Pura vida

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – In this day and age, the world moves at a pretty fast pace. Even for self-professed “lazy” college students, time is regimented: class at 9, work at 1:30, Kilroy’s at midnight. Patience is a virtue, but patience is a lot to ask when you show up late for a date or sleep through an exam.\nStill, even those of us in my study abroad program who generally have issues with timeliness were absolutely blown away when we discovered the local phenomenon known as “Tico time.” (Tico is a familiar tag name for any native Costa Rican.) “I’ll meet you at noon” roughly translates to “I’ll try to be there before one,” and “I’ll be with you in a minute” can mean you’re in for an hour-long wait. \nIt’s not that things don’t get done here. In fact, Costa Ricans are very industrious and hard-working. What keeps a society like this functioning is simply that Costa Ricans cut out the large chunk of time that many Americans spend freaking out, hyperventilating or having massive coronaries from stress. I’m pretty sure those who feel a need to check their watches and Blackberries every five seconds wouldn’t last a week here – at least not with their sanity intact. \nSo, yes, the traffic here seems like it’s always at a standstill, and even though sometimes the buses get where they’re going long after they’re supposed to, no one ever seems concerned about being late. What good would that do, anyway? In the United States, we feel like we have to be in control of everything, but here in Costa Rica, it is widely acknowledged that it is not only impossible, but undesirable, to do so. Sure, it might take an hour for a waiter to bring your food to the table, especially because nobody gives tips here, but if you’re sitting with someone you like to talk to, then what’s the rush? Somehow, cramming Taco Bell down before class doesn’t seem quite as appealing to me anymore.\nFor the most part, my group has learned to put aside our watches and be just as patient as Ticos generally are with us. For example, when I recently attempted to relate a story – in Spanish – to one of my professors about someone I knew who had been mugged, I accidentally told her that my friend had been attacked with a giant spoon. Instead of laughing out loud, she waited for me to finish and politely corrected me. Slips like that are laughed off and tolerated here, luckily, and worrying is not at a premium.\nThere’s a common expression here, “pura vida,” which literally means “pure life.” It is used to mean anything from “What’s up?” to “Have a nice day!” to “Thank goodness the Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl!” In fact, whole conversations can be conducted using only these two words. But more than anything, this phrase describes a calmer lifestyle.\nAlthough I’m not suggesting that you start running on Tico time, try not to freak out too much during midterm season. Take it from the Ticos: Worrying doesn’t do any good. Pura vida!