Usage guide: No pasa nada

No pasa nada

It's just three words. Ten letters.

But around here it is a philosophy.

In English, it best translates to "don't worry about it" or "nothing's going to happen."

It is typically said to allay fears in obviously dangerous situations or when something is clearly wrong but someone doesn't want to put the time into fixing it.

The best way to explain its correct usage is to give you a few case studies in proper "no pasa nada" application.

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The kids at the newspaper camp are going to do a ropes course at the local army base.

Kids: We are all going to fall, get hurt., and die.
Army soldiers: No pasa nada.

The army gave us 17 soldiers to manage the 35 kids on the obstacle course. There are no harnesses, all of the elements are at least two meters off the ground, and only four kids can be on the course at any time. So you meet the first condition for the presence of obvious danger.

The kids' safety depends on the soldiers being attentive as they pass through the elevated course and at least six soldiers need to pay attention for things to go well. This rarely happened. The soldiers had to remind the soldiers to focus on the kids. With this, you also meet the second condition for proper "no pasa nada" usage, people not wanting to put the energy into correcting the situation.

But the soldiers were right. No pasó nada. (Nothing happened)

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I was walking with the kids from our newspaper day camp.

Kids: Ian, there are ants crawling out of your backpack.
Ian: No pasa nada.
Kids: (Laughing)

This was correctly applied. First, having the ants crawl in and out of my backpack had no effect on the kids. So clearly, nothing would happen to the kids.

Also, if the ants were crawling around my bag, it didn’t hurt anybody. These weren't the kind that bite.

Furthermore, the kids laughed, which means that they appreciated my attempts to integrate into society.

(This situation clearly reflects the need for me to clean out my backpack, as well.)

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Saturday morning, I heard that there was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Chilean coast. I didn't know whether or not we are at risk of a tsunami here because even though I don't live on the seashore, I am not that far away or that high above sea level. Nobody really knew what was going on.

Ian: There was a massive, massive earthquake off the Chilean coast. There might be tsunami waves that hit Ecuador.
Coworker: No pasa nada.

Incorrect usage. This was said in total seriousness. And well, after what happened in Asia a few years back and the strength of the Chilean earthquake, you can't just brush off tsunamis as no pasa nada. Luckily, the tsunami wave wasn't very bad after this quake.

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We are ready to go visit the bees during the beekeeping conference. I check my mask and realize that it isn't completely sealed.

Ian: Is this something I should be worried about?
Other volunteer: No pasa nada. You'll be fine.

We’re used to ignoring obvious danger.

I went to go get this checked out with the trainers. They said that my mask was faulty and that I needed to get a new one.

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(This one was sent in from a fellow Peace Corps volunteer)

The kids at the school in town are outside for recess. Some kids start climbing on the soccer net. The school director, seeing possible danger in this situation, wants to put a stop to it.

School director: Get down from there before someone gets hurt.
Kids: (screaming back to the director) No pasa nada

And the kids continue climbing on the net.

This was well-applied. Notice how there is obvious danger. The kids are climbing on the nets and could fall down and get seriously hurt. But to allay the fears of the school director, the kids just told him that nothing will happen. That was all the director had to hear, and the kids continued playing.

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It's raining outside. I'm not home. I decide to walk home.

Ecuadorian: Ian, don't walk home in the rain. You will get the flu.
Ian: No pasa nada.

The common notion in Ecuador is that if you walk outside during the rain you will catch the flu. I don't believe this. So I walk anyway.

They were concerned, believing that I am walking into certain danger. I calm their fears and tell them that nothing will happen.

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During last week's bull incident, I called my coworker, who was up the road, to tell her what was going on. Keep in mind there are 30 kids walking with me.

Ian: Look out there is an angry bull running down the street.
Coworker: No pasa nada.

Incorrect usage of no pasa nada.

It is important to know the limits of the "no pasa nada" because if you apply "no pasa nada" to a situation in which "si pasa algo" (something happens), that hampers your "no pasa nada" permanent record (and less importantly people might actually get hurt). The most important thing in these situations is correct usage. Safety takes a backseat.

In most situations that have a high probability of ending in people getting gored, no pasa nada shouldn’t apply.

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I am walking through the eco reserve with my coworker. There is a tower that the military once used as a guard post when the reserve was an exclusively military zone. There are no obvious safety measures in place and the tower doesn't look to sturdy.

Ian: Are you sure you want to go up there?
Coworker: No pasa nada.

Brushing off obvious danger. An acceptable application.

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Now the most important thing, as I mentioned, is proper usage. If you drop the phrase and something goes wrong, you're going to have to live with that guilt.

This blog post is meant to demonstrate proper application of "no pasa nada" into your life. It's not a black and white science. There is plenty of grey area.