Gringo Culture

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Hey, so I'm back. I've been doing a lot, and have a lot to catch you up on! First, I wanted to add a small entry on gringo culture in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, Costa Rica is becoming something like a small piece of the United States. The country is packed with American tourists, but more recently, droves of wealthy Americans who have decided to retire here, and the affects are, in my opinion, less than desirable. Clothing, name brands, food, and yes, even walmart, have all come to CR, and within the past two years, the cell phone fad has crashed on the youth; in some cases you might not even notice the difference between American youth and Ticos. In some places, menus are only in English, and the word "American" is plastered on everything in attempts to entice uneasy tourist.

I could have gone on and on with this entry, both with text and photos, but this is sufficient to get an idea of what's going on. The other side of Gringo Culture that exists, though I have yet to experience it, are groups of Americans or others, often-times married couples with a lot of spunk, come to Costa Rica to buy up land to preserve it, like in San Gerardo de Rivas, or to start up a save-the-sea-turtles breeding ground, like in Tortuguero. There's good stuff too, but you have to look a bit more for it. When I do, you'll see the photos!

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Photos

hang ten
Costa Rica's many beautiful beaches and breaks have brought hordes of surfers, beginning surfers (like me), would-be surfers, and people who like to watch surfers, namely, wealthy american retirees who want a little piece of the beach. The result is lots of gringos, and also...

hang on!
Overdevelopment. It's rampant, and it's not going to slow down any time soon. This one is on the beach front of Jaco, and it's even worse in Tamarindo, where construction has ruined parts of and contaminated the nearby national park.

It's just as stupid here as it is in the States
Only here, there has to be a fat warning on every advertisement that reads, "Smoking is damaging to your health," which is more assertive than our, "studies have showed that there is a possibility that chances have come to determine indirectly you'll probably..." be dead. soon. Doesn't stop them, either, though.

Gringos trying to cook
How said dudes can't cook? We're taking a class, and learning the secrets of the Ticos: use lots of fat and oil, use lots of salt, and make about five times as much as your guest can eat.

brand names abound
And while we're learning to cook like a Tico, Pizza Hut rocked the world of Carnival-goers during the week of festivities. My Spanish-conversation partner only goes to Carnival for the Pizza. no joke.

Party Hardy
Being in Costa Rica doesn't prevent us from throwing a good ole american bash every now and then. Don't worry, we invite the Ticos, too.

párabus
Gringo tourists are everywhere. this family was reading harry potter, waiting for the direct bus to San Jose

International Hostel (sort of)
When you travel you can meet people from all over the world! Here I met people from Boston, California, Chicago, California, Florida, California, and Canada. wow. To be fair, I also met people from Sweden, and Portugal, who all spoke English because "to travel, you don't have to know the language of the country to which you are traveling; everyone knows English already because Americans don't want to learn another language..." ouch.

the Pure Life
Pura Vida is the Costa Rican slogan, greeting, good-bye, and way of life. This picture from el Museo de Arte Costaricense says it all about how some Ticos feel about Americans moving in next door.

Comments

[John - Costa Rica Explorations]

You're absolutely right about the overdevelopment, especially on the Pacific Coast, it's tough to watch. It is getting harder and harder to have an authentic and cultural experience in Costa Rica. However, as you mentioned, the development trend isn't all bad. Many people are traveling to Costa Rica to participate in volunteer vacations which combine community service projects with homestays and adventure travel.