Its funny... a lot of members of this forum claim to be experts on the culture in CR, based upon their experience as tourists. However, their only exposure to culture in CR is in the gulch. I think this leads to a very bad perception of ticos.
The ticos that hang around in the gulch are mostly scum, with the exception of some of the employees, and the few that gather for drinks on Friday night or to watch soccer games, fights and such. Some members even form their opinions based on their experience with pirate taxi drivers, with whom they claim to be friends. These guys are sometimes scammers, drug dealers, wife beaters... in other words filth. Not all are... and not all have all 3, but they tend to be nothing but sheisters.
I'm making a generalization, but the point I'm trying to make is that Ticos are people, just like and me. They are not all macho, lazy, wife beaters and drunks. The ticos, with whom I associate, are not any different than my friends in the US. They have jobs and are responsible family members. They have educations, a sense of pride in what they do. They are laid back, but NOT LAZY by any means. They are honest and do not steal. And last, but not least, they LOOK DOWN on the average gringo tourist who hangs around the gulch. I went out with a few to the Key Largo Bar on a friday night. They were laughing and making fun of all the stupid drunk gringos, with horrible dancing schools, and tacky clothing, blowing all their money on expensive prostitutes. It was amusing to them. They didn't actually say this in direct words, but I got the point. They were also alluding to the fact that none of the guys in the bar could ever get laid by a truly hot tica with class.
Yes, the culture here is much more old school than the US and does favor a macho attitude, but it is changing dramatically. I guess my final point is that gringos in CR tend to have a huge degree of arrogance regarding the tico culture. They just assume that WE are always better than THEM. What I've learned in my nearly 2 years of living here, is that PEOPLE are PEOPLE everywhere. There is good and bad everywhere. I regard my tico friends as equivalent in culture, class, education and essentially everything. This is because I didn't make my friends in the gulch.
Okay... I'm done bitching...
_________________ http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica. In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.
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