Falling in love with Costa Rica isn’t your typical love story. It came after several volatile weeks of mixed emotions, and not really knowing if I liked the country or not.
My first weeks in Costa Rica were tempestuous at best. As you’ve read, after the initial excitement and frenzy, everything plummeted into the deep, dark abyss of culture shock. After gradually crawling out of that hole, things were definitely better but unstable. There were good days and there were bad days.
There were days when I thought, “yeah! this is working out for me, it’s gonna be okay!” and there were others where I just wished the year were over so I could go back home. These thoughts usually came after a day where I didn’t understand a lot of Spanish, and I felt stupid and wondered if I really had come as far as I thought.
The weeks churned along like this, and I gradually started to enjoy and learn more about Costa Rica in a one step forward, two steps back slow motion ride.
Papi Passes Out Keys
In my host home, I lived with three new siblings. My older brother was already a university student, my sister a grade or two below me, and my little brother was in grade school. Unlike the States, school didn’t have regular set hours. It was more like a college schedule; sometimes there were morning classes and sometimes afternoon. Even my own schedule was a confusing mix of whole days and partial days.
On my part-time days I liked to linger a little longer at breakfast, chatting with Papi and enjoying my new found love of coffee, and the fresh baked bread from the bakery across the street. Sometimes I did it on full days as well, when I should have been at class, but no one knew so I suppose it was okay. More on that behavior in another article.
Anyway, the point is, everyone’s schedule was different, and with study groups and meet-ups, it was impossible to know who would make it home first, so each of us had a copy of the house key. Papi instructed us to be careful and not lose our keys.
And so it went, day after day.
Locked Out!
One evening, after I had been in school a few weeks, I went to the movies with some friends. I was just starting to understand things a little better (some of the time) and we laughed and had a great time. When the movie was finished it was getting darker and I walked myself home.
As I made my way up the sidewalk to the front door, I made a startling revelation. I didn’t have my set of keys.
Oh, no.
Well, I’d just ring the bell. The front lights were on, so I stepped up and rang the buzzer. I was sure Papi would be upset, so I nervously shifted from foot to foot, waiting for someone to peek out the window to see who was at the door. But no one came. Hmmm…I rang the bell again.
Nobody.
I decided to check the back door, and quickly ran around the house. It was all dark. There was really no one home! That never happened! Papi and Mami must have gone out for the evening and taken my little brother along! The other two must be off with friends.
I had no choice but to wait it out and suffer the consequences.
The Wait Begins
Returning to the front door, I tried to look through the window, just to be safe, but I was out of the house and had no idea how long it would be before someone came back. I sat down on the doormat and began to wait.
I watched the traffic go by and decided I’d count cars. We lived on a busy road, so that experiment grew old quickly. Once in a while, no traffic would go by and it would get quiet, the road bathed in orange from the street lights.
Someone went by on a bike and looked over at me. I pretended not to notice. Soon after, I heard a voice and a clappity-clap coming up the road. Out of the darkness, and coming up around the bend, there was a man leading a cow along the side of the road. I thought it funny for a cow transport to be happening at this hour, but what did I know. I looked at the man and he curiously peered over at me. He continued on up the road.
I started thinking that maybe it wasn’t the best idea that I was sitting outside, alone in plain view. I decided to retreat to the backyard and stay hidden until the family returned.
The Lights of Tierra Blanca
Our house was out of the city, so the backyard, or patio, was on the edge of a large field. On one side of the yard was the wall of the garage and a clothesline. After that it was all open terrain. Our patio wasn’t enclosed by walls like most backyards. It was all open and spacious. Further out, there was a small pond and lots of tall grass that led to some fields. Mami said they were bean fields. Beyond that were hills, and a stunning view of Irazu Volcano.
I sat down on the concrete patio and began to wait. It sure was dark out there.
I relaxed against the house and looked up at the volcano. The lights of the small village of Tierra Blanca shone brightly. The passing mist, or maybe it was a cloud, made them look as if they were sparkling. Like a hundred tiny stars.
The breeze was gentle and warm as it went through my hair.
Somewhere in the distance there was tropical music playing. Surely there was a party out there.
That was when a feeling came over me. Such a feeling of contentment and relaxation. And I smiled to myself. Maybe it was the combination of the light breeze, the twinkling lights and sway of the music.
And I knew. I knew I loved this place. And I was happy. Happy that I had decided to stay, because if I hadn’t, I would have never experienced such a random, unexpected moment as this. Falling in love with Costa Rica.
Papi and Mami Come Home
Not long after that, headlights pulled into the driveway and Papi and Mami were home.
I sheepishly made my way to the garage, hoping that Papi wouldn’t be too mad. Instead of being mad, he broke out in his hearty laughter and hugged me. “Susan,” he laughed, “you can’t forget your keys! You could be stuck out here for hours!”
Soon the lights were on and we were all back inside safe and sound.
“Funny,” I thought to myself. “Being stuck in the backyard after dark wasn’t such a bad thing after all.”