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You Know You've Been In Costa Rica A Long Time When...
Inside Costa Rica- By Christopher Howard

(1) You drive like a Tico thinking you are playing a video game.

(2) If you start to address some Spanish-speaking male friends as 'mae' or 'huevón'

(3) If you get angry or upset you say, "¡hijueputa!" (SOB)

(4) If you jaywalk without fearing a traffic ticket

(5) If you are a male, you have no fear of being arrested for urinating in public

(6) If you have no fear of bribing someone

(7) If you become less punctual

(8) If 'gallo pinto' is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of breakfast

(9) If you are a man and you start to say 'piropos' to beautiful women

(10) If waiting in long lines seems normal

(11) If you begin to tell a lot of “white lies”

(12) If you go to buy something and you say “regalame” (Costa Rican way of saying, Give me...”) instead of “dame”

(13) If you become a soccer fan

(14) If you watch telenovelas (soap operas) and the local news in Spanish

(15) If you can give directions like a Tico

(16) If the word águila doesn’t mean eagle but a cold bottle of Imperial beer.

(17) If you call Payless Shoes (pie-less)

(18) If you call Texaco (Tex- sock-oh)

(19) If you start to refer to the U.S. as “The Yunited”

(20) If you use the word Gringo when talking with Costa Ricans about other Americans.

(21) If you know that the word chorizo (literally sausage) means bribery or illegal business.

(22) If you use the "vos" form of most verbs when talking to most Spanish speakers.

(23) If you learn how to "vacilar" or joke around like most Costa Ricans and enjoy their great sense of humor

(24) If you say "Estamos en Costa Rica" (We’re in Costa Rica) to talk about the way things are here. This works sort of like c’est la vie or “that’s the way life is here.”

(25) If bars and razor wire on homes seem normal.

(26) If you realize that most male/female relationships here are like Spanish soap operas

(27) If you are a male, you have a mate who is half your age, you realize she is not with you for "su linda cara" (good looks) but for "amor" (love) ..amor de la plata (love of money)

(27) If you really know what the term "pura vida" means and “live it.”

(28) If you are a male and you begin to think like a Costa Rican man where the most important things in your life are beer, women and soccer but not necessarily in that order.

(29) If the Tico way of doing things starts to seem normal

(30) If you become "vivo" or wise to the ways of the Costa Rican world and know how things really work here.

(31) If you know the difference between a “hotel” and a “motel.”

(32) If you refer to Puntarenas “El puerto.”

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

Great stuff MG, I am guilty of more than a few on the list.

Others:

If completely illogical things make you shrug or laugh rather than angry ( I find this is a key to keeping sane down here)

BKTUNA/Boyd
I am never going home

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BKTUNA/Boyd
I am never going home

so true. hahaha

I have heard it remarkd that the "vos" form was used here but never noticed it. Interesting that the "vos" form is used in Costa Rica especially since "usted" is still the preferred singular form in general conversation.

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Why settle for just one woman when you can enjoy them all?