www.CostaRicaTicas.com

the shorter little heavy set indigenious looking tico guy around
35 years old, was a little high on something the gaurds and his co-horts
said the other night.

i asked him something about how he was and he started to go off
on some of his family issues and then started to say that costa rica
was costa rica and not about prostitutes...then he started talking in spanish saying gringo... i told him thank you for the information
and i eventually had to tell him enough with his carying on...fortuantely
a taxi driver called him away

guess i should have motioned for the security guy to silence him a bit-next time

i've met so many nice guys at the rail at the presidente, so i don't know why this guy has an attitude... i guess it is all what you choose to pay attention to. And why doesn't he go sell his cigars somewhere else
like guanacaste..

another note- thank Goodness their aren't as many shoe shone boys
this past visit -maybe they'll find a way to produce something for a living
i didn't have to give one shoe shine boy a tip this visit for a whole week

a real deal shoe shine guy can usually be found up the walkway (exit left from the presidente) near the statue of the fat lady.

older, sober tico that will shine your shoes for a couple of bucks and do a good job.

a lot (all of them?) of the street hustlers near the presidente have drug problems.

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

I find it best to repectfully say no thank you to the solicitors and continue with what I'm doing (breakfast, girlwatching). also keep in mind that although prostitution is legal it is still someones neice sister or daughter that we are doing this with.

blueskies if I remember correctly awhile back you went on a rant about foriegners taking over your gym how would you feel if these same foriegners were taking over your daughter.

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But mama, that's where the fun is

//\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////

I have run into several cases of outright hostility from Ticos, general animosity to Gringos in general. More often than not the Ticos were drunk.

I had a taxi driver (not drunk) go off on me when I refused to let him rip me off. He kept repeating 'this is MY country, not yours!' True. But what was behind it? He depends on Gringos, or at least loves their money, but hates the fact. I imagine that most of the parasites don't really like us, and don't know us as anything but a chance to make a Colon.

It shouldn't be surprising we're resented. Envy fosters resentment. They may not envy us our physiques, but they envy our money. There are Ticos that do like us, but they don't spend their working days trying to separate us from our money. Come to think of it, I don't like a lot of the Gringos I come in contact with. I just control myself about it.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

My boy and I had a similar incident in 2005. We were walking across the street to go from the BM to the Monkey bar. A car full of Ticos stopped in front of us and yelled at us to go home along with some other vulgarities. When my friend said "get out of the car if you're so tough," they declined and drove off. The two of us vs. 4 or 5 of them would have been like one of those old school handicapped matches in pro wrestling when Andre The Giant would take on 3 guys half his size at the same time. But I'm glad it didn't go there!

Your friend sounds like he has an overabundance of guts and a severe lack of brain power. Confronting a group of individuals in a car is one of the easiest way to get severely injured. Being in a car they can hide all kinds of weapons that would magically appear, in their hands, when they step out. Now you are not only out manned but out armed. Top this off with the fact that you are a foreigner in their country and you most likely lose even if you win.

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

Chalk it up to bravado and booze, both of which have been known to get the better of normally cautious & street smart people. Thankfully we never found out what would have happened had they decided to listen to my friend. Had the same incident ocurred on some side street and not right outside the crowded HDR, the incident probably would have had a less fortunate ending. Like I said, I'm glad it didn't go there and you're 100% right. In a situation like that, you've got to swallow your pride, shut your mouth, and think about your personal well being.

I hate to hear about local males going off on gringo's in CR......I had enough of that in Hawaii......the local Hawaiian males truly hate haole's as they call us and talk about racism......I am not a confrontational guy but have had several fights and near fights with nasty hawaiian males who need our money but hate having to sweep floors, serve drinks, clean up after and otherwise cater to tourists in "their" world......

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You only live once. Do what you want to do.

WOW can you imagine that. Those dam locals are really getting out of hand. Here we are loud, obnoxious, drunk throwing our money around while they clean up after us and put up with our superior attitude. You would think they would show some gratitude and bow and scrape before us in ever lasting thanks.

While I never personally encountered an attitude in Hawaii from the locals that was many years ago. I have seen that attitude prevail in some other tourist destinations and most of the time if you talk to the individuals they did not come to their job with that attitude. Mr. & Mrs. Tourist turned them that way with their condesending attitude.

I am not saying their developing an attitude is correct I am just pointing out one of the causes and hoping that members of this board who read this thread will examine their own behavior and if necessary show a little more patience, compassion and understanding.

And that is the end of todays sermon. Go forth and sin no more

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

I have run into this the world over. In Egypt, I had a guy go off because I would not pay him double the going rate for a cab ride of 2 whole miles, In Rio, I have had to walk several blocks at night (not a good idea in Copa), because I could not get a taxi for less than a triple flat rate. In Bangkok, I had a waitress get mad (rare in Thailand BTW), because we "Falong" were cheap, only tipping 20 baht for our service (this is the customary tip to a waitress for a small meal or drink). In Prague, I was constantly hammered by everyone in sight to tip for virtually doing nothing.

Sometimes I get annoyed. If they were to come to America they would never be charged more or treated poorly just because they were a foreigner, but nearly everywhere I have gone (and was the foreigner) I have had to work hard not to be ripped off at every turn.

But we have to remember, that we create our own image (well, that and TV do). Most Americans think they are superior to the locals when they go to small countries, and make asses of themselves. After being treated this way enough times, the attitude is only natural.

The amount of expendable cash the typical tourist has is likely more than a years income for most of these people, we flaunt it, thereby creating the image that we have no respect for how hard it is to come by, and they DO resent us for our "Richer is Better" mentality.

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Just a squirrel tryin' to get a nut,
Carpe Diem!

Val

I've sessioned with quite a few smokin hot 18-22 year old Colombianas and THEY seemed to be the ones with the superior attitudes And man can they get dressed quickly

Thailand, Egypt, Czech Rep., and Costa Rica are all countries much poorer than the US, Canada and Western Europe. When you have a big contrast between the wealth of the visitors and the wealth of the locals, you will naturally have resentment. I've been to Prague myself, and you can be assured it's not just Americans they resent. They are not fond of the Germans or the Brits either.

By contrast, if you were to visit England (except London), Denmark, Germany or Holland, I think you would be generally treated fairly and with courtesy, though I haven't visited these places since our current President began his PR makeover of the USA.

Here in Costa Rica, the locals that aren't out to rip off tourists still see gringos and what do they see? If you walk down the walkway, you can spot the gringos easily. They are dressed 'funny' (by local standards), walk around with weird looks on their faces (puzzled, confused, awed, disgusted) and often seem to expect that the locals speak their language. If they walk by the Del Rey, they can see old gringos with comb-overs walking with young, attractive women. Back when I was living in the States I remember what I felt when I saw an ugly old guy with a young hottie, even though I was old and not too appealing myself. Suppose you were having a drink and in walked a Saudi Sheik with a 21 year old hottie. Might feel some resentment?

Anyway, I can't blame a little resentment and I take that into account in my dealings with locals. Even at that conflict sometimes arises. Oh well.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Hey Zombo----Too bad you didn't have JMAC with you. He would have handled those guys by himself!

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Why Chicas Come to CostaRica:

"Predators gather where prey abounds"

Also, I think what compounds the problem is that in America (or at least in Los Angeles where I am from) we are very money-oriented.

So it actually increases my chance of hooking up in America if girls see my BMW or Platinum American Express card (Note: This doesn't make me happy but as an survival technique I have been forced to adapt).

Therefore, since this is an effective strategy in America, Americans naturally consciously and sub-consciously flaunt what they have. However, in other places like Costa Rica (which I have to remind myself when I get there), this is not necessary and actually can make us a target creating illwill.

My two cents/colones...

Everyone seems to have an identity crisis in this post modern world we live in. So many double standards and oddities are so obvious to me. The more we become the same the more we strive to pronounce our difference. A few observations that are perplexing...

-Foreigners who adopt American fashion, watch our TV shows, and get caught up in the commerciality of apearances just like us...but they hate us for it in general...

-Many moslems, hindus and other cultures come to America to "pursue the American dream and higher education". They insist on wearing their burkas, turbans, etc...and wonder why they never completely fit in.

-"Gringos" go to other countries like Costa Rica, Panama, etc wearing their shorts/tshirts/sandals in the city...their women wear haltar tops and expose their navels in nice finer restaurants...and wonder why they never complete fit in.

-An American monger will spend $100 per hour for sex with an Latina prostitute, but fight over a $1 overcharge on his taxi fare.

I could go on and on...but the irrationalities of human nature continues millenium after millenium. Nothing has really changed much since the "big bang", creation week, ...or whatever you choose to believe...

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All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts...