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There is a cultural abyss between North Americans and Costa Rican. We don’t understand them, and they don’t understand us. I’ve already posted much of this in the body of an unrelated message, and for that I apologize. However, I thought it was important enough to post it again under its own heading in order to help people gain some understanding, as well as to solicit comments from others with experienced insight.
The areas where I can pinpoint the root causes of these cultural differences are:
1. Agricultural vs industrial society
2. Frontierism
3. Geography
4. Consumerism
5. ReligionMany, if not most, Costa Ricans live day-to-day. Refrigerators are still new conveniences there, and even now most families buy their food daily, usually from little “pulperias”. Gringos have double refrigerators & stand alone freezers, and buy bulk at Sam’s Club or Costco to hold out for a month before returning. Gringos are excellent wrappers, famous for saran wrap, tin foil & burping tupperware (even though the Tupperware family lives, or lived, in Aserrí). Ticos many times leave food out overnight without refrigeration, and still use wax paper (not to seal – just to keep the flies off).
This state of mind translates to their jobs – when they made enough colones for the day, they can stop working. Tomorrow, they’ll make what the need for that day.
I’m generalizing. Costa Rica and Costa Ricans are changing, but this is where they’re coming from.
Gringos are also famous for working themselves to to get ahead. This, of course, is also a generalization – I know plenty of lazy gringos. But again, it is an important part of our cultural character. Because of our drive, greed and initiative, we often work overtime, travel more for business, and move away from extended family to pursue better jobs in other cities. As a result, we separate ourselves from our extended families, and spend less time with our spouses & children as well. This is one of the things that make us so productive economically. The price for this success is a poor family life, and no time to smell the roses, or live in the “Now” (we live in the future).
Ticos live more in the “Now”. They can’t move away, because there’s no where to move to. In older, well-established communities the entire extended family lives on the same block. This large family support system lasts a life-time. 18 year-olds are mot expected to move out. On the contrary, many Ticos live in two houses during their lives, the one where they were born, and the one they bought when they got married. They go from complete dependency on their family, to complete dependency on their spouse, with no opportunity to be on their own in between.
We gringos are expected to make it on our own. That fierce independence and “frontierism” runs through our national character. It took us 100 years to settle the US from coast to coast. The Ticos – they did it in a couple days.
Costa Rica comes from an agricultural-based economy, with a year-round cultivating season. More food will be ripe tomorrow. The US comes out of an industrial-based economy with a long winter. We need to get to work on time to be ready when the machines start up, and if we don’t store enough for the winter we’ll starve.
Then there’s the religious factor. I hope I don’t insult anyone, but here goes…
Latin America is almost totally Roman Catholic. Gringoland is more Christian. Roman Catholics are taught that their life on earth is something to suffer through, waiting for the after-life. Christians, in the spirit of Martin Luther, are taught that they don’t have to go through the church to get to God, they can do it on their own. They are more in control of their own destiny. Many think that this splinter in the church is one of the factors that led to the renaissance, the scientific method, and maybe even market economics.
There are exceptions, but just look at the economic strength of the US, the UK and Germany (Christian-based), vs France, Spain and Italy (Catholic-based). Another trait which may be linked to this religious difference is that Costa Ricans are regarded as sheepish. They don’t often complain, and they don’t fight for their rights very hard. They generally take whatever comes to them and then move on. North Americans, on the other hand, are adamant about their rights, and will usually become very aggressive when someone tried to take something away from them.
Added to all this is the fact that is was much better to be a British colony than a Spanish colony. England invested in their colonies, while Spain just took and took.
An even more controversial, and some would even call racist, factor, is the Arabian equation. Arabs, unfortunately, are known for getting ahead by defeating their superiors (Saddam Hussein being one of the best, or worst, examples). The Moors occupied Spain for 800 years, and some say that this trait rubbed off. In Costa Rica this is called ceruchando el piso (sawing the floor out from under someone). Once a Tico told me that if 10 Ticos were stuck in a can, they’d stomp on each other trying to get out. Put 10 Gringos in the can and they’d made a human pyramid to help each other get out. We see this in US politics as well. One of the reasons Hispanics have little political power here is they tend to undermine each other during the campaigns. Hispanic women, in particular must endure a backlash from their own community when they run for office, particularly their macho husbands and brothers, who try to tear them down.
In conclusion, there are many root causes of our divergent cultures. As always, one is not necessarily better than the other, just different.
Again, all generalities, but with grains of truth running through it. My intention here is not to criticize, but rather to help people understand the basic differences between our two cultures, and help them come together. In the end, it’s ying & yang. Let us celebrate our diversity. Those of us who live in both worlds can only try to take the best of each culture, and discard the rest.
I invite your comments.
In your posting, you mistakenly identified all North Americans as members of the same (generalized) group. The North Americans living in Canada and Mexico do not fit your stereotype, and I beg to excluded from your generalization.
Other glaring mistakes:1, Catholics were the first organized Christian religion, how can you suggest that the word Christian does not include that sect. Do you also exclude Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Anglicans, etc.?
2, I have worked as a volunteer in Guanacaste and most of the homes visited had electricity and a refridgerator.
3, If most food is bought at the pulperia (convenience store), what is bought at the weekly Feria (market)?Again, please do not include me in your very unflatering description of a North American.
AnneLiseAnnelise is right on the target. Catholics are Christians and always have been. Secondly, after living in Germany for 19 years, I can assure you that Germany is NOT a Christian country. Martin Luther may have founden Protestantism there, but you can be sure there are no genuine vestiges of Christianity left in that sad country. Oh yes, there are beautiful churches. Nobody goes to them on Sundays to worship (except tourists). There is certainly no evidence of any of the guiding principles of Christianity in daily German life. They treat each other coldly and treat outsiders (all non-Germans) even worse. Remember the 5,000,000? Not very Christian behavior, I think?
mikeI resent your comment in very strong terms!! How dare you compare Christianity with a dictatorship out of control in the 40’s. Obviously in the “19 years” you claim you lived in Germany you have not been among Germans. Yes, I am German and damn proud of it! One does not have to run every Sunday to a church to proof it. I’ve been living for the last 35 years in the states and have seen over and over again people who preach or quote the bible that do not practice their Christianity!! The recent soccer championship in Germany is proof of those peoples friendliness and warmness to everyone. Based on what I see in the US with all the crime going on and the slaughter, torture and rapes being committed by US military on innocent civilians in another country right now I am not so sure about Christianity in the US. Just two days ago I read in a European news magazine in an interview of an american soldier who is now in Canada that saw fellow GI’s playing soccer with a cut off head of an Iraqi. So, do not talk about Christianity in another country when your own country totally disregards human rights!! You own me and the rest of Germany an apology to make such an absurd comment! All Americans need to take a good look in the mirror and find out about themselves. How can you say that you love God whom you have never seen and hate your brothers whom you see daily.!! It is outright wrong what our country is doing to others and we see it happening, give our consent when we do nothing or say nothing about it. Christ also taught,(he that is without sin let him cast the first stone). Every day we murder in the name of right.
You’re right, Canada, the US and Mexico are all in North America, and I was definitely only generalizing about “people from the United States” (which is how I should say it all the time, but it’s so ungainly. From now on I’ll just say “Gringos”). I said “North Americans” to avoid saying “Americans” so I wouldn’t insult Latin Americans. My noble attempt to be politically correct just got me in more hot water. My apologies. I hereby grant your request to be excluded from my generalization.
Regarding Catholics and Christians, my words are less a glaring mistake, and more a religious incorrectness (I guess I’m both politically and religiously incorrect now). My intent was to contrast Catholicism, which I fully understand is a Christian sect, and all the subsequent sects of Christianity. I did state in my original post that I hoped this would not insult anybody, but what you want and what you can have are two different things. I didn’t mean to start a holy war. There are already too many of those, and I hope they don’t clog up this thread.
Yes, most homes in Costa Rica do now have electricity and refrigerators, thanks to the good work of the ICE (though their time has come and gone now). However, I maintain that refrigeration is a relatively new technology there, and it is still generally used for very short-term food storage, and mostly unprepared foods at that.
And yes, the wonderful Ferias (markets) are attended by many Costa Rican. I stick to my guns though. You’ll never open a Costa Rican refrigerator and find a sealed jar of soup with a date on it. Gringos definitely store much more food for much longer periods of time than Ticos.
Thank you for your feedback on the details. It will help me shape how I write about these issues in the future. How about some more general feedback?
Here are three books you all may find “enlightening”; ‘The Power Of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle, ‘The Secret Gospels Of St. Thomas” by ? Pagels and ‘Guns,Germs And Steel’ by ? Jared Diamond. Authors names may be off a bit.
frankly the original post is a bunch of gobblygoop……is that a word? It is a bunch of generalizations that for the most part are out dated at best, and not deserving of debate.
Now that is a more general reply. Thank you.
Can a root cause ever be out-dated? To back up your opinion, I can say that young people in Costa Rica are like young people everywhere. They are part of the world youth culture, all interconnected with their music, tv, internet and Ipods. But the differences I see between Gringos and Ticos are real. I generalize, yes, but only for the purposes of discussion. I also believe that historical events have long-lasting consequences.
It is very funny watching people react to a post from a gringo that is making comments about his host country. I am sorry if I offend you and I don’t mean too. How ever you should hear what ticos say about gringos behind closed doors.. hahaha.. My wife is a tica and we have property in Tres Rios so I might have a little insight.
Ticos are just like Gringos! Except for some major cultural differences regarding machoism. Regarding working habits I would have to say my mother in-law and fater in-law used to get up at 4:00 in the mornings to open the soda in down town San Jose. This was a lot earlyer than I would get up! My wife would say that Costa Rica is more like the States than any other Central American country. I belive this is very true. How ever since CR is the size of Iowa or smaller Ticos don’t like to lose their jobs to outsiders and I can’t blame them.What Ticos say about Gringos behind closed doors:
The Good:
Honest
Fair
On time
Smart (they haven’t met the ones that never leave the U.S.)
Good bosses
Gringos treat women betterThe Bad:
Not romantic nor gentlemanly
Too direct. Ticos speak between the lines. Directness is insulting.
Gruff. Ticos are very diplomatic and cordial.
Sarcastic. Ticos don’t do sarcasm.The Ugly:
Gullible (as in “stupid”) “I’ll be right rack with your colones señor” (for that $100 bill you just handed over across the street from the Post Office in downtown San Jose)
Regarding Machismo, to tell you the truth I still can’t figure it out. Latin-Americans can strut like a rooster one minute (“I’m strong”), then croon their hearts out on the guitar the next (“I’m vulnerable”). While chauvinism is ebbing, especially among the younger set, many (not all) Latin-American men still place their women on a pedestal in public, then abuse them and limit their freedoms in private. This part is easier to understand, as Gringo men weren’t too different in previous generations.
Regarding work ethics, certainly many Ticos work long hours, but IN GENERAL they’re not nearly as ambitious as gringos. There are many more Gringo workaholics than Ticos. Consumerism has a much tighter grip on Gringos. We Gringos have had much greater access to commercial products for much longer than Ticos, making us much more dependant (read addicted) on these products. We also have a MUCH more advanced financial system, which results in cheap money (low interest rates, no money down&) which means we can become dependant much quicker. We have fewer holidays, take less vacation, and spend less time with our families than Ticos.
You’re absolutely right. Relative to the rest of Central America, Costa Rica IS much more Americanized. Maybe it’s that very closeness that makes it easier to compare the two cultures.
I don’t think that Ticos are loosing jobs to Gringos. Unless we’re married to a Costa Rican, we can’t get work permits. However, they are losing a lot of jobs to Nicaraguans (“Nicas”). It’s said that of the 4 million people in CR, 1 million are Nicas. The funny thing is that this situation almost exactly mirrors what’s happening in the U.S. with Hispanics. Their taking jobs, yes, but mostly jobs Ticos don’t want.
PS: You don’t offend me, and I hope I’m not offending you or anyone else either. It’s so easy to take things the wrong way in forums, since nonverbal cues are absent. Again, the purpose of the thread is to further understanding.
Edited on Jul 18, 2006 07:09
Well I would have to differ on what you said about what they say.
I would have to recite gringos are pushy, spoiled, pamperd and think they are the bomb and want to change the culture to their views.
I remember one time my wife and I went to the mall of san padro and a gringa was in the front of a line for some chinees food. She was yelling at the cleark because he didn’t understand what peking duck sauce was.
There are so many topics that I see gringos trying to change CR because they think it is unethical or what ever. Look at the amount of missionarys that come to CR and try to change them to their church.
Personally I like to give the police man 20 dollars for a bribe because I know it would be a hell of a lot cheaper than in the U.S. Have you ever had to pay a car insurance bill years after you had a ticket?
“don’t think that Ticos are loosing jobs to Gringos. Unless we’re married to a Costa Rican, we can’t get work permits. However, they are losing a lot of jobs to Nicaraguans (“Nicas”). It’s said that of the 4 million people in CR, 1 million are Nicas. The funny thing is that this situation almost exactly mirrors what’s happening in the U.S. with Hispanics. Their taking jobs, yes, but mostly jobs Ticos don’t want.”This is some what true because of the work permits but the amount of perpetual tourist or full time tourist that are working is growing. I always have to laugh when I ask a gringo on the beach if they are working in CR. Most of the time the responce is “yes i am legal, how ever i have to leave the country every 90 days”. For me it is just funny because its the same issues that the states is having with undocumented immigrants that come under touist visas and stay past their time.
People always ask me can I get a high paying job because I am from the U.S and have experiance. I say no way they have a lot of people that have degrees with no jobs and want to protect those jobs.Regarding worth ethics.
This is truely a sterotype because in Minnesota where I grew up we had the midwest work ethics! We always thought that the people on the West coast were lazy because we would leave work at 4:00 even if their job was not done. This of course was not true for every one on the west coast. The same is in CR! If you live in the country life will be much more laid back than in the city.Again this is all personal views and not factual. Just remember enjoy your host nation, embrase the culture and don’t try to change it. Just like when you go camping don’t leave any foot prints! jajajaja
(Just a reminder there is no word Nica, its no like Costa Rians with Tico and Tica its only Nico. I know this because my wife corrected me and she has a masters from the U of CR, I think she speaks the language better than me jajajajaj.)
Senta, obviously you and I are going to disagree about my comments concerning Germany and Christianity. That is the wonderful thing about freedom, don’t you think? We are free to disagree. However, I stand by my original statements.
I agree with the comments made by GringoTico. The intent here is not to offend anybody or to become offended. I think most of us would agree it is better to seek common ground than to emphasize differences, better to seek harmony than discord, better to seek goodness in each other than be quick to point out what is wrong. I am certain there are significant cultural differences between Ticos and U.S. Gringos. How could it be otherwise? An open exchange of ideas and theories in our discussions of these differences and their potential root causes will hopefully help us who are not native to Costa Rica better understand how we can fit in better and make positive contributions wherever fate has brought us. mike
Prior to my “initiation” into the Tico culture, I had a “gringo moment” myself at Más X Menos while returning glass bottles 20 years ago. They didn’t accept a few of them, so I asked if they could just take them off my hands for me, no deposit necessary. The girl simply said she couldn’t accept them. I asked if she could just throw them away for me, but she repeated that she couldn’t accept them. I got agitated, and transformed into the loud-mouthed, questioning ugly American. When that happens, you lose the argument, period. A Tico would have politely accepted her inability to throw away the bottles with appropriate resignation, and thanked her for her help.
Thank you very much for your comments! It’s one thing to talk in generalizations, but it’s much more informative to back them up with specific examples like you did.
One minor disagreement though, “Nicas” is a common Tico reference to Nicaraguans, male or female. “Nicos” is not used.
Perezm: Your comments about Germans are very narrow and what some might consider racist. If similar remarks were made against Jews or African Americans/Blacks they would certainly put you in a lot of hot water. I have spent many years traveling in Germany and have many friends there, they are warm people with a great sense of humor. I remember my first time at Disney world and at the German exhibit in Epcot there were a group of Germans all singing and dancing with with the Um-pah band, another time on a Luftansa flight I was up the whole time as the “cold”lol..Germans all sang and drank as we crossed the Atlantic. We can all agree that the Holocaust that occurred during the 3rd Reich was horrible, inhuman etc…but we must not forget our(U.S.) sordid past that as Americans we like to ignore: How many Africans were killed during our years of Slavery, 10,000,000 perhaps? We live in a country that slaughtered an entire indigenous population, again millions of men, women and children while calling ourselves Christians. The sad part about all this is we hardly recognize our Holocausts, and when these subjects are brought up we are called unAmerican, it happened a long time ago, it was our right? I don’t know where in Germany you were living but it appears you did not enjoy it, I love Costa Rica, but have friends who have been there and couldn’t wait to get home…to each his own said the farmer who kissed the cow. So whether you are calling all Germans cold and unchristian(what ever that means) or Ticos lazy and ignorant generalising is always in bad taste and serves no real usefulness. I have never needed a sociology course to prepare me to go anywhere, I simply behave as a guest when I’m not in my home and keep my eyes and ears open and try and learn.
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