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It sounds like you are more interested in feeling good about Costa Rica rather than understanding the place more thoroughly. But you can do both.
áll the people i know who left within two or three years did so because they had no clue about the negatives and therefore could not deal with them. this is a wonderful place to live but it is fraught with obstacles, the language and the culture are the least of it. i do believe that Tico take one look at us and sum us up in a few seconds based on how we look, how we act, what we wear, and how we interact with them. these things can have a direct impact on the quality of your life here. this is not always a paradise although it looks like one, but behind the curtain. . . well, there is a whole other world that you don’t see at first glance.
[quote=”maravilla”]
i do believe that Tico take one look at us and sum us up in a few seconds based on how we look, how we act, what we wear, and how we interact with them.[/quote]I suspect you’re quite correct, maravilla. Costa Ricans almost certainly do make judgements about us based upon our appearances and behavior. If so, they have that in common with the entire rest of the human race. Why should they alone be any different? I’m well aware of taking a liking or a disliking to people based upon initial impressions, too, as I suspect you do, as well.
i’m less inclined to do that because i have lived amongst the oddballs, iconoclasts, artists, renegades, hippies, musicians, punks, and every other sort of person that most people judge negatively. Any MOR person would look askance at most of the people I know. jejeje and of all the cultures i have lived in, I find that the Ticos are really critical based on physical appearance and demeanor — maybe even worse than the French who don’t really like anybody but their own.
[quote=”maravilla”]áll the people i know who left within two or three years did so because they had no clue about the negatives and therefore could not deal with them. [/quote]
Regarding those expats who leave after a few years; It’s all about expectations. Regarding the infamous Tico sense of time and retail service, I come here with such lowered expectations that I am pleasantly surprised most of the time when service is actually adequate.
And even when one bumps into the occasional disappointment, there are always positives to offset the negatives. I have had so many positive experiences with Costa Ricans. I once locked my keys in a 4X4 with the engine still running and with a wheel stuck in a muddy rut way up in the mountains in pouring rain and evening darkness setting in. I hiked to the first house I could find and asked for the use of a phone. The guy had a phone but wanted to try to help me with the SUV. He came out in the rain with a coat hanger and an umbrella and hiked back to my car with me and opened my locked door and helped me get the car out of the rut. I had to beg him to take a $20 bill for his effort. He refused three times until I told him that I hoped I wasn’t offending him with the offer but it would make me feel badly if he didn’t take it.
My impression is that some expats just don’t belong in this country. It seems they cannot appreciate what it has to offer and they have no sense of adventure or desire to seriously explore a new language and culture. I have overheard many conversations between expats and tourists on flights back and forth about what they do in CR and how they live. I hear them talk about the condos they rent out, their boats, their fishing trips, the inexpensive help in their homes, their cars, their younger Tica girlfriends and where the best place is for a decent steak…….not a word about those things which I believe really matter to anyone who wants to make a go of living here.
[quote=”sprite”][quote=”maravilla”]áll the people i know who left within two or three years did so because they had no clue about the negatives and therefore could not deal with them. [/quote]
Regarding those expats who leave after a few years; It’s all about expectations. Regarding the infamous Tico sense of time and retail service, I come here with such lowered expectations that I am pleasantly surprised most of the time when service is actually adequate.
And even when one bumps into the occasional disappointment, there are always positives to offset the negatives. I have had so many positive experiences with Costa Ricans. I once locked my keys in a 4X4 with the engine still running and with a wheel stuck in a muddy rut way up in the mountains in pouring rain and evening darkness setting in. I hiked to the first house I could find and asked for the use of a phone. The guy had a phone but wanted to try to help me with the SUV. He came out in the rain with a coat hanger and an umbrella and hiked back to my car with me and opened my locked door and helped me get the car out of the rut. I had to beg him to take a $20 bill for his effort. He refused three times until I told him that I hoped I wasn’t offending him with the offer but it would make me feel badly if he didn’t take it.
My impression is that some expats just don’t belong in this country. It seems they cannot appreciate what it has to offer and they have no sense of adventure or desire to seriously explore a new language and culture. I have overheard many conversations between expats and tourists on flights back and forth about what they do in CR and how they live. I hear them talk about the condos they rent out, their boats, their fishing trips, the inexpensive help in their homes, their cars, their younger Tica girlfriends and where the best place is for a decent steak…….not a word about those things which I believe really matter to anyone who wants to make a go of living here.[/quote]
DITTO
This is not the US. That´s exactly why I´m here. I´ll ¨suffer¨with the Tico´s.
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