Big Sister Costa Rica

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of returning to my mother’s native country of Costa Rica. I refuse to believe that its true beauty can be captured in a photograph, for it is a serene ambiance that drives the people there. The rainforest, the mountains, and the wildlife is simply amazing.

We have a tendency of returning every couple of years, but this was the first time I went by myself and bounced around from relative to relative. I think that because I had no parent setting everything up behind the scenes, no leader to follow, I became the victim of frequent culture-shock. Just going to the store...no, wait...ever since I woke up, there was already an array of things going on. I obviously recognized the fact that I was in a different country, but I began to notice an important cultural aspect I had somehow missed on my prior visits.

There are some huge differences in how they consume, and as you will read, with their disposal and reuse. As for advertisements, you see a few bill boards on the major highways and cities. There was this huge electronic billboard when you were driving to the airport. It led to equally huge disputes because it caused so many accidents. The people were being distracted and the result was sometimes fatal. I also noticed billboards on the sides of trucks. I see another dispute coming... At home, the commercials just seemed to be mostly about food, video games, maybe one/two about vacationing, and others promoting television programs. There were no commercials concerning clothes or any type of fashion. Nothing about cellphones or ipods, computers or appliances. Its not that they don't exist, I just guess those advertisements are geared toward "touristas" in hotels, or people who get satellite television.

Ahh, leisure time is usually spent going to the park, having picnics, visiting friends, taking up a hobby or simply watching television. My cousins spend all their free time playing with the Playstation we sent them, while my aunt prefers to knit. The people there tend to go outdoors alot more, and take advantage of the sights around them. I can't say I blame them either.They walk almost everywhere, but that is also because not many can afford a car. When I come to think about it, some people have been here in New York City all their lives and have never been to the Empire State Building, or the Museum of Natural History (by themselves, not class trips =P). Costa Ricans have a different approach to life, conservation, consumption, and hey, happiness. I swear there is something in that air. They even have laws and fees to keep in practice the process that propels their everyday lives.

And so it begins...at 6:30 in the morning...the vendors would sweep the streets, calling out the fruits they had in stock for breakfast. I watched as my aunt paid the man and then just grabbed what she wanted. No plastic bags to throw out, and right to your door. Talk about convenience, right? Well, I am just getting started. As we got ready to shower, it was another story. The people of Costa Rica pay for water, EVERYONE pays for water. Also, very few people can afford a water heater, hence cold showers are customary. For us uptight Americans a freezing cold shower in the morning is not very appealing.Oh and I do mean freezing, because the water comes directly from the mountain rivers. So, while my cousins took cold showers, I had to have my water boiled. But I was only allowed one barrel, which in time, I learned was actually more than enough. Although this need to save water is in order to save money, it is in turn conditioning the people to waste less water. They wash dishes by hand and usually laundry too. In some parts, some do not even know what a dishwashing or washing machine is!

Anyway, back to the subject, following our morning rituals, breakfast was either bought fresh or was yesterday's leftovers. If we were sent to the store for bread, we were also sent with the empty two-liter Coke bottle. Why you ask? Because in Costa Rica you refill the bottle at the store. Unless you have alot of money, or some damage comes to the bottle itself, people simply reuse plastic and glass bottles countless times again. This applies to beer, soda, anything in a glass or plastic bottle, except milk. (Oh by the way, except in resorts, there is NO bottled water either.) For one this is cheaper, because glass is very expensive in Costa Rica. Interestingly enough, although I don't know why, the brown glass is actually more expensive than the clear glass. You also have to recycle all metals and cardboard. Summing this up, this fortunately leads to less waste being produced.

The waste that is produced, however, is usually food scraps, napkins, and I guess, items that they are unable to reuse. The garbage is picked up two times a week, if the truck comes around both times, that is. I saw only one landfill there, but obviously there has to be more. There was not much litter in the streets, but the deep gutters where the water runs into the sewers sometimes has some garbage in it. The people usually sweep in front of their homes and keep the street clean so their children can play. My stepfather does that in front of our building here. More people should do it here, because if everyone did just a little, I bet the streets would be nicer to look at. =)

Another aspect of home life, is that it is not uncommon to be in a home without a refrigerator. Due to this, many people do not buy in bulk. Also in all my time there, I never saw or heard of a store that resembled our BJ's or Costcos. I guess those types of stores might never make any money over there. As for the supermarkets, which were like one in every town (sometimes we had to take a bus), we are expected to bring our own plastic bags or better yet, a cloth bag. If you "forget" like most Americans do, (my first time) you have to pay 150 colones a bag, equivalent to about 20 cents here. Ok, my mom had just given my aunt a refrigerator...so I was stocking up...after a couple of bags, those 20 cents stack up. I know that we are trying to do the whole "bring your own bag" thing here, but why not add a 10 cent penalty for "forgetting". I commend the Costa Rican people for enforcing these rules.

So I'll finish this answer with this funny anecdote.The street vendors, similar to our hot dog stands, have their own way of doing things too. I was sightseeing with my uncle and it was an incredibly hot day, so we headed over to a vendor. I was happy to see a glass bottle of Coke in the ice box. I grabbed it, put it up on the counter and started scrounging in my bag for the money. I glanced up once when I heard him open it, and I thought, "What good service!" When I finally looked up again, the man was handing me a Ziploc bag with a straw in it. I don't know what face I must have made, but my uncle couldn't stop laughing. I paid the guy, took the bag, and asked my uncle what the hell was going on. He explained that vendors refill their glass bottles, so when you buy a drink they put it in a "baggie" =). (This was before I knew about the refilling system.)