We’ve been here a month now so I figured it was a good time to reflect on what’s different here than at home because I feel like after a while, I’ll begin to forget.
The point of doing this whole year in Costa Rica was to mix it up and live life differently. Sure, much of our lives are similar to what they were in Boise – kids in school and after school activities while Shane and I work (albeit a lot less), birthday parties, socializing with friends – but even the subtle differences and new “challenges” day to day are what make this an adventure.
Sweating to the oldies
I’ll start with sweating. I’m not a sweater. Or at least I thought I wasn’t. But it’s humid here and I’m definitely not used to that. The first week was kind of rough – just getting used to the different type of heat having come from high desert. But, I’d say the whole family has gotten used to it now. For one, we don’t fight it anymore. In fact, I haven’t worn deodorant or antiperspirant since we got here. Aside from post workout activity, I don’t smell. To that you say, “sure you don’t Tanya. You just can’t smell yourself-but you stink!” But I asked Shane. And trust me, he would tell me!
The rest of the family has gotten used to it also. It’s not uncommon to see beads of sweat on my daughters upper lip when we’re just walking around a market. And both Charlie and Shane take an extra shirt for most activities – because they are sweaters! But again, no one really smells from it. And we all drink a lot more water so I figure that’s a bonus.
As for oldies, this place LOVES 80s music – I’ve not heard so much 80s music since, well, the 80s. Power ballads and hair bands seem to be the favorite but it’s all at the ready whether you’re at a bar, in a grocery store, a taxi, or flipping through the channels – there’s always some 80s VH-1 for your listening pleasure.
Hi honey, can you stop at Hawkins Pac-Out on the way home?
I’ve said good bye to convenience. It’s saved me a lot of money and probably isn’t too bad for my health either. I don’t stop for coffee or even have coffee meetings anymore. Well, except for my standing meeting with by bestie where we Skype – but even then I brew my own and just fawn over her Starbucks. I don’t hit a drive through when I don’t feel like cooking. I’ve gone from having a diet soda every day to forgetting soda is even a beverage option. It’s just not readily available. Sure, you can buy it at the store, but it’s just not in your face with giant 18 packs where I can conveniently grab a cold one from the fridge.
What is convenient you ask? FRUIT! And as a result, we eat a lot of it!
Amazon Prime? What’s that?
But as far as saving money goes, this one has saved me the most: I can’t purchase anything online! It’s kind of awesome. We just figure out how to do without or we search relentlessly for a store – an adventure in itself! – that has whatever we truly need. For example, we needed batteries for the car remote because the key won’t unlock it. We must have stopped at 10 different places looking for them only to find them behind the counter at a specialty electronics store – and this was after much inquiry. And because I don’t have the convenience, I also don’t have the clutter! Less stuff is extremely liberating.
Social media isn’t just for socializing anymore
The community here is pretty cool. We use Facebook a lot to figure things out. Whether it’s where to find a car, a mechanic, a special dress needed for Costa Rica Independence Day or just general information, there’s a Facebook group for it. I’ve even had people I’ve never met offer to pick things up for me from the city. And Shane hired a woman in San
Jose to take a car we wanted to buy to a mechanic so he could shave a day off his adventurous car-shopping trip. I think you can find help for anything on Facebook in Costa Rica.
As a result, I spend far more time on Facebook now that back home – which I’d pretty much gotten down to about 2 minutes a month. But it’s for what I believe to be more worthwhile reasons than just filling the boredom gap or some people’s need to post a selfie – like this guy.
But to give you an idea how useful it is, take these scenarios:
- Fish market – A CRIA mom posted on the Friends of CRIA Facebook group that her husband had caught MahiMahi and Tuna and she’d bring it to school the next day for anyone who wanted to buy. So yes, we bought Mahi Mahi from a trunk in a parking lot – and it made great fish tacos! And if you’re not a friend of CRIA, you’d likely see it on Families of CRIA or the school’s active Facebook page. Kids don’t go to CRIA? That’s quite alright – you can find all kinds of kid-friendly information on Families with Children in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
- Puppy Travels – I’m part of a FB group called Expat Dog Lovers in Costa Rica “Paw a Vida”. It’s a wealth ofinformation if you have a dog here or want to bring one some day. Even though the same questions are asked over and over, no one gets feisty and says “read the other posts first”. People seem to genuinely like helping people here.
- Car Shopping – Buying a car is one of the most time consuming and definitely the most exciting purchase we’ve made in a long time. Yep, you guessed it. Facebook is the place to look. Not even a Facebook Market per se but groups like Costa Rica gringo classifieds which is literally just a group of people selling stuff.
- Workouts! People are fit here; it is part of the lifestyle. One mom is my Boot Camp instructor (this one found me on Facebook). It’s on the road to school and begins conveniently 5 minutes after school starts. It’s been a great way to meet a lot of parents. And, did I mention, I’ve never sweat so much?
The list goes on – if you want information, you can get it on Facebook. It’s practically replaced Google for some things becauseyou get personalized advice from someone who’s been there, done that and is interfacing directly with you about your situation.
Enough about Facebook, other fun differences we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing include:
- Cars with hoods up. We jumped the same car
twice in one day. And I feel if (when) we are in the same situation, it’d be under 5 minutes before someone stopped to help us. - Picking up hitch hikers – it’s a common way for locals to get to work so we figured we might as well contribute. Even Charlie and his buddies have used this means of transportation to get around. It’s quite brilliant actually.
- Driving windy roads and dodging cows, horses, Igu
El Rioja Grande – the Honkey Tanqe anas, pizotes, monkeys, people, tractors, gutters the size of the New York canal and pot holes the size of a bathtub – really nothing surprises us anymore.
- Pulling over in rain storms – it comes down that fast and that hard sometimes.
- Driving steep roads with giant ruts and rivers that would be closed indefinitely in the US. One of our favorites is the Monkey Trail which is a “short cut” to Liberia from Brasilito.
I could go on but I’ll save some of the fun for future posts. Until then, pura vida!