When it comes to commenting on one’s physical appearance, Americans tend to let their positive feelings be known, and to keep their critical opinions to themselves, or wait to talk about the person behind his/her back. Ticos, on the other hand, will not hesitate to comment on your physical appearance right to your face. I find it funny that in our Peace Corps training we learn that Tico culture is indirect, because I personally could not find them to be more direct. Obviously I am writing this because I have an example to share, and the story is actually very, very short. It goes like this: A friend of mine stopped by my house the other day after we hadn’t seen each other in about 2 weeks. Here’s how our conversation went:
Ana: Hi, how are you? What have you been doing lately?
Me: I’m good, just been working a lot. I’ve been sitting in front of the computer writing a huge report for the last couple of days.
Ana: Oh yea, I can tell you haven’t been exercising, cuz your face got all fat and stuff.
Me: Ummm…ok.
I mean, what can you say when someone says something is wrong with you face? Nothing, absolutely nothing. The thing is, I know she didn’t mean it to be offensive at all, but it just so happens they don’t tend to be offended when someone says they’re fatter, they just accept it, whereas we, well, do get offended. Here, telling someone they are fat is like us telling them they are wearing a green shirt – it’s not bad or good, it just is. Part of me wants to fully embrace the straight-up, brutally honest approach to body image, while the other part of me finds it to be a little unnecessary. Everyone is entitled to express their thoughts and feelings…I guess.
Mis Pollitos!
I love my job. This started out as a bunch of high school girls in my exercise class asking me to teach them the “Thriller” dance for their music class. Then they mixed Michael’s tune with contemporary music, and we worked together to make it fit the theme of “values” so as to enter their performance in a competition for “Arte por la Paz,” (Art for Peace), in which students of all ages from all over the country participate in arts-related projects that promote peace.
In this performance, one of the girls is having a nightmare that zombies (which represent violence in modern-day culture) are taking away her values and replacing them with anti-values, but I pretty much just had the memory card space for the Thriller part…you can just picture it all being very deep and stuff. Enjoy.
Those Magic Changes...
As I sit in my living room, watching two lizards run up and down the pale green wall next to me, and listening to another one make a screeching sound as it hides behind the map of the Americas above my head, I do not flinch. When I first encountered the little creatures, which find their way into each and every dwelling in my town and most others in Costa Rica, I was fascinated by them, and startled by their quick little steps and far-from-discrete nighttime noises. My newfound apathy for them is just one of many examples as to how my thoughts and behaviors have been altered by constant exposure to Tico life. So, I figured I’d just make a list off the top of my head of different ways in which my life or I have changed during these first 6 months in Costa Rica:
1. I eat just about every meal/food with a spoon instead of a fork and knife
2. I say “mamita” and “mi amor” on a regular basis
3. I brush my teeth about 4-5 times a day. I have always been a big fan of oral
hygiene, but here the norm is to bring toothbrush and toothpaste to work and
school, so that you can always brush after lunch and cafecito
4. Every day I speak more Spanish than I do English
5. I sweat ALL the time
6. People call me “machita” (“little blonde girl”)everywhere I go.
7. I eat a huge bowl of beans at EVERY lunch and dinner
8. All of my dirty clothes get washed and ironed every single day (I finally
convinced my host mom and sister that my workout clothes and underwear do not
need
to be ironed)
9. My clothes get ironed…period
10.Instead of running every day I jump rope every day (like Rocky)
11.I teach exercise and English classes
12.I live with little kids
13.People stare at me all the time (being a gringa here is kind of like being a
pretty circus freak)
14.God is referenced in nearly every conversation/social interaction I have
15.A group of high school girls asked me to teach them a choreographed dance (for
those who don’t know me, I would be an absolutely absurd candidate for such a job
in the States)
16.I wear business-casual clothing on a regular basis (who knew that my impressive
24 years of avoiding work clothes would come to an end during my Peace Corps
service)?
17.I am considered tall.
18.People offer me food all the time
19.I never pay for pineapple…cuz it’s everywhere.
20.I am an auntie
Ok, I could easily spend days adding to this list, there are just soooo many.
1. I eat just about every meal/food with a spoon instead of a fork and knife
2. I say “mamita” and “mi amor” on a regular basis
3. I brush my teeth about 4-5 times a day. I have always been a big fan of oral
hygiene, but here the norm is to bring toothbrush and toothpaste to work and
school, so that you can always brush after lunch and cafecito
4. Every day I speak more Spanish than I do English
5. I sweat ALL the time
6. People call me “machita” (“little blonde girl”)everywhere I go.
7. I eat a huge bowl of beans at EVERY lunch and dinner
8. All of my dirty clothes get washed and ironed every single day (I finally
convinced my host mom and sister that my workout clothes and underwear do not
need
to be ironed)
9. My clothes get ironed…period
10.Instead of running every day I jump rope every day (like Rocky)
11.I teach exercise and English classes
12.I live with little kids
13.People stare at me all the time (being a gringa here is kind of like being a
pretty circus freak)
14.God is referenced in nearly every conversation/social interaction I have
15.A group of high school girls asked me to teach them a choreographed dance (for
those who don’t know me, I would be an absolutely absurd candidate for such a job
in the States)
16.I wear business-casual clothing on a regular basis (who knew that my impressive
24 years of avoiding work clothes would come to an end during my Peace Corps
service)?
17.I am considered tall.
18.People offer me food all the time
19.I never pay for pineapple…cuz it’s everywhere.
20.I am an auntie
Ok, I could easily spend days adding to this list, there are just soooo many.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)