By Katie P., Guestblogger from Coronado, Costa Rica Independent Teen program
People in the Park – *names changed
The best place to hang out for an interesting day in Coronado is
the park right in front of the huge gray church in the center of town. Almost
always you will meet some entertaining character or another. The first was Mark.
Four other gringos and myself were hanging out at the benches and this
middle-aged man approaches us and introduces himself. With his dark skin we
assumed him to just be an English-speaking Costa Rican but it turns out he’s
from California, with Italian heritage. Mark has lived in Costa Rica for 22
years; he moved here for a more simple life after getting out of the US army.
He was definitely an interesting character, who talked with a twitch, and we
enjoyed his company until he started getting carried away with over helpful
information about all the places he could take us in Costa Rica. (He works with
a tour agency.)
As we were getting ready to move on with our day, his friend
passed by in a rustic old jeep and Mark called us over with excitement. He
explained his friend work at a nature reserve and specialized with reptiles.
All of a sudden his friend pulls a snake out of his pocket and holds it out the
window for us to pet! Now, I know I’m not supposed to talk to strangers and
touch wild animals but I couldn’t help but be kind of fascinated. I was the
first to stroke the boa constrictor’s sleek tummy!
Another day, we, the same crew, were hanging out in the center of
the park and we saw another white guy sitting in the grass, writing in a journal
or something. Being the curious, friendly people that we are we introduced
ourselves end ended up joining him in the grass. Paul is from Missouri and just
arrived in Costa Rica two weeks before. He knew absolutely no Spanish and had
been teaching himself, with journal and Spanish/English dictionary at hand.
Yeah, Paul had just gotten married last week to a Costa Rican girl that he had
been talking to via online dating service for the past six months. So now he
will live in Costa Rica for a while and then bring her back to the States when
she can get her passport in order. We would have loved to talk to Paul some
more but he had to run because some guy had just offered him a thousand bucks
to do a photo shoot. Strange, but… okay!
On a different day, three friends and myself were hanging out,
standing by the church steps when we saw a group of Tico teenagers looking at
us from across the street. A tall, skinny boy with a hoop nose ring and a
petite, dark featured girl with an oversized lip stud approached us and
introduced themselves. Johnny and Rosa were very friendly, the boy, age 17, and
the girl, 15. These new acquaintances spoke only Spanish, which I welcomed
openly, excited to practice my foreign tongue with kids my own age. At first it
was difficult to keep a conversation going as we had to keep saying, “Que??”
and “Otra Vez” and “Mas despacio por favor!” As I kept talking I realized my
conversational skills quickly adapt.
Talking to kids your own age opens up a new level of
conversation; it’s not the same as learning Spanish in classroom. I felt myself
getting used to the way they talked, and the language was flowing out of my own
mouth more fluidly then I had ever heard myself speak before! Soon their other
friends joined us and we were all joking around, taking pictures, listening to
each other’s mp3 players, and even exchanged emails and numbers and planned to
meet up again later. Johnny and Rosa are super cool kids, and every time I see
them we exchange the customary kiss on the cheek. I was glad to meet some of
the locals; I could feel myself go into Spanish mode as I was forced to
practice my speech. It was sweet to have the Tico’s insight on where to go eat,
shop, and to tour as well. It’s also a plus to have a mixed group of Ticos and
Gringos because its safer for us since they know their way around Costa Rica
and us gringos don’t look like complete tourists for once!
Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s Independent Teen program in Coronado, Costa Rica.
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