1. Ticos will never, ever, 100% accept you. You will always be considered an ATM, even among those who befriend you. This has nothing to do with the hobby. Don't take it personally you are rich, elite, and a Ch*ld of privilege, regardless of your self-identity in the USA. Nobody can beg like a Tico, don't call them on it.

What do you mean by, “don’t call them on it”? Like don’t cause them to lose face by calling them beggars? Don’t tell them “no” with disgust?

It’s been my experience that no matter how ludicrous their claim, if you tell them it is ludicrous or you don’t believe them, they get highly offended. But, they forget all about it the next time they see you.

The funniest experience I had was one day I got 4 text messages, from 4 different girls, all claiming their mother had breast cancer and was sick or dying and they cannot afford the medicine to treat her. I sent them screenshots of the other girls’ same message. They didn’t get offended, they went away and quit texting.

Your example is HookerBeg which is universal and not limited to any time, nation, or culture. TicoBeg is slightly different. It is a product of generations of foreign domination (Spanish, British, USA, PRC). It leads them as a people to expect others to give them resources. It is as ingrained as racism in 'Merica. The Tico response (doctor, lawyer, indian chief) is "If you don't like MY country, YOU should go home (and send aid)".

Thanks! Many good points. What did you mean in your original post by, “Don’t call them on it”?

Simply this: When a Tico says or does something that you interpret as 'begging', don't try to change them. You can accept it, reject it or ignore it. But telling them to stop begging will just piss them off, not help the situation. It is not the way they see things.