Letters from Paradise: Interesting Things About Costa Rica

Interesting Things About Costa Rica

A whole family, and I mean literally a whole family as in dad, mom, a son, a daughter and a baby riding on a motorcycle together. The daughter was riding in front of the dad, the dad was steering, and the son was behind the dad and in front of the mom who was on the back holding the baby. It was ridiculous. And of course no one was wearing a helmet.
A rooster or a chicken here is more valuable than a dog or a cat. If you were to accidentally kill your neighbor’s dog or cat it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But if you were to kill their chicken it would be a BIG problem. Pets here do not have the same role that they do in the US. Here they are considered something that guards a house or keeps the pests away. I am not saying that they don’t care for their animals but they are much more utilitarian about it. There is probably no one here that would let his or her dog live in the house, or get on the furniture or god forbid sleep in a bed with someone. Dogs and cats are also allowed to roam free in the streets. Here are some chickens that I see daily on my walk to school:

Rice and beans are a totally acceptable food at any meal, and many times multiple times in a day.
For a country that has so much fruit available, they sure do seem to eat a lot of starches.
There are no stoplights in Quepos. Not even one. There are very few stop signs and traffic rules are definitely a suggestion.
It is very difficult for foreigners to get cell phones in Costa Rica. There is apparently a law here that only allows people who are citizens to get cell phone numbers. If I wanted to get a cell phone here I would have to find a Tico that would essentially add another cell phone number to his plan and then let me use it and pay him for it.
My family here in Quepos only has 4 TV channels. If you want more channels you have to get a satellite.