Costa Rica Oddities

Today was another beautiful day. This morning, we made bugs out of paper plates at school, and the kids loved it, though they don't exactly have cutting down to a science yet. This afternoon, the whole group went to hot springs in a tropical rainforest. I went to hot springs over the weekend in La Fortuna, but that place was more like a water park and not so natural. This was in the depths of the rainforest and was all natural hot springs. It was really beautiful and incredibly relaxing. And it rained a lot while we were there, which was a nice contrast to the really hot water. Rain in the rainforest... who would have thought?? I had to stop myself several times while I was there and let it sink in that I was in a rainforest, swimming in a rainforest. Definitely another once in a lifetime experience.

Since I don't have a ton of daily happenings to share, I'd thought I'd share one of my favorite things about traveling, which is seeing all the different cultural things that people do in other countries. Costa Rica is full of oddities. Here are some:

• There are dogs everywhere. I don't mean like people walking their dogs like pets. I mean dogs running through the streets, laying in the streets, begging outside of stores. The only thing I can compare it to in America is squirrels. Seriously, there are that many. I don't even know why they have pet stores. If you want a dog, just take one off the street. 
• They eat rice and beans with every meal here, even breakfast. You would think they would get sick of it, but they're just more simple people than Americans.
• There are no laws to protect pedestrians. You cross the street at your own risk entirely.
• ... which brings me to driving. Stop signs are really just a suggestion. You can pass anyone on any road at any time. You may stop your car on the street to say hi to someone, and the traffic behind you will not blow their horns or scream at you. They'll just politely wait. Dogs come so dangerously close to cars, but never get hit.
• In my city, it is often necessary to turn off the water to fix a pipe, for example. The city officials then turn off the water for the whole city without any warning. It may last one hour or all day. You just deal with it. This has happened 3 times since I've been here. 
• Their money is in thousands, which is so funny. A bottle of water may cost 2 thousand colones. My ATM receipt said that I had something like 147,000 in my checking account, which was surreal and awesome. 
• Pineapple is their main export and their second favorite food, behind rice & beans. I've come to eagerly anticipate pineapple with lunch and dinner. It's so fresh and sweet here; I'm definitely going to miss that.
• There is a huge insect problem. Costa Ricans apparently don't believe in exterminating, or maybe there's no point. Either way, there's bugs everywhere. I've seen a cockroach in my room, and one of my roommates had some big bug in her bed the other night. I have a handful of bug bites on my legs. Bug spray is definitely your best friend here. I won't miss that.
• Costa Ricans wear American brands like it's their jobs. There's so much Aeropostale, American Eagle & Hollister, it's like middle school all over again.
• In Spanish, when you want to describe something as little, you add "-ito" onto the end of a word. For example, a small dog (perro) would be "perrito". Costa Ricans overuse it. My teacher calls one small student named Daniel, "Danielito". (She also calls a chubby student "Gordito," but that's another story....)
• Diet Coke is called Coke Lite.
• Many people keep cows in their front yards. 
• With all the dogs running rampant, I've only seen 2 cats.