Just thought we would pass on a few of the "cultural differences" that we experience here in beautiful Costa Rica....
1. No yawning in public. Especially in class. It shows you are bored and not interested in what they have to say. So we see teachers with contorted faces trying to hold in their yawn. It is so funny.
2. Do not ever blow your nose in public. You sniff and sniff and sniff an sniff some more but NEVER blow it....you go to the bathroom for that.
3. We found a sign in the pool area that read "Please avoid all intimate contact in the pool"...a sign you don't see too often in Canada.
4. Typically, when Northamericans don't have an opinion on something we say "I don't have anything to say about that." But here, if you say that they accuse you of lying and think that you are rude for not sharing what you think. They think that you are dumber than dumber for saying something like that!!
5. Costa Rican's celebrate their 16 brithday like it's their last birthday. It is a huge celebration that often takes place at a church and and a hall. It is sometimes bigger than a wedding. They have tons of food and many people attend and celebrate together the journey into adulthood.
There is a picture of a shirt with a line through it insinuating "no shirts allowed" right?? Well, it actually means that you are not allowed to hang your laundry outside.
1 comment:
Hi Sandra and Nathan,
Congratulations on starting your last term of Spanish school!! Very exciting.
Thanks for this list of cultural differences! It is always fun reading about these. I shall have to come up with a list for my blog too.
I do have a funny contrast to your #2: In my people group, it is culturally acceptable to pick your nose in public! They will apparently do it in the middle of conversations. I have not yet seen this, and I am too 'scared' to ask Lisa what they do with it. Funnily enough, the Fulfulde word for dry snot is 'pick-e-noli'. Hilarious eh?!!
God bless this term as you hit the home stretch!
Kristi Hopf
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