Lauren Quartz DiBianca

As I previously mentioned, my best friend came to Costa Rica in January! We had a great time traveling around and vacationing with my siblings, BUT even more exciting for me was the time she got to spend with me in my site! She had the opportunity to share in my “normal” life and experience a piece of Costa Rican sweetness.

My family LOVED Lauren and she loved them. And I obviously absolutely loved having Lauren see my site, meet my family and friends, and learn about all that I love so dearly!! Also, spending time with her here helped me see my site through the eyes of a North American again. Little pieces of life that Americans assume to be true about typical life sometimes just don´t fit here. It was almost scary how Costa Rican customs are so normal to me and American customs feel strange and out of place. I was thankful for a chance to compare Costa Rican typical with North American typical personified in me versus my best friend.

For example, Lauren always walked WAY too fast. Hahahaha. My brother and I took her to visit our friend Davis one day and as we were walking to his house, my brother and I felt like we were running. Finally, I asked “Why are we walking so fast?” Obviously Lauren responded, “This is how I always walk.” When I think back to when I first arrived in Costa Rica, I remember thinking “Why do these people always dawdle?” Americans walk with a purpose. We always have somewhere to be and something to do! Costa Ricans…..just walk. They enjoy the walk knowing that the destination will always be there, whether they arrive sooner or later. And if the destination is not there… well, that doesn´t really bother them either.

Also, Lauren was never hungry when we were hungry! Costa Ricans eat HUGE lunches and about two hours later drink coffee with a pastry. Like a solider Lauren ate the greasy, fatty, meaty foods and she even drank coffee with us two hours later! But I can just see her face now, when my whole family was like “Sorry, we have to leave the beach because our bodies are CRAVING coffee and we cannot live one minute longer without COFFEE!” And she was thinking “But we just ate the biggest lunch EVER!” Hahahahaha. I remember thinking the SAME thing, but now my body craves coffee too! Instinctively, I know when its coffee time. And trust me, you don’t want to deprive a Costa Rican (or Kim) of their coffee.

Finally, Lauren was far too responsible! She was always very interested in what we were going to do and when we were going to do it. Like a responsible person, Lauren mentally and unconsciously plans her time and her day. I know. I do it too. But I use to do it more. For this very reason, many Peace Corps Volunteers have a very hard adjustment. I can plan my day all I want to, but if the bus doesn´t come... I can say that I am going to research at the internet for an hour, print my work, and turn it in, but when the electricity goes out, the internet doesn´t work, the printer is out of ink, and the offices are close....What can you do? Costa Ricans have even less control over their lives than North Americans do. If all those things go wrong in the U.S. what do we do? WE FIX IT NOW. If all those things go wrong in Costa Rica, what can you do? Nothing. You can wait. Until the road gets fixed, the bridge gets rebuilt, the bus is repaired, the electricity comes back on, etc. How do Costa Ricans respond? They stay chill. They are not going to plan things because inevitably it will not work how they plan it, and the chiller they stay, the easier everything seems to fall into place.

It´s hard to explain Costa Rican culture in a blog. All I know is that in 21 months, I have mysteriously become a part of it.