Culture Shock!

Hola!  Sorry we haven’t been writing as much but we’ve been super busy and wifi can be hard to come by in Costa Rica!

This post will be about some of the culture shock we’ve experienced being in Costa Rica. Disclaimer, this does not mean that we haven’t enjoyed the experience or that we’re dissing the country.  It just means that traveling requires adjustment and flexibility.   

A simple google search defines culture shock as: the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.  I think disorientation is a good word, especially after traveling on the winding Costa Rican roads.  It takes a little while to get used to but soon you’re not so dizzy anymore and you can enjoy the ride.

Los Perros

One common theme of our trip is that we seem to always come across dogs.   At home we think of dogs as man’s best friend; a part of our families.  When we saw some of the conditions of the dogs here it was a tough adjustment.  Any street you walk down you can find a dog roaming around, usually ownerless.  Even the dogs that have owners are not in good shape.  Most of the dogs here have eurlichia, a deadly tick-born parasite that the dogs get usually from running around in the thick brush.  It was weird to see dogs just running around, not on a leash or fenced in because in America that’s something you can be fined for.  Also it’s very dangerous for the dogs since they can get hit by a car, attacked by other animals, be stolen, or get lost.  Since all four of us are fierce animal lovers, we were taken aback by how dogs are seen more as property rather than companions.  Most of the people use their dogs to protect their property since the houses are very open since it’s impossibly hot.  It also seems like smaller dogs are seen as more of a status symbol rather than a part of the family.  

There were two dogs in particular that we bonded with while we were in Costa Rica: Kandy and Diogo.  They belonged to our neighbors next door, however they were never there because the wife is about to have a baby.  Immediately they were both desperate for our attention.  We took both of them to the vet to get baths and a checkup.  They were covered in fleas and ticks, as preventative measures we have in the States like Frontline are expensive and seen as unnecessary since the dogs are always outside.  Diogo was especially covered in ticks as we pulled many 15 off his poor little body.  It was really hard to see these dogs living this way. Over the week, Kandy turned from submissive and scared to affectionate and excited.  You could see the change in her demeanor.  Diogo who is such a character, didn’t seem as grateful but he has also been living out in the streets longer.  I think of him as the Don Coreleone of the neighborhood and by shaving him and keeping him locked up in our yard we took away his street cred.  I think deep down he’s happy to be clean.  Both of them have ehrlichia but hopefully with medicine they can live for many more years. 

Machismo

 I think probably the thing I disliked the most about this trip was all the street harassment.  DEF. OF MACHISMO. I understand that 4 gringas walking around Tico neighborhoods can be quite a shock or cause a stir, but that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve the right to feel safe.  Street harassment is bad in the U.S. and is pretty bad in Philadelphia but in Costa Rica it seemed like we couldn’t go anywhere without someone making a comment.  In one aspect, I’m kind of happy that my Spanish isn’t that great because I probably don’t want to know what they were saying all the time.  However sometimes we were screamed at in English like, “HEY HONEY”, or “BEAUTIFUL!”, or “HEY PRETTY LADY!”  When we passed groups of men, I was honestly scared that they were going to try to stop us or do something.  It was also scary because cars would beep and truck drivers would pass and scream things at us.  Cars would sometimes stop near us and we didn’t know if they were taxis or if they were guys who were planning on saying something.  Street harassment is something I will never get used to, nor should I have to get used to it.  It’s not a compliment to scream at a woman and purposefully try to make her feel powerless while walking down the street.  Compliments shouldn’t scare you.  Compliments aren’t a power struggle.    

Interestingly, when we were with Rachel’s good friend Leinner, who’s just a kid, we didn’t seem to get harassed as much.  It was like he deserved more respect as a man than we did walking around as females.

The scariest interaction any of us had on the street happened in San Jose while going to meet up with some of Rachel’s friends.  San Jose is a pretty crowded city with very few gringos walking around so it was in general a little overwhelming.  We were walking single file and all of a sudden I hear a guy make like a cat sound.  It turns out that he had come up from behind and grabbed Victoria around the waist while making that ridiculous sound.  When we got a look at him he clearly had some mental health problems but still, it’s a society where grabbing a woman on the street isn’t that unusual and men can get away with it.  Ugh.  I hate street harassment so much.   

Going along with machismo, the gender roles seem rather traditional.  Even if both spouses work, the woman is expected to get the food on the table exactly when her husband desires.  Of course that attitude is still prevalent in the United States but I personally haven’t been exposed to that in a while so it was kind of strange as a feminist to just say it is what it is. 

I could probably write a whole novel about how I feel about the machismo attitude but I’d rather not harp on negativity.  The patriarchy is strong in Costa Rica but it’s strong in the U.S. too. 

Tico Time

Another thing I had a hard time adjusting to is what is lovingly referred to as “Tico Time”.  It’s just a more relaxed culture where you kind of get there when you get there.  It was a lot of “hurry up and wait” as we were constantly waiting for taxis or buses or for other people to meet up with us.  Personally, I absolutely hate being late so this was hard for me.  I don’t like rushing; I like to get places even like a half an hour early.        

MISC.

There were some other small things that caused a little bit of culture shock but nothing that took that big of an adjustment to get used to.  One thing is that you have to throw your toilet paper in the trash instead of flushing it.  We might think that’s gross but it’s just that the pipes can’t really handle it.  Another adjustment that was a little hard for me was the food.  It’s a lot of rice and beans, pretty much for every meal.  Most of us were used to just grabbing a granola bar for breakfast and maybe eating a snack for lunch.  Our lovely host, Isa, made us so much delicious food it was impossible to finish it all.  Sometimes it was a little heavy in the heat but it was all very good.  There were nights that we got pizza which was a good break from fried plantains and arroz. 

That’s pretty much the main things that were different!  Overall, Costa Rica is pretty similar to the U.S. 

Pura Vida,

Kim