Conversations with Caitlin: Things I Have Learned During My Time in Costa Rica: Part 1

Things I have learned during my time in CR:

1) The orange button by the wheelchair accessible seat on the bus is not the same as the red button on the poles. The orange button does not stop the bus; it sets off an alarm throughout the entire bus!

2) “Que chevre”, a phrase meaning “that’s cool” in Colombia, is not a phrase used here. Instead, ticos say “tuanis.”

3) Just because a car has a red light does not mean you can walk in front of them.

4) If a person get his by a car (or a moto), it is not the car’s fault. Watch out!

5) Sometimes, water bottles fall across the floor of the bus. It is okay to accidentally fall into a man and on the ground while picking up the water bottle and keys that were dropped during the process.

6) The Ash Wednesday service at a Catholic church in Heredia, Costa Rica is not that different from Ash Wednesday service at First Presbyterian Church in Troy, Ohio.

7) The cable to make the bus stop does not always work.

8) When you take the same bus every day, you get to know the bus driver. And sometimes, when the cable does not work and he knows you need to get off, he stops the bus in a random place so you are not too far away from your school!

9) The students in my classes here are the friendliest students ever…I hope that Queens’ students treat international students with the same level of care and concern as the students here treat me (I am sure we do!)

10) Non-Profit Organization in Spanish is “una organizacion sin fines de lucro.”

11) A meal is not complete without rice and beans.

12) There is a difference between juice and a refresco…juices are thicker. Here, most people only have refrescos.

13) Reading in Spanish is not as hard as I thought it would be, especially when I have a friend who goes over what I have read with me to make sure I understand everything!

14) “Caitlin Culp” is very difficult for professors to say. I am now “Cait” or “Catlin Colp.”

15) Every time you join a new gym, they perform an evaluation on you that consists of everybody measurement possible, questions about health, and a workout plan. At UNA, the students from the exercise science school perform these duties.

16) Now this one I already knew...87 degrees is hot, but I would much rather be in 87 degree weather than 0 degree weather.

Part 2 of Things I Have Learned While Living in Costa Rica will debut in a couple of weeks….until then, if you would like to become pen pals, my address is below!

Caitlin Culp

ISEP Apartado Postal: 86

3000 Universidad Nacional

Heredia, Costa Rica

America Central