There are a few life differences in
Costa Rica than in the United States. Firstly, in Costa Rica, one is to throw his/her
used toilet paper in the trash, but no one will tell you. You have to figure it
out yourself. Second, a lot of the infrastructure and amenities are a little
behind. The sidewalks slope, there are big gaps between the sidewalks and the
roads for sewage, and public bathrooms have odd locking mechanisms and
flushers. Thirdly, if you are looking for somewhere, don't even bother to
explain to whoever you find to ask. You just name the place, and if the
stranger knows it, they will tell you.
LANGUAGE
1. There are a number of
English names used for items that consist of multiple words in English in which
one only pronounces the first word in Costa Rica. For example, "basketball,"
is called "basket," "Facebook," is referred to as
"Face," and any Play Station console is called "Play."
2.
I am thinking unique to Costa Rica, one says here two
items in order to express "you're welcome," and "Don't worry
about it" respectively. They are "Con mucho gusto," and
"Tranquilo."
3.
Perhaps because it's easier to remember, but what
I and anyone else who has had Spanish classes with me learned for
"banana" was "la banana." When I got to Costa Rica that got
turned completely turned on its head when I was doing my service learning at the
zoo and had to reference the generated cookbook while preparing meals for the
animals. The word for “banana?" "El banano."
4. Since we're
talking about fruit, let's move on to grapes. One of the boys in my homestay
loves Jell-O (or "gelatin" here, though the Internet's telling me
that it's more commonly referred to in Spanish as "gelatina"), so we
have had it multiple times at dinner. One time, the flavor was grape, or
"de uva." I did a double-take when my Mama Tica told me though,
because she said "oo-ah." She aspirated (i.e. didn't make) the
"v" sound at all, which I firstly didn't know ever happened with
"v," but had also never heard happen when it meant that two vowels
would have to be pronounced in sequence. I had read a Wikipedia article that talked
about in some sections of Puerto Rican Spanish that with participles (e.g. "ronronado,"
"danzado," "quebrado"), the "d" acting as the
penultimate letter gets aspirated so that the words would have endings
pronounced as "ah-o" instead of "ah-doe," but since our
Puerto Rican director hasn't seemed to aspirate her "s"s when it would
mean that two vowels would be pronounced in succession, I have had reservations
about the existence of the pronunciation of words in which vowels must be
pronounced in tandem. (e.g.She'll say "Estamos" without pronouncing
either "s", or "misma" without the "s," which
still leave consonants between vowels, but I've only ever heard her say
"cosa" with the "s," and her actual name is always
"Rosa" with an"s.")
PEOPLE
I had the idea when I came to Costa Rica that
ticos were very amicable and greeted anyone they might see walking down the
street. My mama tica assured me that that happens when she walks around, but as
a stranger, I have not been greeted as such and just walk by people as I might
in a
larger U.S. city. That said, people are still a lot more hospitable than what
I've seen prior in the United States. The first day that I volunteered, a chap
from another volunteer's host family was driving us to the volunteer location,
but didn't know how to get there. He asked at least 10 different people, and
always asked by just naming the location, like it was given that the person
would help him if he/she could. Also, last night, I found out that relatives of
the family with whom another girl in our group is staying live next door to me,
and they invited me to dinner for no reason and spent an hour teaching me to
salsa and meringue dance and then took me and a different group member out and
paid for everything.
ADDITION: Upon returning from the Irazú volcano,
nearly every farm worker in the vast network of farming fields paused from
working to wave at our bus.
VOLUNTEERING
El Zoológico Simón
Bolivar is the name of the National Zoo. It has around thirty different
animals, including a lion, a jaguar, raccoons, and a whole host of animals of
which I'd never heard. (Look up the white-nosed coati!) While volunteering
there, I worked in various sections in four hour blocks. In doing the
"Felines" and "Birds" sections, I spent time scrubbing any hard-grounded
surfaces in the animal cages between rinses done by one of a few zoo keepers.
It was interesting to note the thought that went into the construction of the
zoo. The cages are arranged as such so that water flows to sewage, and spouts
and pathways to cages were made with elaborate thought, in that one can arrive
with ease from one cage to another. In doing the "Feed Preparation”
section, I weighed different amounts of fruits, dead chicks, and dog food, cut
up each as necessary, and placed each in bowls and then put the resultant bowls
on different tables to be taken to animals in different parts of the zoo.
Significant Interaction
A zookeeper asked if I had a job in the US and I
answered how I work 12 hours a week for $9.75 at a theatre. He told some
patrons exasperated about me, and then we talked about how he makes $240 a
month working 70 hours a month, or about $3.43 an hour. While life in Costa
Rica seems preferable than other places of which I have heard, the discourse
has made me more grateful for all of the privileges I have enjoyed being born
into the system that I was.
VETERINARIAN OFFICE
My first week in Costa Rica, my partner and I
volunteered at a veterinary clinic in the afternoon as a supplement to our time
at the zoo. Our time was principally occupied by cleaning cages of different
sizes, as well as cleaning used doggie bowls. While the doggie bowls were more routinely
cleaned, I have more reservations about the cages ever really being washed, so
I feel comfortable saying that my partner and I did a real service there.
"LA FINCA"
The father of my mama
tica has a "finca" in Sarapiquí, Heredia. The day after returning
from Monteverde, I went with my mama tica to his finca to enjoy the place with
her family. (Glenda and Amanda came as well, as their mama tica is also the
daughter-in-law of my mama tica's dad.) While there, I was able to swim in a
swimming pool that had the clearest water that I have ever seen, while I also
partook in viewing of all of the plants that are grown on the property. You
see, while the house is normal sized, it sits on what I'll guess is about three
or four acres of land, in which there are also grown all of the fruits I had no
conception of until I came to Costa Rica. (Speaking of which, did you know that
pineapples grow out of the grown!?! I had no idea. There are patches of them,
and they form in the center of plants with leaves that resemble the pineapple
stems.) I would like to note the kind of immense respect I have for my mama
tica's mother and father. The father gathered us all together before eating and
said no matter what your religion, it was important to thank God for all He
gives. The father of my mama tica and his wife then recited from memory the
longest prayer I've ever heard in my life, one that was probably around eight minutes
long. I asked my mama tica, and she says they recite that prayer every day
before eating breakfast, usually at around seven in the morning. If nothing
else, their conviction is commendable.
CONCLUSION
I have reaped a number
of benefits from having been able to Costa Rica. While not as much as I wanted
(though that amount was likely unachievable), I became faster in forming
Spanish constructions and gained a better sense of when to use certain tenses
based upon observations of native usage. In addition, I garnered more experience
working under the direction of a supervisor, an invaluable resource for me given
my limited work experience. On a personal note, I learned that I will be the
only one out to ensure that I am having a fun time, and that voicing issues is
the only way to move into normal intercourse with others, for one cannot live
in the moment with his/her mind forever occupied by the same unvoiced thoughts.
I would like to
give shout outs to Donna Head, Dawn Stinchcomb, Ryan Favors, Alejandra Umaña Arce,
and Rosa Acevedo Villarreal for helping to make this all possible for me.
You're all awesome, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my
heart.
PURA VIDA
I'm closest to the camera on the left
