Random Things About Costa Rica

To the left is a picture taken from the "main" entrance to the university. A lot of times the mountains are covered in clouds, so I took a picture while I had the chance.

Okay, here are some random, interesting things that I've learned about Costa Rica:

1. Never go anywhere without your umbrella.

This is right up there with remembering your keys, wallet, and phone. At any time, any place, when you least expect it, the heavens could open up and pour gallons of water on you. Usually it rains sometime between noon and 4 o'clock, but it could start earlier or later. The one thing you can count on is that it will rain at some point during the day.

2. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way--and sidewalks are hit-and-miss.

Having lived in Chicago for two years, I feel like I am a pretty accomplished street-crosser. It's a little different here, though. First of all, cars do not have to stop for pedestrians. They usually will, and I've had people wave me across sometimes, but I've also almost been run over several times. Also, just because there's a stop sign doesn't mean that the cars will stop. If the way is clear, they won't even pretend to stop like people do in the U.S. They just go. Also, while most of the streets here are kept in good condition, the sidewalks are another story. Sometimes they're fine, but sometimes they're all torn up or super narrow or made from tiles instead of concrete. On my walk to church there's a whole stretch where there's no sidewalk at all.

3. Go into public restrooms prepared for anything.

The first thing you should know is that you do not throw toilet paper in the toilets. Their system can't handle it and it will clog. So, you throw the toilet paper in the trash cans conveniently located in every stall. The second thing you should know is that many restrooms have one toilet paper dispenser per bathroom--you take some before you go into a stall. And there's no guarantee that there will always be toilet paper, so come prepared. Soap is also often missing from bathrooms--although sometimes they have plastic water bottles filled with soap sitting on the counter--and paper towels are very rare.

4. None of my classes have textbooks.

Well, they do, but not in the way we do in the States. Textbooks are really expensive here, so everyone just uses copies. The first day of class, the professor tells you which fotocopiaría they use (there are dozens in the area around campus) and you have to go there to pick up your copies. For three of my classes I have an "anthology" compiled by the professor that contains all the readings for the whole semester. For my Anthropology and History class, I have to go each week to pick up the next week's readings. I'm not sure if it's entirely legal, but that's what they do here.

5. Cafecito may be best invention since the siesta.

"Cafecito" literally means "little coffee," but it's basically a break in the middle of the afternoon to drink coffee and eat pastries-Yum! Often I'll have cafecito with my host mom and whoever else is at our house, and we'll talk or watch a movie on t.v. My literature class on Wednesday afternoons has a twenty minute break in the middle for cafecito, too. :)

6. Don't say "de nada"--use "mucho gusto".

This has taken me a while to get used to, since for the past 6+ years I've been trained to say "de nada" after someone says "gracias." But here, they use "con mucho gusto," or "my pleasure." Which I really like, but I still catch myself automatically saying "de nada."

7. Costa Rica uses a different verb form/pronoun that I've never heard of before.

This is going to make very little sense to anyone who doesn't know Spanish, but they don't use the informal you (tú) form very much here. They use "usted", which is usually more formal, for everyone--friends, family, children, pets, etc. And they also use "vos" which is sort of like a singular form of "vosotros." It uses the "tú" form for most tenses except present, preterite, subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, and command forms. So yeah. I would pick one of two or three Spanish-speaking countries that uses a verb form I've never heard of before... :) Thankfully it's not too hard; again I just have to get used to using it.

Well, my computer is about to die, and I need to go home to start on homework, but it's pouring right now. I do have my umbrella, but I think I might hang out here at the library for a while and see if it stops.