Adapting – It’s Different Here

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore Toto...”

– Dorothy, Wizard of OZ

Living the dream means adapting, so sit down and have a cup of coffee with the locals. Don’t expect everything to work here. The communications monopoly does not have the money or inclination to maintain the same level of service you are accustomed to back home. Corruption is more visible here, and dealing with crime and safety requires using prevention, situational awareness and common sense.
After being here a while, the Western (Gringo) mind-set begins to melt away, and you become curious about the history of a country that has affected you so deeply.
Get used to living with the big three–liquor, little lies and the availability of the opposite sex, but if you know about the nine things salesmen won’t tell you, than all is Pura Vida. Police are humane here, and from residency to residential care, you’ll find a way to enjoy Costa Rica living. Getting the best Costa Rica has to offer requires learning Spanish, and doing so you come to know the Ticos.
Life is different in Central America. An important challenge is accepting a culture with dissimilar values and behaviors. The government and the unwritten social rules are different from back home. You may have thought your way of doing things was right, and therefore superior. An extended stay shows you there are other ways of doing things that are not wrong or inferior–just simply different.
Believing one’s way is superior is inefficient when adapting to a new land. It binds you to the culture you left behind and restricts your ability to adjust. Finding other ways to communicate and enjoy basic human needs is liberating, and breaks the binds of the superiority trap.