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| Trapped in Costa Rica
I first came to Costa Rica with the idea of staying for one month. During this time, so I thought, I would learn all the Spanish I needed to know before going home to get a job where my new bilingual skills would be put to use. However, after only a couple hours into my first day, I realized two things: one, there was no way I was going to become fluent in a month, and two, that learning a language in an immersion setting was not at all like my few college Spanish classes, where I had to struggle to stay awake. Instead, I was having fun. So I did what any sensible person would, I quit my job back home, extended my language program to four months, and told my mother I would not be back in time to celebrate my birthday at home. I was in love with the language, the people, the beautiful country, and also with this new version of myself that could suddenly communicate, take care of business, travel, and do whatever else I needed to do, all in Spanish! Sometime during my second month, I started noticing that although I felt like Costa Rica was becoming my second home, living here did require me to adapt to a number of differences, both good and bad. While emailing and reporting back on life here to family and friends at home, I realized just how different Costa Rica really is. For example: being able to look at the greenest mountains I had ever seen from the downtown of a congested, developing city; the outgoing friendliness of everyone you meet; the numerous stray dogs walking along city sidewalks; the men whistling at and flirting with any woman under 50; the willingness of complete strangers to help you out when you get lost; the fact that toilet paper goes in the bin, not the toilet; actually knowing the real salsa steps rather than making them up as you go along; the luxury cars bumping through over-sized potholes; the lorries belching out black smoke to the backdrop of a beautiful volcano that erupts daily in little lava-flows; the electrical contraption right under your shower head just barely giving you hot water in the morning; walking along one of the most perfect tropical beaches you have ever seen, with not a soul to interrupt your solitude; the list goes on and on. What really made my life different here, however, was the language. Little things, like getting on the bus, going to the bank, having a drink with friends: Everything was much more complicated because it was done in Spanish. I had to think about almost everything I was going to say before I said it. Making casual conversation with my new friends was now actually difficult. I would always be thinking somewhere in my mind “what if I say something wrong?! Don‘t make any mistakes! How do I use the “pluscuamperfecto” again?” Every conversation, every new word, was material I would have to remember to discuss with my teacher the following day. The four hours I was in class studying each day was the easiest part of my language learning. The hard part came when I had to venture out on my own into this new home of mine, Costa Rica. Four years later, the difficulty of the language that was first so daunting has become just another thing about living in Costa Rica that I love. Spanish is so much a part of my life now that there are certain words and phrases which I simply prefer to say in Spanish, even when given the option to say them in English. The Costa Rican Spanish is rich with expressions or sayings that just do not exist in other Spanish speaking countries, much less in my native tongue. You learn to use these expressions called “dichos” in daily conversation. The funny ways Costa Ricans have of describing so many things speaks so much about their culture and way of looking at life. Of course the first time you hear the phrase “Es más agarrado que un mono en un ventolero” – meaning holding on tighter than a monkey in a wind storm – the last thing you would imagine is that they are talking about someone “being cheap”. These “dichos” can make learning the language in the beginning even more challenging and, at times, frustrating. But once you have learned them, it becomes boring to tell people someone is “cheap”, when you have a funny, catchier way of saying the same thing. Apart from the “dichos”, such elements as the regional accents, the way of involving the whole body when talking, and the hand movements make Spanish here so exciting. Add the language to the culture and the whole beautiful country itself, and it is almost impossible to resist the attraction. Trust me, I have thought about moving home many times, but I just cannot seem to leave! Susannah Kenley Centro de Idiomas Intercultura S.A. Heredia, Costa Rica 00506-22608480 www.interculturacostarica.com itchy feet Nr.6, Ausgabe 2009 |
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