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Around where I live in San Pedro , near the UCR, sidewalks are small and lots of sidestreets dont even have any , you walk on gravel , mud , etc. Even the the main road through Curriadabat there are stretches where the sidewalk ends.
Anyways, I always have this problem as I walk on the right side of the sidewalk alone and there are more than 1 person coming the opposite direction taking up the whole sidewalk , they just don’t move. I politely step aside or even in the street . I don’t get it . Should I stand my ground and bump them ? Most of the time it’s students or women that do this . If it’s women I usually move but is that what Im supposed to do everytime? When it rsins man , steeping aside means big puddles where I live .
Give the ladies right away. Other punks who think they own the sidewalk do as you wish.. as long as they don’t look like gangsters who will stab you if you bump into them.
. . . all the while bearing in mind that you (and most of the rest of us) will always be a guest in this country, residency or not, and that we are ambassadors for all the other north Americans these Costa Rican folks will encounter.
Do the same thing you would do in any oher country. It’s all about situational awareness and each sidewalk encounter is site specific. Depends on your mood, the day, the people, the traffic. There is no one rule that applies to all situations.
I for one do not expect forigners in the US to be ambasadors of their country. I think that point of view is passe, gone the way of the monochromatic world view (white). Americans here seem to always find a way to view themselves as special. Always the teacher, and rarely outside of their self importance long enough to learn from the Ticos, who are culturally superior.
I agree with David. It is easier to step aside. I have people testing me with the same crap all the time every where i go. I’m 6’3″, 240 and it just isn’t worth the problem.
2BNCR, I think you miss an important point. You and I here in Costa Rica, frenchmen in New York City, and foreigners everywhere else don’t set out to be ambassadors for our countrymen. We just are. Those with whom we interact will project their experiences with us upon all our fellows be they Americans, Germans or Indonesians. It’s human nature to generalize.
If you wish to be treated well by the Costa Ricans you encounter, begin by treating them well. Not only will your good impression pay dividends for you, it’ll pay dividends for me, too.
Yeah I hear what your all saying. I pretty much only associate with Costa Ricans not fellow Americans anyways . Not that I dont want too, but I guess I dont go out of my way to look for my countrymen I go with the flow around me . I watch and see how the CR’s act toward their own and they too will say “juep…” “carap….” toward their own, they complain as much. I keep quiet , cuase once an american says something , than it’s ” si no te gusta laragate de aqui” . Typical ignorant saying from anyone, anywhere . If you don t like it go back to your country. That is the stupidest saying only an ignorant sap would say anyways. It happens everywhere , we americans arent prone to that either , how many times do white folks say that back home to the hispanics , asians , or wherever one is from. I just spoke about this at a dinner party while watching the Uruguay game , and someone there told me If I dont like things here , get out . I flat out told her she was ignorant for saying that and she didnt get upset , I explained why and she was cool with it . My argument was that anyone should complain about whatever doesnt matter what country their from , I have hundred of complaints where I come from too no just here .
“Those with whom we interact will project their experiences with us upon all our fellows be they Americans, Germans or Indonesians. It’s human nature to generalize.”
I don’t. And I am sure developed people don’t. But then you may be generalizing that Ticos are uneducated.
Some people may at times. But I believe these times are changing. It’s hanging-on to these types of assumption that promote generalization with is the seed of mental disturbance.
Assumptions taken for the truth have created many problems. Encouraging this thinking (assuming that one gringo represents all gringos) is out of step with reality. It’s merely something to which you have grown accustomed. Like an old friend who eats all your food and dirties your house, but you still like him around. It’s a codependent relationship; and codependent thinking (for your rightness to exist your assumption must be true; this is codependency).
No where in my statement did I generalize Ticos were uneducated. I only spoke of a specific situation if you were referring to what I had stated to someone.
The only point I should have made was that I do not like when a certain person in one culture tells another to get out of their country becuase of complaining in general. It happens in the USA towards foreigners there and it happens in any other country. Tell me many costa ricans dont say things about Nicaraguans here , I here it all the time . And I’m not generalizing all Ticos are this way or they are uneducated , just that it happens .
Charlie, I was replying to David’s post. Sorry, I should have made that clear by adressing him by name.
In general, just because i don’t agree with peoples politics or POV, does not mean that I do not respect them or their POV. I know its harder to do, but we can disagree without being disagreeable.
The problem with fourms is you cannot hear any inflection or intonation along with the comment.
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