Probably, in a country where the sun almost always shines, people cannot be unhappy. But I don’t think this is the only thing. It’s just that the mentality here is completely different. Frequent meetings with relatives, friends and acquaintances are common in Costa Rica.
At first it may seem unusual, and then you realize that people simply cannot live without communication. They need to constantly share their impressions, news, and sometimes – just talk about everything and nothing. This is part of life in Costa Rica. When you get used to this, you begin to appreciate this most lively communication, from which we are so unaccustomed in the modern world. And this can be seen literally everywhere: airport, supermarket, hotel, street. People can talk to each other everywhere, regardless of whether they know each other.
I had the opportunity to attend friends’ parties, family meetings and even a birthday party. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a birthday in my homeland is radically different from what I saw here. In Costa Rica, you will not see a common table with a variety of dishes and guests who continually say toasts and wishes to the birthday person. This is a completely different holiday format. Yes, people meet in one place, BUT:
- Nobody comes at the appointed time. The concept of time in relation to everyday life is very vague here. If you make an appointment at 6 pm, wait until at least 7. Everyone arrives at different times and leaves at different times. You can’t change it – you just need to accept and understand. With my punctuality, it was extremely difficult for me to do this, but now I even see some advantages in this. Nobody rushes anyone, does not strain and does not wait during =)
- In a large company, everyone is always scattered into groups. Throughout the evening, people move around and as a result, everyone talked to each other. Why is such a system not good ?! At first I thought that this was somehow not in my opinion, as if there was no cohesion, and what is the general purpose of this meeting, if not to communicate all together? But remembering how it happens in my usual life, I realized that it’s so convenient! The main thing is that as a result, everyone talked and discussed everything they wanted. This means that the goal has been achieved. Of course, if a small company is gathering, this is not the case (in this case, the format of the meeting is familiar to us), but if 10-15 or even more people gather (which is not surprising here at all), it is very convenient.
- Food. Perhaps only at weddings you can see the table set here! If this is a meeting of a large company, then most likely it will be just snacks that everyone imposes on themselves. And just think! The owners of the house do not need to spend the whole day in the kitchen to meet the guests, since many guests can bring something with them, and the owners of the house are not expected to have a full dinner. Even alcoholic drinks here are taken by everyone. Well, just perfect for those who invited guests! Although, of course, everything depends on the people themselves. I was at a party where the hosts were preparing (as it seemed to me) the most delicious paella in the world! And in very large quantities =) For his birthday, the birthday man prepared snacks in the form of a buffet, which is also very interesting and tasty.
