One advantage of having so much time to spend in Costa Rica is that I’m able to meet and talk with a lot of different people. Being able to talk to people from other countries gives me the opportunity to understand their cultures a little bit better. It also helps me avoid making untrue or unfair generalizations about other groups. This past weekend, I made a new Tica friend who I was able to talk to about my first impressions of Costa Rica. We mainly discussed differences between our cultures and some things that stuck out to me as far as how people here interact with one another. I was curious to know the point of view of someone who has actually grown up in the country.
One thing that we talked about is how direct many people here are. By direct, I mean that there is little hesitation about asking questions concerning things such as a person’s weight, religion or political views. Whether it’s a stranger or a good friend, many Ticos will ask a person exactly what they want to know about them. Back home in the U.S., these topics aren’t usually brought up with people who are unfamiliar with each other.
