I was outside early this morning waiting to see the sunrise over the mountains beyond Potrero Bay to the east of us.  I have no doubt that at 6:00 AM my appearance screamed, “Gringo!”  As I sat on the wall along the road, a young couple was pushing a bike up the long, steep hill talking pleasantly with one another.  When they got closer, their conversation stopped and they looked seriously at the ground as they approached where I was sitting.  In my best (so far) Spanish, I said, “Hola!  Buenos dias.” and I was struck by their response–they immediately looked up and broke in a very big smile and responded, “Muy bien.” (very well) and then resumed their previously interrupted conversation.  I’d like to think the smile was because an obvious Gringo was friendly and addressed them in their native Spanish.  An alternate explanation and not totally out of the question, of course, is they were laughing at my accent and/or pronunciation.  I’ve discovered that very subtle differences in pronunciation are somewhat like a dog whistle to those of us from the USA…the sounds are simply inaudible to us.  I’ve heard it said that Americans have a “lazy tongue” when it comes to speaking foreign languages–we tend to slur our words and not pronounce the vowel and consonant sounds distinctly.  We also have a lazy ear because we often don’t hear the distinct sounds spoken to us.  For example, my greeting of “Hola! Buenos dias.” means “Hello. Good morning.”  However, a very subtle difference in pronunciation such as “Hola! Buenos dios.” (note the “o” instead of the “a” as in dias) means, “Hello.  Good God !”.  Not exactly sure which I said to the young couple.

As I’ve been observing American tourists for a few days now and their interactions with the Tico people, quite a few of them have no clue about any Spanish words or phrases whatsoever.  I would have thought they would at least have learned a few rudimentary phrases before embarking on their trip to a foreign country.  In their interactions with shopkeepers, restaurant servers, and service people, there appears to be an attitude of, “I can find someone who speaks English (or enough English) so I don’t need to learn/use any of their language.”  Yet, I’d wager, these very people are some of the most vocal critics of immigrants who come to the United States (legally or otherwise) and do not speak any English.  It struck me how hypocritical we Americans can sometimes be.  As guests in a foreign country, it is common courtesy to learn at least a little of the host country language.  How much you learn may depend on the length of your stay.  But for any trip planned in advance, learning a few key words and phrases and using them shows respect for the people and their beautiful country.

Costa Rica is home to some 50,000 folks from the United States according to the US Department of State.  Lured by the beautiful countryside, exceptionally friendly and welcoming people and the favorable climate, it is a popular destination for tourists and those looking to retire frugally.  Americans seem to live in clusters here and stick together.  I wonder how many of them actually speak the language.

Food for thought…

 

 

Meeting new people, experiencing other cultures, and perhaps learning a new language (one can only hope, Amigo) places traveling on my list of life’s enjoyments. Heide and I have embarked on a two month trip to Costa Rica and, happy to say, we aren’t missing the 8 to 10 inches of snow our hometown received yesterday.  I am sitting on the patio listening to the waves break on the beach and the birds sing in the morning.  It doesn’t get a whole lot better.  And I don’t feel the least bit guilty about leaving winter behind.

We arrived in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica on Saturday.  Planes were on time, connections went smoothly, and the assistance we got from a few folks with Heide’s handicapped access was amazing.  A thousand thanks to Luis (at the Liberia airport) who helped us expedite customs and immigration.  Even though he spoke limited English and we spoke almost no Spanish, it was a smooth entry into Costa Rica.  He was a tremendous help and comfort as he was the first person we encountered in a foreign land.

Many thanks to Vicky Goodloe, Real Estate Consultant with Blue Water Properties.  Her patience with my endless questions over the past few months and recent days is much appreciated. Renting a place for two months sight unseen in a foreign country is a risky business to be sure, but Vicky’s description of the condo and Playa Flamingo were spot-on.  We worked from afar to find the right housing while in Costa Rica and working through Vicky was a smooth, reassuring process.  She has a warm and welcoming personality and is a very professional real estate consultant.  Vicky kindly took me to the grocery store to pick up a few things to get us situated and I appreciate that she did.  We needed some basic necessities like food, snacks for what pretended to be the “Super” Bowl and a few personal items (e.g., shampoo, soap, etc.).  We’ll have wheels today so getting around will be easier.

Jorge Mendez, Property Manager, was waiting for us when we arrived on the shuttle from the airport.  At the end of a very long travel day, it was nice to see a smiling face in the parking lot. He helped us into the condo with our bags and showed us around to get settled.  His offer of help in the future was very reassuring.  Thank you, Jorge.

Playa Flamingo is a wonderfully quiet, peaceful, and friendly beach community in the Guanacaste Province in the northwestern part of the country along the Pacific coast.  The Nicaragua border is just to the north.  It is unexpectedly hilly here with quite steep inclines (45 degrees might not be an exaggeration) and everything is uphill both ways…!  Billy goat heaven to be sure.  It looked flatter on Google maps !!!  I suspect we’ll be in Olympic walking form by the end of the trip.  I’ve gotten off to a good start yesterday with walking twice and swimming some laps in the pool.  I hope to increase the distance on both walking and swimming in days ahead.

Today the rental car arrives and we will be off exploring.  Vicky told me where the local produce market is so we’ll be stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables locally grown.  We’ve been here three days now and it’s time we get to the beach to start working on my tan.

Like Bilbo, we are off on an adventure.  Although no dwarves are involved, I have, in fact, forgotten my pocket handkerchief and I am sure we will encounter some trolls, giant spiders, dragons.  More importantly, magic elves are appearing everywhere and I have no doubt we will end the trip with a dragon treasure worth more than gold.

Share the journey.  Stop by periodically.