Today was a good day! I feel a lot more comfortable here! Today was Veritas orientation day so we went to our university for the first time and met a lot of other international students. One of the faculty gave a presentation on culture shock for us and it was really funny! So I thought I'd share some differences between Ticos (Costa Ricans) and us Americans:
1) "lateness" Ticos are normally late to events. He actually shared with us a story--he was going to a movie one time after moving here and his friends told him that they'd pick him up at 7:15. Well, 7:20 rolled around and then 7:30...then 7:45 and they finally showed up (a half an hour late which is normally unacceptable to Americans) so they drive to the theater and he's really impatient to get out of the car and skipped waiting in line for popcorn, etc because he didn't want to miss the movie that was supposed to start at 8. Well, his friends got in the theater at 8:20 after getting popcorn and sit down just on time for the movie to start--movies in Costa Rica start a half hour after the time it's "supposed" to start at :) anyway, I thought this was great because, as many of you know, I'm pretty known for being late to things... so maybe I'm just a tica at heart? :)
2) honking. Ticos honk for literally EVERYTHING. You hear so many honks while walking down the street because it can mean many things: a) Hey how are you? b) can I go here? c) thank you! d) you look pretty today... those are just a few :) So honking is very different from the U.S. cause we only use it as a last resort for when we're angry at other drivers... :)
3) Toilet paper! Here in Costa Rica you don't flush toilet paper! Instead there is a waste basket next to the toilet to put toilet paper into. They do this because the toilet paper clogs the pipes. Something that will take me awhile to get used to.
4) Addresses! Some of you already know this...but here in Costa Rica they do not have the same kind of addresses that we have in the U.S. Instead it uses places and landmarks as directions. For example, my address is Zapote, 125 metres norte de Propet, 5 casas de la izquierda. (Zapote, 125 meters north of Propet, 5 houses on the left) This is probably why there aren't many streets with street signs...)
5) barbed wire and gates. Most houses here have at least one locked gate and barbed wire on top of the gate. This is done for security reasons but we were told that in many parts especially on the outskirts that barbed wire is not needed... but instead is more of a "cool" factor. That the more security devices you have, the "cooler" you are, and that people will have competitions in a way to see who can have the safer house. I found this very interesting. Especially since in the U.S. when you see barbed wire-- you almost want to run away from it because it means that the place is "dangerous".
6) Driving! Driving is CRAZY here! A girl from New York today told us that it's worse then New York driving...and most people know that New Yorkers can be crazy drivers :) But they have no speed limits here and so you can just imagine what it's like. This also makes it very hard to cross a street...
7) colors! The houses here are all very bright in colors and it makes for a beautiful view and walk around the city. I wish people in the states would paint their homes different colors...
8) greeting. In Costa Rica people will kiss both sides of your cheek. Just like they do in some European countries. This also takes some getting used to but I do think it's kinda cool that they do it :) Makes everything feel so friendly and happy.
9) PDA (Public displays of Affection) Couples here are very touchy and are not shy to kiss in public and be all lovey dovey. You might think its awkward... but after being here a couple days it makes the environment feel very romantic :) Especially when you walk by a flower booth and you see this older couple and the guy pulls a rose from the bucket and gives it to the girl right then and there, and they both have a big smile and she gives him a peck for a "thank you" and they walk away holding hands... :)
Anyway that's it for cultural differences for today :) I also had my oral interview today! It went pretty well! Except I had prepared for talking about why I wanted to study spanish and come to Costa Rica, etc. and maybe some questions about my family...cause that's usually what it is. Well, instead she asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said yes and so then for the rest of the interview she asked me questions about Matt and my relationship with him! I was not prepared for that but I did okay. Except for when she asked about what he does--and at that point I struggled a bit because I do not have the vocab to explain in Spanish what he does... haha :) But I'm still in Intermediate so I'm happy about that. Classes start tomorrow so I'm excited for that!
Sorry for the long post... but I think all the cultural differences are interesting and thought I'd share :) Oh! and the pics below are of the city tour we had yesterday! So I hope you enjoy!
Buenos Noches!
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