Costa Rican words - Part 1 of 2

So some of these aren't necessarily specific to Costa Rica, but are used frequently.

Anyway, I wanted to do a post on words that you will probably hear if/when you visit Costa Rica.

These are the words that I have heard a good bit:
pura vida - literally translated to mean "pure life," this popular phrase symbolizes a way of living, a lifestyle of simplicity and happiness

mae - used to mean "dude" between friends, or just to refer to a person

tico/tica - Costa Rican man/woman

tuanis - said to mean "too nice," this phrase means cool

que dicha - means "thank goodness" or something like "good for you"

mucho gusto - "with much pleasure," this usually takes the place of the common "de nada" or "you're welcome"

chante - home, place

chunche - thing

pulperia - small corner store; seem to be everywhere

soda - small family-run restaurant with typical food that is delicious and inexpensive


Others that are included in words you may hear a lot:
-100 (cien) metros - "one block"
-aguevado - bored or boring (synonym of bostezo)
-apuntarse - to sign up (for something, like a tour)
-bostezo - bored or boring (a synonym of aguevado)
-brete - work or job
-como amanecio? (coh-moh ah-mahn-es-ee-oh): how are you this morning?
-dolor de jupa - a headache
-estar de chicha - to be angry
-estar de goma - to have a hangover
-fijate/fijese - Another phrase with no exact translation, this is best thought of as an interjection, approximately meaning "would you believe it?"
-guila - Despite its meaning in Mexico, a guila in Costa Rica is merely a "girl."
-la jama - food
-jamar - to eat
-la choza - home
-que mala nota! - what a bad person!
-macha - a blond female, usually a foreigner
-no entender ni papa - to not understand a word
-no joda!/no jodás! - don't bother me! / leave me alone!
-ojo! - watch out!
-que m'iche? - what's up? / what do you have to tell me?
-salado - unlucky
-soque! - hurry up!
-una teja - Una teja is 100 of anything, usually money (100 colones). If someone is giving you directions, however, una teja refers to "100 meters," or one block.
-tome chichi! - Though this phrase has no direct translation, it's essentially a teasing form of "take that!"
-va jalando! - get out of here! / go away!
-la vara - the thing
-vieras que/viera que - Another Costa Rican idiom with no direct translation, "vieras que/viera que" means "sure", in the sense of "I sure was surprised by his apology!" ("Vieras que sorprendida me dejo su disculpa!")



Sources:
http://www.costarica.com/about-costa-rica/useful-information/costa-rican-slang-and-idioms/

¡Pura vida!

If you have ever looked up anything about Costa Rica or if you have visited Costa Rica before, then you understand the significance of these two little words.

Directly translated, 'pura vida' means 'pure life.' The quote from a blogger below explains it so well, in my opinion:

• “Pura Vida was first explained to me like this”, ‘Only here for a short time, so spread some cheer; and then your gone’.
• Contextually, it means “Full of Life,” “Purified life”, “This is living!”, “Going great!” It is used as a greeting, a farewell, and to express satisfaction.
• Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time and wanton friendliness. However, Costa Ricans use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, good spirits, enjoying life slowly, celebrating good fortune, whether small or large.
• It embodies a philosophy in which communal ties are strong and close; difficulties are overcome with a resilient and happy spirit, where life is enjoyed leisurely and to the full, and where fortune of whatever size is heartily celebrated.

I think that these points really sum it up. I have only been here for a month, but I can't tell you HOW MANY TIMES I have heard this phrase! When ticos say it, their face and voice light up. And the same thing happens when a foreigner says it - I LOVE saying 'pura vida' because I think that it's a way to summarize everything that I person want to say about enjoying life and seizing the moment.

So maybe you don't understand the meaning of this, or why two little words are so important to the people who live here and visit here. Maybe this newspaper headline from an article can explain it better: "Costa Rica Tops List of 'Happiest' Nations." You can read the article here. Basically, a research group released a report on the world's happiest nations which examined how content people are in their countries, the ecological footprints of these countries, and the life expectancy in these countries. (Be sure to check out the article itself to see a stunning slideshow of photos from the top ten!) Listed below are the ten happiest nations in the world:

1. Costa Rica
2. Dominican Republic
3. Jamaica
4. Guatemala
5. Vietnam
6. Colombia
7. Cuba
8. El Salvador
9. Brazil
10. Honduras

The Latin American countries seem to dominate this list! (By the way, I made a short-term and long-term goals list last week, and I wrote down that I wanted to visit every country in Latin America by the time I was 30. A lofty goal, yes, but if not by the time I'm 30, then DEFINITELY by the time I'm 40!!) You may be interested to know that the US ranked 114th on this list. Hmm....

Reading this articles has really caused me to question what constitutes happiness and 'pura vida,' and I'm sure that this is something I will continue to think about as I stay here longer and see more and more of the culture. So far, what I can gather is that:

• People here are stress and worry-free. The story from my economics class the other day is a prime example (read the post here). Ticos don't need all the answers all the time. They don't have to have every detail figured out for everything. And from trying to live this way, in a way that is less stressful and worrisome, I have found that it really does allow for a more peaceful life!
• Ticos get in no hurry when they eat. A meal is not a time to eat, but to sit down with family or friends and to relax, enjoy each other's company, talk, and get to know each other. They eat slower, which means they probably eat less, and it gives food more time to digest, which is better for your health anyway!
• Ticos just in general are social people and like to have a good time. I strongly believe that relationships are at the heart of a person's happiness. So seeing how they interact with each other, how close groups of friends are, and how close families are show how much these people care for each other and want to enjoy each moment that they have iwth the people who are around them.
• Additionally, 96% of the population here is literate, meaning that 96% of people who live in Costa Rica who are over the age of 15 can read and write.
• Every site I looked at had a different life expectancy for people here, but average seems to be in the late 70s, close to that of the US.

I will be blogging more about pura vida throughout my time here, so check back to see what new things I have discovered!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Costa_Rica

http://idreamnowtravelblog.com/2008/01/25/the-definition-and-meaning-of-pura-vida-the-beautiful-national-expression-of-costa-rica/

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_costarica.html

http://news.aol.com/article/costa-rica-happiest-nation/556510

NYFashionWeek

NYTimes - NY Fashion Week Coverage

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/style/fashionweek/runway.html?WT.mc_id=ST-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M114-ROS-0909-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click

Favorite collections (so far!):
Diane von Furstenberg
Betsey Johnson
Tory Burch

What are your favorites?

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MNG - New favorite store! In the malls here in CR...

http://www.mango.com/oi/index.html

a different life

It goes without saying that living here is quite a bit different than living back home in South Carolina.

I want to highlight some of the differences below. Keep in mind that these are my observations, and they may be subject to personal bias. These characteristics may not be typical of all areas of Costa Rica.

• Humidity - This is probably been one of the hardest things for me to adjust to. South Carolina is pretty humid yearround, especially in Charleston! But let me tell you, you have NEVER experienced real humidity until you have been to Costa Rica. On really sunny days, it's not quite so bad. But most days here right now, since we are in the rainy season, there is a constant cloud cover, making you feel almost like you are smothering sometimes. It also makes you sweat worse, and it's difficult for things to dry. For example, last week during a break in class I had some water to drink, and since I am clumsy and unable to eat or drink anything without having some sort of remnants of it on me somewhere, I spilled some water on my shirt. Over an hour later, my shirt STILL was not dry. Crazy, huh? Also, the humidity makes it difficult for my hair to be anything but crazy. I prefer to let it air dry, and unfortunately it could take the whole day to do that here. It also makes my hair really frizzy on occasions when I dry it and TRY to straighten it.
• Bugs - They are everywhere. Lots of small little tiny ones that you can't see, but that have big teeth for sure. You can't feel them biting you until a few minutes later when your arm starts itching, and sure enough you look only to discover that you were some tiny little creature's breakfast. There's just no way out of this situation. You just have to grin and bear it. Their ventilation here is dependent on open windows, which stay open 24/7. This also doesn't help the bug issue. Speaking of A/C....
• Air conditioning - Not common here at all. Some hotels on beaches have it, but really it's not necessary here. The climate doesn't change too too much year round. There are never periods of extreme cold, and keeping the windows open makes the heat bearable. Varying the amount and thickness of the clothing you wear also helps you adjust to this. I am hot-natured anyway, so sometimes it would be nice to have A/C, especially in the mornings when the sun is coming up and is warming everything up!
• Toilet paper - Though the water here is potable, thank goodness, systems here still cannot handle toilet paper. All TP has to be thrown in the trash can instead. It's really not bad once you get used to it, even though I've been flushing toilet paper all of my life.
• Coffee - The Costa Rican depends heavily on this precious gem, and so do I. The coffee here is IMPECCABLE, better, in my opinion, than coffee in the US. It doesn't burn doing down your throat, and it sits well in your stomach. Sometimes coffee back home is too strong or is just weird, and it makes me jittery or makes me feel sick. But the coffee here does NOT. I'm sure there are some brands that would do this to you here, but none that I have had so far. Drinking coffee is like drinking water, and sometimes here I think I drink more coffee than I do water.
• Noise - It's noisy here, moreso than back home. It's noisy at 6:30 am, and if the sun or my alarm clock has not woken me up by 6:30, then the noise surely will. I'm not sure why the noise is so. People do beep their horns a lot more here, not as a rude gesture but more like a greeting to other drivers while you are driving. There is construction going on around town. There's also a daycare across the street to my house, which GREATLY contributes to the noise factor. There are a LOT of dogs here, and their barking always contributes to the noise.
• Dogs - Speaking of dogs, they are EVERYWHERE. And most of them are stray. Dogs walk in and out of places since doors to everywhere usually are open here. Dogs have walked in and out of my classes here before, and the teachers who are from here just ignore it because they are used to it. It's perfectly normal here. This may sound strange to you. Yet NONE of the dogs I have encountered so far are violent. None. Does our restraining them so much in the US perhaps make them behave more ferociously? Hm....
• Health care - I haven't learned too much about this yet here, and I am looking forward to the chance to do that with my internship. They do have a universal system of care though, and doctor visits for anything are SO CHEAP here. My host mother had to get some cancerous spots removed on her hands, arm, and leg, and for the consultation AND the biopsies, they paid a flat $60. Yes, $60. No interest, no payments. My host parents have told me that ANYONE here can get any procedure they need! Isn't that great? One of my aunts here had breast cancer and had to have her breasts removed. She is currently in the process of reconstructive surgeries and it's crazy how inexpensive yet how GOOD the surgeries are.
• Clothes - I'm going to do a whole separate post on this, because it's very interesting to note the differences in styles here and in the US. I will say, though, that I miss having all of my clothes. I'm learning how much I really do need and how much I can live without, and it's been humbling and and good for me so far.

Mashed potatoes

What a GREAT day it's been, but what a LONG day it has been!

I woke up before 7 and got ready. Breakfast consisted of gallo pinto (making more frequent appearances now) and some eggs, and a mango and coffee. Delicious (and nutritious!) and filling! I headed off to school to Latin American Literature - my first class of the day. I like the professor a lot! She is easy to follow and explains things thoroughly, and does a variety of things during class so that she isn't just talking the whole time. It went by pretty quickly. I went to get a hot chocolate down the street during our break and it was FANTASTIC! I may start getting this instead of cafe all the time! Class ended promptly at 11. I went home after running to the copy store to get some copies of some readings for my culture class next week (I need some reading material for the beach!). My host mother made fish and MASHED POTATOES. I looked at the dish they were in at first, and asked what they were, and she said something de papas, which means potato something. I soon realized they were MASHED POTATOES!! And they were SOOOOOO good! With a bit of salad and a glass of lemonade, my lunch was complete and I was stuffed to the gills (pun intended). I trotted back to school for 1 pm class - Advanced Spanish. The time passed quickly too and I thoroughly enjoy this class, only second to DANCE CLASS. Today she gave each of us a sheet with cartoons, and we had to make up stories about them using past tense. It was fun and a good way to learn and practice Spanish! We had a long break and went and got some snacks. I got some cookies. YUM! We headed back, talked to some other gringos on their break too, and then went back to class. We finished a few minutes early, so I walked down the street to look for a notebook to use for my internship diary. I found one, and I also found REESE CUPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't think that they had them here, but I was WRONG! I will now be a frequent customer to this store just down the road from the U! WAHOOO!!!!! This made my day. If you know me well, you know that Reeses are my favorite candy, always have been and probably always will be! Alan, Danielle and I walked up the stairs near the library at school then because we heard music, and sure enough there was a live band playing latin jazz. It was nice to sit and listen for a bit, and the band was great too! Some people were dancing salsa to the music, and it made me want to dance so bad! Luckily I had dance class at 5, so I headed off to that a few minutes early. Today we reviewed everything about salsa, learned a couple more turns, and we also learned meringue!!! It was SO fun! We had such a great time in class, and I really like the dances here a LOT! I especially love dancing with the instructor, because he is very talented and just pulls you around everywhere. It's easier to be the girl, in my opinion, because as long as you know the basic steps and have the rhythm you can follow along with the guy and just do whatever he pulls you to do! It's SO much fun!!!!! I walked home with some other estudiantes, and came in and consumed more mashed potatoes and lemonade, and then headed to my cuarto to Skype with mom and dad for a bit, catch up with some friends, and start packing! This weekend most of the group of students will be heading to Santa Teresa in the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. We are leaving on a bus to Puntarenas at 6:30 am, catching a ferry there across the peninsula, then catching another bus to Santa Teresa. We have reservations already too. We are excited! I, and I think some of the other students also, have a lot of reading and work to do while we are there, so hopefully the bus rides and down time on the beach will give me a chance to do that! I am about to head to bed, to hopefully be asleep by 10pm Costa Rica time so that I can wake up early to get ready and meet everyone to go! I won't be able to post again until Sunday when I get home! Please pray for our safety.

Oh, and also.....GO TIGERS!!!!!!!! Beat Middle Tennessee this weekend!!!! Wish I could be there!!!!!!!!!

Also - tune in if you can to the soccer game Saturday night, because Costa Rica plays Mexico on at 8 pm CR time (10 pm SC time) for a spot at the World Cup!!!!!! We will be watching while we are at the beach.

PURA VIDA!

algunas comparaciones

• The US has pretty strict copyright rules and regulations. Normally, professors will not make photocopies of books, unless classes have just begun and people don't have their books for the first day or two. If you just bought books for this semester and had to pay out the wazoo for books, then brace yourself.
  Here in Costa Rica, the copyright rules are a lot less stringent, and professors can drop a book (or whatever they want copied) off at a photocopy place (they are EVERYWHERE down here!), and they will photocopy the entire textbook and let you buy it that way instead. As long as the professor isn't making any profit off of it, this is fine. So I went today to the photocopy place to pick up my books and additional reading for my classes and guess how much I paid for my textbook for one class....4600 colones, or $8-9 USD. Yes, $8-9 US DOLLARS. Isn't that crazy?!
• I'm not sure if this is the case in the rest of the town, country, etc., but good lighting is hard to come by here. In the classrooms at the University, the lights are not turned on at all during the day. They aren't at home either. They use only the natural light, which is good, unless it's cloudy, which it is most of the time. The light in my room is very dim, but luckily I have a desk lamp that is able to give good bright light for reading things. Hope this doesn't mess with my eyes!
• For many phrases or words in Spanish, there are no direct translations. Sometimes that is hard for me to deal with. I am bad about trying to translate things to English so that I can think about them, instead of reading and understanding them in Spanish. Last summer in Ecuador, I stopped doing that after a while and got used to just thinking in Spanish, which is kind of mind-boggling, but cool at the same time. Hopefully once I have been here a little longer I will be able to just read things and make myself not think in English, but just think in Spanish!

"Leche con cafe"

For breakfast this morning I had scrambled eggs, toast, OJ, and coffee. I took too long to get ready and didn't scoot out the door until 7:50 or so, and it takes about 10 minutes for me to get to school, walking. I got to school and headed to my 8 am class, the one I have been dreading the most, International Political Economy. Politics and Economics are two of my least favorite subjects to discuss, basically because I don't know much about either of them. It's not that I don't care, but topics in those areas are just a bit more difficult for me to understand than something in the health care field, for example. Anyway, I used the walk to school to prepare myself and took some time to pray about it, and I decided to keep an open mind and view this class not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity for me to learn more about things that I really should know about and be able to talk about. The professor's name is Carlos, and he is a pretty cool guy. I forgot to mention, the class is in Spanish. Can you understand my fear now? Not only would I be discussing and learning about things I really didn't know much about, but I would also be doing so in Spanish. I can barely talk about these things in English! Anyway, Carlos speaks slower so that we all understand, and he explains things in a way that we are able to understand. He is very animated when he speaks and is very passionate about it! I think it will be very interesting to see things from his point of view. He explained to us that he would teach and offer his opinions from the perspective of a professor of economics.

About halfway through the class, we took a 20 minute break and walked down the street to get some coffee. We had a brief discussion about the cafe here, and another student, who I will call T, made a very accurate observation. I noticed the first morning I was here, when my mother asked if I wanted coffee and I said YES, that when she made the coffee for me, the glass was about 3/4 full with MILK, and the other 1/4 was coffee, instead of the other way around like I normally have it. Today, in the cafe, when the lady prepared each of our cups, she did the same thing, and T made the statement that here in Costa Rica, we don't have cafe con leche, but we have "leche con cafe!"

We returned to class and ended around 10:40, earlier than planned! He gave us a copy of a text that we need to read for next week...20 pages of "Las Economias Latinoamericanas, 1950-1990." BUT, since the class is taught in Spanish, the readings are in Spanish too. Que lastima! I began reading some of it earlier, and it took me multiple times to get through the first paragraph, since there are a few words I have to look up and since the sentence structure in Spanish is quite different sometimes. I'm going to TRY to do 4-5 pages a day, but it could get ugly really quickly.

I spent some more time doing homework for my other classes, mostly some reading. I took a great nap today too. It has been cloudy and rainy here today, so it was a nice day to have to be lazy. For lunch I had "pescado" or fish, fried, with lime juice squeezed on top. I normally don't like fish, but it was DELICIOUS with the lime juice! Maybe this is something normal that we actually do back home but I just didn't know about it! It was served with rice, of course, and some sort of wonderful vegetable stir fry. I thought I may lose weight when I got down here, but I think I was unfortunately terribly mistaken. I am going to have to get a good exercise routine down so that I can keep the weight gain down with all this INCREDIBLY delicious food here!

I have spent most of the day studying for my classes next week. We have a field trip this weekend to the jungle, and then there are fiestas Sunday and Monday for the big festival going on right now, so I want to get my work done! I am going to try to read some more for my IPE class.

Tomorrow, I have class at 8 am, Survey of Latin American Literature, and then at 1:30, Gerardo and I are going to the hospital to talk with someone there about my internship. I am just trying to check out all of the possibilities so I can decide what works best for me! Then tomorrow evening, I have the Latin American dance class for 2 hours, which I am VERY excited about! Then I won't look like a silly gringa when I am out and about in town.

Buenas noches!