t need a mortgage) and the only thing he could think of using this “arma doble firma” (double endged sword) for is buying a motorcycle, a new TV, and maybe some other amenities which, while he would like them, he does not need. The possible costs are great: if he is unable to payback the credit card and find himself locked into monthly payments which perpetually increase. I was reminded of my grandfather’s viewpoint of credit, debt, and loans as intangible forms of imprisonment.

This got me thinking down a path that passes between the American culture which I know and feel, and the Nicaraguan culture which I am trying to learn and understand. Of course, one of the overarching intents of making a trip as I have, is to see, experience, and feel the places where my culture clashes with, mixes with, or otherwise intertwines with the culture here; this is, after all, an intercultural experience. However, I think that in order to see these points of demarcation at which one culture says one thing and another says the opposite, I must approach my experiences with a relativistic frame of mind. While the natural impulsive thought process is to witness something new and feel that since it is different, it is therefore worse, this impulse must be fought. Otherwise the whole project of learning from others that come from different viewpoints as your own is lost. The difficult part comes when you want to form an opinion because ultimately, you need to take action—Leo needs to decide if he wants to sign up for a credit card or not.

We'll have to continue this conversation later...there is much more to say. (The pictures: one is of Antonia Solis, the Brigadista-or health worker-in one of the communities, with a filter that she just finished installing. The other is Leonel teaching parents and kids about the vaccination campaign which is going on right now.)