Wednesday, August 22, 2012

"We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto!"

San Francisco de Dos Rios, the district where we live (kind of a suburb of San Jose) is definitely not the States. The views from the local parks here in Costa Rica alone are nothing like those from the local parks back home. Here is a list of some of the things that are different (not worse, just different).


1. Obviously, English is not the designated language.

2. You must dispose of used toilet paper in a trash can. Never flush it. Well, unless you don't mind clogged pipes.

3. You can actually drink the water here. This is not different than home (although the water actually tastes better here. Go figure), but it is different than in Mexico. We wouldn't dream of drinking the water there. At least not until we'd been living there for years and years and years.

4. You can develop a full-on sunburn in about 30 minutes. Ouch.

5. Running errands means you went to one (or at most, two) stores. Especially when you are without a car.

6. Everyone lives behind locked gates and bars. The flip side of that is that I have never in my life felt more safe.

7. No grass to mow!

8. You do not fill your sink and use a squirt of dish soap to wash dishes. You dab a wet sponge with this green goo (that's rather gritty in texture) and wipe your dishes clean with that before rinsing and stacking to dry.

9. Some things are more expensive. Like the $20 box fan that costs twice that here for the same fan.

10. The Walmart is more like a mini-mall with it's own food court (filled with American fast food restaurants!).

11. Fresh. Fruit. 'Nuff said.

12. "Gringo catchers". Imagine a manhole without the cover. Why you have to pay attention to where you are walking!

13. There is a rainy "season".

14. The scenery!

15. Costa Rican colones are really quite pretty, and are very colorful. (Not like the plain, somewhat ugly American dollars.)

16. "Raid" bug spray smells like "Mellow Yellow" soda. With a nicer smell than some air fresheners I've used in the States, I'm thinking of using it to freshen the air in our house. It can also serve to keep bugs away at the same time.

17. And speaking of soda, "soda" is a place to eat here, not a beverage.

18. Dora the Explorer speaks Spanish, but teaches kids English words. And her squirrel friend, Tico, speaks English. (So glad for those few words I've learned from Dora over the years.)

19. Watching cartoons in Spanish isn't as weird as watching other live-action shows that have been dubbed over. Especially when you know what the actors are actually supposed to sound like.

20. The sun comes up at 6 AM and sets at 6 PM. Year round. Makes sleeping in a challenge, but will help us all wake up on time for school.

21. In some stores, when you drive through the gate you get a ticket. Once you exit the store's gate, you return it.

22. Also in some stores, someone is posted at the door to inspect your purchases and make sure you're walking out with what you paid for. Or, if you walk into the store with other bags, you "check" them during your stay in the store. Cuts way down on the shoplifting this way.

23. Tico children never climb trees. Never. And they think we gringos are strange for allowing our children to do so.

24. There are no street addresses. You just have to be able to describe to someone how they can get to your house via distances and house colors.

25. Time is not "worshiped", as it often is in the States. Costa Rica (and Latin America in general) is very laid back.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful!