At First Glance

Now when you hear about Latin American countries, one of the first things you learn is how important family and personal relationships are. Now I don't have any personal experience in the rest of Latin America, but from what I've seen this is definitely true about Costa Rica. Here the emphasis is on the relationship, and they value preserving this, sometimes over being honest. The emphasis on this and some geological differences result in many visits to the house by family and friends.

I recently had a Tica in one of my classes approach me about a survey she had for her class about cultural differences. One of the questions referenced what I saw as cultural differences between the U.S. and Costa Rica and these visits were one of the first things I thought of. Due to distance and an emphasis on individualism, visits such as these in the U.S. are reserved more for special occasions and holidays.

One of the things that surprised me when she was interviewing me, was how accurate her views of the U.S. were solely based on films. For instance, we discussed how many kids in the U.S. have jobs to save up their money, to buy cars or other things that they might want. Here, those with jobs are the adults and summer and after-school jobs just are not common.

You always here about culture shock when you first get to a new country. They make it sound like you're going to get a knocked over the head with culture. Honestly though, I feel as if it were less of a culture shock and more of a gradual cultural awareness. When I first got here I was more surprised as to how similar it was that I didn't really notice the differences. However, as I settled in I began to notice subtle differences between the U.S. and Costa Rica, like the emphasis on maintaining relationships, or tico time, even if I am still learning how to adjust myself to them.

Culture "Shock"

<--restaurante Bread & Chocolate in Puerto Viejo

I've commented on a lot of the cultural differences between the U.S. and Costa Rica, but failed to say anything about one of the biggest, the food. This part of the country's culture affects me in particular because I am insulin-resistant. This condition means I have a pre-disposition to develop diabetes.

That being said, I have to watch my diet which can be a bit of challenge in Costa Rica. Here they eat a lot of carbohydrates. A portion of white rice is pretty much guaranteed with every meal. White bread and fruit juice are also pretty common, being present at least 2/3 of daily meals. It isn't like I have to avoid carbs, but I do have to limit them, and some are worse for me than others. Ironically, the ones that are the worst for me are those that are most common in the Costa Rican diet: white bread & rice and fruit juice.

Because I kept getting sick in the beginning, at first I was just happy that I could keep food down. Now that I've been here for about 2 months, I've gotten better at managing my diet needs and still managing to eat healthy proportions. For me the key is eliminating unnecessary carbs, like fruit juices. I try to drink water at every meal, even if Costa Ricans find water at breakfast odd. Now that I think about it, most Americans probably do too...While it would be pretty near impossible to eliminate bread and rice from my meals, I try to balance the two, either eating bread or rice at each meal.

Finally, one of the best ways to prevent diabetes in my condition is to exercise. A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a Baile Popular class at the university. I've been learning salsa, swing (which are both different here), merengue, bolero, etc... The class is so much fun and I get quite a workout. This is especially true when we dance swing; in the Costa Rican style you bounce throughout the entire dance, switching from one foot to another.

In addition to this class, I've started going running with one of the girls in the program about 3-4 days a week. While I have never been a big fan of running (I much prefer swimming), the company and the scenery here make it bearable. There is nothing like Central American beauty to make you almost forget that you're tired.