I have very rarely been in a visible minority group. Walking around San Jose today (away from the immediate tourist areas) I was visibly a minority; not a ton of other folks with the kind of skin that freckles instead of tans. I'm pretty sure I already have a bit of a sunburn. I also only know about 10 mispronounced Spanish words/phrases. So upon realizing the above I immediately became more self-conscious and unsure of my actions. I waited behind a man blocking the sidewalk awkwardly for about 2 minutes because I wasn't sure how to say excuse me. I eventually mumbled something that sounded like "pardone" and ducked under his arm.
While I am intimidated by my overwhelming lack of language skill and cultural social graces, I am excited for the challenge of communicating my wants/needs as well as socializing with locals. I work with ELL (English Language Learners) students and families and I know that being in the language minority/unable to communicate as effectively as I want to will be an amazing learning experience and frame of reference to reflect upon.
I am also very self-conscious of falling into stereotypes of American travelers. I have had so many people tell me to say that I am from Canada and I have responded each time that I think I could be a positive representative from America. Now, I'm not totally convinced, I should have practiced more Spanish before getting here, and I am totally unaware of the social customs of Costa Rica. Walking around the town I attempted to observe as many social interactions as possible and to engage in a few of my own...I'll keep trying. I learned that honking is used very differently here, less for traffic purposes and more a masculine way to greet women. I also found that the people I talked to quickly switched to English after I mumbled my first "hola." I'll keep working on it and hopefully by my next post I'll regale you with tales of less awkward interactions and conversations. - Sarah Catudio
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