The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence; a phrase or idiom that certainly makes sense. Humans are inclined to look at other people and then make a comparison. Often you find out that the grass on the other side of the fence is a lot greener than your own.
I have that tendency myself. I’ve lived in several different countries and then you sometimes compare things between these different countries. So I always thought that the traffic couldn’t be as terrible as it is in China anywhere else. What I remembered from my last trip to Costa Rica some three years ago, is that traffic was smooth and fast-flowing. I’m now back in Costa Rica, and either I am suffering from selective amnesia or it has deteriorated badly since then. Traffic in Costa Rica is as bad as the chaos in China. Except that the average driver is a little more aggressive, and middle fingers are a common sight.
In Russia, men tend to be foul-mouthed, while the women of China will join them unflinchingly. In Costa Rica, you sometimes think that some people say the things you want to hear and not what they really want to say. In Thailand, it is hypocrisy squared. The famous, friendly Thai smile is even faker than the watches on the black market.
Everybody is always inclined to look at other people; I think that is a part of human nature. And it always seems better on the other side of the fence, but often it is not. Whether it is about culture, people, habits, or work, there is always something, for the better or worse. Just as any country has its own charms and oddities.
And going back to the green grass; the reason that the neighbour’s grass is always greener is because usually it has been richly fertilised with bullshit.
Cok HarteveldGeneral Manager at Van den Berg Roses
cok@vandenberg-roses.com
