He Aprendido

I realized that I’m about 2/3 into my time here in Costa Rica. Also, most of my other blog posts have focused on writing about a specific weekend, or just recounting special trips and occasions. So I wanted to put together a list of some smaller, “everyday” moments that will hopefully lend a better picture of what it’s like to live here. Here goes nothing!

1. That people who read “La Extra” every morning probably aren’t the kind of people who read “La Republica”. And I don’t know anybody who reads “La Rebpublica”.
2. That there aren’t as many monkeys running around as I expected (okay, as I hoped).
3. Buses are super cheap, but still add up.
4. How to hold your backpack on the bus to avoid getting robbed while not looking suspicious.
5. That apparently, some coffee shops here are closed on Thursdays.
6. Natilla is sour cream and makes gallo pinto taste a lot better.
7. That cockroaches aren’t as bothersome as you might think. Only when they won’t stop flying around.
8. How to effectively kill cockroaches. Also how to catch flies with one hand (okay, so I only did that once, but I was still proud).
9. When you see the Imperial ads saying that it’s the “beer of Costa Rica” that it’s pretty much true. Bars don’t have signs with their name as much as a sign with the logo, and it’s difficult to find any other beer (except overpriced Heineken).
10. It is not a good idea to go wading in a river full of crocodiles.
11. How to be firm enough to make a taxi driver let you out because they lied to you about being able to take you straight home and needed to stop at a bank and a gasolinera.
12. That you need to get to the movie theater very early to get tickets for the specific seats you want.
13. Also, that sometimes here the projectionist forgets to put in the next reel of film and the screen goes blank so you have to whistle and remind them.
14. How to navigate a crowd while everyone is holding huge umbrellas without poking anybody’s eye out.
15. That as much as I seek out the best coffee, the ritual of sharing a cup of coffee is sometimes much more important than how good it is.
16. When posing for photos, you say “Whiskey” instead of “Cheese!”
17. How to not be embarrassed when I say something ridiculously stupid in Spanish and everybody laughs. It’s way more fun to laugh with them.
18. Even if it seems like your four-year-old second cousin seems like she’s always mad at you, she’ll ask for you when you go away for two weeks.
19. That waking up 5:00 to catch a bus at 5:50 AM in the mountains is worth it for the sunrise.
20. That malaria pills really do give me horrible nightmares.
21. That there’s hardly any malaria in Costa Rica and I didn’t have to take the pills in the first place.
22. Where to find excellent gelato.
23. How to use the past-imperfect-subjunctive tense.
24. That you have to get knocked off a surfboard for an hour before you finally catch a wave.
25. That catching one wave doesn’t mean you can catch others.
26. How chocolate is made.
27. That it’s okay to get lost without Google Maps and have to ask around for directions.
28. That there are no real street addresses.
29. Most people don’t realize how large of a country the U.S. is.
30. If someone from the Los Santos region has lived in the U.S. for a year or two, it was in New Jersey.
31. Journaling is vital.
32. Even if it’s just one sentence at the end of the day.
33. It’s extremely difficult to walk through coffee farms because there might be a 300 feet change in elevation over 300 feet in distance. (That’s really really steep).
34. Sometimes, hopping in the bed of a truck is very preferable to walking up the mountain to your home-stay.
35. Skinny dipping in the ocean under a full moon is worth it.
36. Skinny dipping at a waterfall with not much moon and slippery rocks is not worth it. (Which is why I didn’t).
37. Music is vital.
38. You still get emails from campus that don’t apply to you.
39. That deleting such emails is vital.
40. Thousands of Spanish words and phrases.
41. Differences in Costa Rican Spanish from what I learned out of my textbook… De nada = Con gusto; ¿Cómo está? = ¿Todo bien?; Tú = Vos.
42. That “q” in a text means “que”.
43. Always — always bring an umbrella.
44. Sometimes you might accidentally say “oui” instead of “sí” and “merci, monsieur” instead of “gracias, señor”.
45. The people who process some of the best coffees I’ve had in the U.S. lead simple lives. And their moms make good cookies.
46. That there are advantages to cold showers (they don’t fog up the mirror, and you can feel proud and stoic for standing under 40º water) but hot showers remain luxurious.
47. Discotecas don’t play disco. They play merengue or reggaetón and everyone is intimidatingly excellent at dancing.
48. Alone time, too, is vital.
49. You get out of a homestay what you put into it.
50. If you need to, you can stuff enough things into a backpack for a long weekend trip.
51. You don’t always need to know what you’re eating for it to be good.
52. Sometimes, professors will give you comments on your papers that are more destructive than constructive.
53. The magic of technology will allow you to Skype home to friends and family, but can keep you from fully immersing yourself in the culture.
54. Shaking a woman’s hand when being introduced to her (rather than giving her a hug and a kiss) will get you a weird and not-so-nice look — and that it’s easy to make that mistake.
55. A ₡500 coin can always come in handy.
56. Little kids will grab all the candy from a broken piñata if you’re not quick enough.

I hope you enjoyed my hodge-podge list! Thanks for reading and tune in soon.