www.CostaRicaTicas.com

If we are talking about how to dress & act in the gulch this seems logical too me. If I was a Chica & looking for a John I would look for guy that seems to be clean, have enough money to pay me & not be a wild drunk man & give me a hard time. This is not what one would believe to be a normal dating environment so if you are there to find company one would thnk playing this role would give you the most options at a fair price?

_________________
"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

Dust off your bible, raise your right hand and say it with me, all together:

"I do solemnly swear to leave in my native country the following articles of clothing:
my FUBU shirts
my not pants/not shorts denim gang bangers
my wife-be@ter tshirt
my man-thong swimsuit
my fine selection of women's undergarments that feel so good against my skin
my american football team jersey
my john deere ball cap
my "che guevara" tshirt
my American flag tshirt
my bling bling (including but not limited to rolex, pinky signet rings, college class ring, masons ring, nose ring)
my red shoelaces
my new lime green tennies I got in PI (have I offended everyone yet?)

and I do solemnly swear to practice my spanish before I leave my native country with the help of pimsleur, rosetta stone, or that cute puerto rican hooker on craigslist. So help me God."

RHM

My 2 cents...

My new novia tells me that she assumes all gringos in CR are the following:

fat, ugly, drunk and rude.

Not in any order of priority. The fact that she met a few, who were not in that category on this trip, really suprised her.

I believe the standard clothing down there is t-shirts and jeans. Maybe a nicer shirt for the evening. She even went so far as to tell me that if you wore shorts, you are either a gringo or gay When I wore shorts on several occaisons due to the heat, she'd just looked at me and smiled and said "but, I know you are not gay." She also thinks the whole "Jimmy Buffet" theme... tropical shirt, shorts, flip flops and visor/hat looks really silly and American.

Just thought I'd pass that insider info on...

I also notice now in restaurants, the loud and obnoxious tables are always gringos. She just looks at the table and rolls her eyes. I sort of feel her pain. Especially, when they are practicing "shitty" heavily accented spanish on the waiter. And, then laughing like its all a big joke. Try that one in France. You'll be wearing your food, not eating it.

My feeling is - if we all just had more respect for their country we can improve our image. Its difficult when you have drunk-asses in the DR doing shots and cheering "cheers gringos" instead of salud. As if this particular guy needed to callout that he was, in fact, a gringo.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

My dos colones......

Just dress comfortable. I won't wear something with the intention of trying to look like someone / some thing that I'm not. IMHO, a person's personality, along with their attitude towards the local culture, is much more important than a wardrobe.

That being said, I'm not about to wear a ton of bling bling, and make myself look like an easy mark. But personally, I'm more concerned about treating the local people with common courtesy and respect, versus what I'm going to wear that day. To me, it's very simple. Treat people the way that you want to be treated. With this, your attire will only be secondary. It's not rocket science! YMMV.....
Mucho Gusto

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

PapaNut, I'll be in SJ for May 22 - 29...1st Pilsen is on me.

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GO Winnipeg JETS!

Chi,

You have got this down. The best way to get this straight is from the inside perspective like you found. I see the same all the time. Some loud good looking fairly young Gringo with his arm around a hot Chica etc. the Chica knows me & makes a face behind this guys back rolling her eyes. I just laugh & she is cool. She may even make an excuse to go to the bath room & come talk too me asking do you want company tonight? Explaining I would love to drop this clown I am with!!

Hey if they see you as more in tune to their true culture you get MUCH more than being LOUD. Latinas really are very turned off by loud arrogant men but love to take their money. Yes I pay too but the level of service I feel is different. We all do what we have to do but really like what we truly like.

In many ways I love all these idiot Gringos being so insecure & boastful (like you have to do this in a foreign Land???). It makes the guys that are laid back standout more as unique. It helps me cherry pick them I feel but really not many cherries left in HDR.

_________________
"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

Damn, there goes half of my wardrobe. LOL!

Man oh man, maybe it is just the "California" in me, but I work with Indian women who come to work wrapped in all that cloth and seeing someone with a red dot between their eyes and above their nose isn't unusual .... AND I've never thought to say, dress the way I do, you are in America!

I'm taking whatever I normally wear in the states to CR and wearing it plain and simple.... as long as it is clean and I don't smell bad, what's the big deal?

Maybe those that are traveling in concert with CORPORATE AMERICA AND CORPORATE WORLD need to be on the up and up in these circles, but I'm on vacation for cry out loud.

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D2864 wrote:



Have to disagree with some of the posts on this thread. The day of Ticos looking down on gringos because they wear shorts has long since passed for most in Costa Rica. Yes that manner of dress will mark you as a non native but thats all it will do.

Attempting to speak Spanish, to a waiter, store clerk, etc will be usually appreciated by the Costa Rican no matter how poorly you speak it. They appreciate you making the effort to speak the language of their country.

What does turn them off are loud, obnoxious, inebriated, rude, condescending, arrogant gringos. The same ones that turn off native Americans when you meet them in the US.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Agree with the principle of this but simple people see things in a simple way like they judge the book by it's cover? Also the issue of shorts comes up from time to time & we have different opinions. All I can say is most Chicas don't like this downtown. I know some real good looking young Gringos that setup some hot date with a non pro type & boy do they get mad about this when he showed up in shorts. Many are embarrassed to be seen at a nice place with a guy in shorts. YMMV!

_________________
"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

Simple people shouldn't expect much.

All above comments understood and mostly accepted. Jmac has a good point in that he is younger than most of us and hanging out with the younger Ticos who like many countries seem to want and immitate our "hip hop" culture of the USA...even while marching and demonstrating against freetrade with us which would get them their Nikes and FUBU clothing at a much cheaper price. They just dont get it. But...I dont go to their clubs at my age and with my wardrobe. Or, if I go, I'll need Jmac as my wingman .

Also, if someone is just staying at the Delrey and mongering night and day without interacting with the rest of the Ticos...it probably doesnt matter much what you wear. You can probably wear a copy of Hugh Hefners designer bathrobe anywhere on the property and get by. What we're talking about is interacting with Ticos and trying to know the culture. Also...trying not to get robbed running around the streets. I agree with everyone here who says the attitude is more important than the wardrobe. But lets not forget the Latins are very conscious of image and external style. I f you want to know them, dress accordingly. Thats all.

Zippy wrote:



Think you have gotten a little off point here Zippy. The discussion of wearing shorts was concerning day to day dress on the streets of San Jose.

It was, in my opinion, never meant to encompass taking a non working Tica on a first date dressed in shorts, T shirt with or without a picture or caption and flip flops. It also was never meant to indicate that you would take a date to a "nice place or restaurant" in that garb.

That is no more acceptable to a non working Tica then it would be to a non P4P gringa.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Chi_trekker, from what you write about "what" your novia thinks and "how" your novia thinks, when I think of her I get this shy uptight stick-in-the-mud amish-woman vision in my mind.


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It is funny to me how liberal the women of latin america can be toward sex and selling their bodies but yet so conservative in other matters.


Xman