Hard to believe it, but this week Megon and I will reach the four-month of our 27-month Peace Corps service. Time is just flying by. So far, we have felt truly fortunate with how our experience has taken shape. From our training host family to our current host family to the success of our community English classes, Costa Rica has been very generous to us.
Throughout our four months, we’ve definitely had our “What the?” moments; moments when our cultures have collided. Below are some of the funniest cultural quirks we’ve observed. The purpose isn’t to bash our Tico friends, but rather share what we have grown to love as the real Costa Rica, not the Costa Rica tourists see.
1. Halloween – In October we learned Ticos don’t really celebrate Halloween. That was no surprise. This month, however, we learned how Halloween has crept into Tico TV. There’s a talk show about pop culture that plays the theme music to “Halloween” – the movie – throughout its entire broadcast. Picture it, five talk-show hosts laughing, talking, having a great time, while that creepy “Halloween” music plays over and over again in the background. Considering that movie scares the living daylights out of me, I can’t watch this talk show with our host family. At any moment, I think Michael Myers could be lurking around the corner.
2. The World’s Time – Last week, our host brothers were having a conversation about time. It was kind of a funny conversation topic to begin with, since there is no clock in our house. Our family tells time by the shows on television and by observing the sun. Our oldest host brother Carlos recently purchased a cell phone though and has been using that for his time-telling needs. The boys were debating what time it is in different parts of the world (“You know, it’s already tomorrow in some countries,” Isolina chimed in) and about whether or not phones automatically change times in different countries. “My phone’s special,” Carlos said. “It’s got the world’s time.” This prompted laughter from the other two, who were quick to remind their big brother that there are many different time zones.
3. No eggs, no milk, no problem – As you all know, we live on a dairy farm. Sounds wonderful. Fresh milk for breakfast every morning, right? Well, not really. Our host brothers don’t like to drink milk. They think it’s gross. At first, we thought they were crazy. But we get it now – If we milked cows twice a day, every day, sitting down for a glass of milk would hardly be appetizing.
Also not appetizing to our host brothers are eggs, but only the eggs laid by specific hens. We have about 100 chickens on our farm – half for eating and half that are only pets. The boys refuse to eat eggs from their pet hens, so our host mom buys eggs. So what do they do with all the eggs their hens produce? They make more chickens, of course!
4. Helmets on elbows – There is a law in Costa Rica that requires all motorcycle drivers to wear a helmet. We’ve found that most people obey the law, but have some trouble deciding which part of the body to wear the helmet on. More often than not, motorcycle drivers cruise by our house with the helmet carefully protecting one of their prized elbows.
5. Bananas, bananas, everywhere and not one to eat – We compare this phenomenon to Alaska’s high gas prices. We live in the Banana Republic, a region where banana companies are so large they built entire towns and roads for their employees. However, trying to find a bunch of bananas here is like trying to find a plantain in Alaska. None of the bananas grown in this region here are actually sold here – they’re all shipped to other countries. The only bananas you’ll find here are very ripe, very small, but very tasty.
6. Poopy – One of our closest friends in the neighborhood has a cute little mutt dog whose name is, appropriately, Puppy. In Spanish however, this word is pronounced with a long vowel, and with little knowledge of the English language to prevent this error, she and the rest of her family go around all day calling their little dog “Poopy.”
8. Answering the Phone – I still haven’t quite gotten used to the way Ticos hold phone conversations. I’m used to answering the phone and having the caller ask to speak to someone in particular, but it doesn’t work that way around here. Here’s a typical phone call between me and a Tico caller:
-Ring Ring!
-Megon: Hello?
-Tico: Hello.
-Megon: Good afternoon.
-Tico: How are you?
-Megon: I’m fine, thank you. And you?
-Tico: Fine, thank God. Who am I speaking with?
-Megon: This is Megon.
-Tico: …… Who?
-Megon: Megon. I’m a Peace Corps volunteer living with the family.
-Tico: Oh, ok.
-Megon: Who are you looking for?
-Tico: My cousin.
-Megon: Who is your cousin?
-Tico: Diego.
-Megon: Ok, one moment, please.
We’ve been told over and over again that Ticos are very indirect, and their telephone communication is exactly that.
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