"Life Lessons from Costa Rica"

So, I know everyone thought that we were coming to Costa Rica to learn Spanish - This is true. However, there are also a few things we have picked up since we have been here.

For instance . . .

Directions are relative. Most houses do not have house numbers and most streets do not have names or signs. Our address (in English): Near the gum factory, 100 meters west, 50 meters south, the house with the green gate on the right side of the street. When we tell the taxi driver our address, he may drive straight to the house or he may drive around in circles for about ten minutes until he can figure out exactly which pink house on the street with the bakery yours is. It seems to work well for them - most of the time anyway.

You never know exactly what you will find here . . . Monkeys outside your hotel . . . iguanas on the side of the street. . .or millipeeds in the kitchen or tarantulas at school! I am just glad Travis found it before I stepped on it!

"Panaderia" does not only mean bread store. It also means "Danielle magnet." - There is a Panaderia (Bakery) on just about every corner and we think they put some kind of addictive substance in their bread and pastries - We always want more and it is all we can do some days not to eat our weight in empanadas and sweet rolls!

Ticos definitely know how to party - This past weekend we were invited to a birthday party at our Tico home. The son and daughter in the family were born on the same day three years apart and they had a combined party on Saturday! We went to the party and were served a wonderful lunch and then our Tico mom said it was time for dessert. There was a beautiful cake sitting out on a table all during lunch and we were so excited thinking this was what we were being served. Well, instead all the guests were brought out wonderful pieces of a lemon cheesecake type dessert. Then, a little while later when we thought the party was ending, they offered their guests coffee. We decided to stay and enjoy a cup to stay out of the rain and they brought out a chocolate cake and cut it and the pretty fondant cake giving their guests TWO more pieces of dessert! Three desserts in one party! We decided we like the way they do it here!

Our version of parallel parking does not compare - I don't know if you can tell in this picture but this truck is literally parked within inches of these two trees right here. Truly incredible! We wish we could have been there to seen the driver pull this off!

Gringo means "Go" in Costa Rica - Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here, in fact, Travis and I have decided that cars actually speed up when they see non - Ticos attempting to cross the street. We have been told that it is against the law for cars to speed up when pedestrians cross, yet, we have seen NO evidence.

Here, electricution is not something to be concerned about - Yes, this gentlemans ladder is leaning against only the wires - and he is just working away.

Latinos will always make the best arroz y frijoles. Period. You may have been taught to make them by a Latino, you may have the exact recipe, you may make them with a Latino but it will still never compare - Yours can come close, but theirs are always still better.

Gringo trap does not mean an armed robbery or a kidnapping - it means an open storm drain in the sidewalk that can be up to 4 feet deep that unsuspecting Gringos often do not see.

Our mouths will always get in trouble . . . We were walking down the sidewalk a few days ago and some Tico gentlemen were walking in the grass pretty close to us. One of them said something to us in Spanish and we laughed, feeling a bit of comraderie with the gentlemen. Then, Travis said something back to the gentleman in Spanish - the man looked very suprised for a second and then said to his friend who was with him - "Aww they are Gringos!" I think if we just kept our mouths closed all the time we might fit in ! - There is just no way to deny that deep Southern drawl that creeps into our Spanish pronunciation!

Just a few "Life Lessons from Costa Rica.

Pura Vida!

Travis and Danielle