(Study Abroad) Traffic

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1. The traffic here takes a bit of getting used to. Not the quantity of traffic, but more the way people drive. The first rule I figured out was the most important, and a necessary one for leaving Costa Rica alive: cars, buses, and semis have the right of way. This sounds easy to adjust to, but in reality it takes a bit of adaptation. The sidewalks here are generally very narrow, and in some places they don’t really exist. Therefore, walks through the city require a state of constant awareness (at least initially), and you have to be prepared to quickly jump out of the way if you here a horn behind you.

While cars have the right of way over people, every car seems to think that they have the right of way over each other as well. I have already seen one wreck since arriving; it was not anything life-threatening, but both of the drivers seemed to mistake the stop sign for a yield sign. Despite the aggressiveness of these drivers, they all seem much less angry than U.S. drivers. Sure, they cut each other off, honk a lot, and hit each other sometimes, but none of them seem to take it personally. No one yells or curses, and when I look into a car expecting to see a scowl, I rarely do. Pura Vida, I guess… They have more important things to get worked up about.

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