Prices are two or three times
that charged Tico neighbors

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I read Mr. Tom Colborn's letter to the editor and the numerous responses. I have lived in Costa Rica six years and I am a permanent resident.   Mr. Colborn is absolutely correct in every word he wrote.  

I try to be a good neighbor and citizen.  I have contributed three computers to the local school as they only had one.  I paid for the materials to repair the road to our community after the water department destroyed it placing a new line and the municipality did not have the funds for repair.  Shortly after the road was destroyed, a  Tico neighbor's car slid off the road, and he broke his arm.  The 4 X 4 Cruz Roja ambulance tried for 2.5 hours to make it to the accident scene before giving up.   One of my employees leaves each afternoon at 3  to go to the local school to teach English as they have no English teacher.

How am I repaid?  My neighbor had a load of gravel delivered last week.  He paid one half the price for the same load from the same driver from the same gravel source as I paid three weeks ago.  I encounter the "Tico vs. Gringo" price on a daily basis.  You do not have enough space for me to itemize the instances where I have paid two to three times the amount for the exact item from the same store or vendor as my Tico neighbors.

Mr. Colborn did not mention that Costa Rica has some of the highest electric rates in the entire world, and ICE received another increase last October and have filed for yet another rate increase.  Is it necessary for ICE employees to drive Toyota Prados?  One of my elderly Tico neighbors busted out in tears when she received her last ICE bill.  She told me she would have to go without her heart medicine to pay her electric bill. 

I suspect the majority of the writers who are criticizing Mr. Colborn for telling the truth about Costa Rica are involved in either the real estate business or tourist trade.

To all of your readers who are going to write and say "go back where you came from" I say this:  Costa Rica has great potential.  I intend to stay and fight for change. 

To all of your readers who are considering moving to Costa Rica I  say this:  Do not believe the realtors or the tourist promoters.  Come here and live for at least six months before moving.  You will be glad you did.

Costa Ricans are way different
than North Americans

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Mr. Colborn’s criticism of Costa Rica by not calling it a paradise set off a firestorm of comments, many supporting his position, and many saying his point of view is flat out wrong.

As a foreigner who has lived many years in Costa Rica and amidst Costa Ricans, I have opinions about them as well. The Tico, like all people, can be petty, rude, selfish, thieving, corrupt, vindictive, down right spiteful and mean, envious, jealous, do stupid things, as well as being brilliant, innovative, generous, helpful, kind, caring, courteous, proud, honest, and all the other things that people can be.

But the Tico is indeed different, compared to other Central Americans, and certainly to the North American and Europeans. Of course, whatever I say is generalizing, but certain characteristics do stand out. They are: have an inferior complex when in the company of people from major countries, peaceful people, preferring to settle disputes through dialogue, not like their neighbors to the north where whipping out a knife or pistol is all too common in arguments, wanting to be liked or not disappointing the other party means never saying “no” to a request, knowing full well there is no intention of doing it, not being on time for an appointment, business, social or family or get something done, “more or less” is good enough for quality control, thin skinned, i. e., easily offended, a lack of awareness, not stupid,  meaning they do things as if they were alone on the planet, unmindful of the inconvenience caused to others, adoration to extreme of a fellow countryman or woman who succeeds abroad in anything.  There are other characteristics, of course, but this is enough to give you an idea of a difference.

Is the Costa Rican society and the way they do things defective, and has room for a lot of improvement? You bet it does. Man is not perfect, but then you could say that about every society or group of people. What really matters for us as foreigners is can we adjust to the Tico way, and still be happy, little by little improving that what is around us by example, and not by criticizing too much. It boils down to what you are comfortable with, and the type of challenges you are willing to take on.

If Costa Rica is too much to deal with, too frustrating, too disappointing, then go back to where you came from, and work with those people for local improvement.  Costa Rica is improving thanks to certain foreigners. Isn’t that always the case everywhere?


Writer should have trashed
his very public diatribe

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Regarding Tom Colborn's letter to the editor last Thursday:

It always helps to get things off our chests by writing down what's griping us on a piece of paper, or these days, type them on a Word document on our computer.  However, it's usually unwise to send such a letter or e-mail; better that we throw it away or delete it.  Mr. Colborn's very public diatribe on Costa Rica would have been best kept to himself, or just shared with those close to him.  We have all had our bad and worst days and experiences here and we certainly share them, but not so publicly and viciously.  Bad things happen to people in all countries and we deal with it as best we can.  One could just as easily tear apart life in the U.S.  

He has touched a raw nerve with many of the expats and Ticos who reside here.  In the U. S., citizens get very irritated when foreign residents or guests belittle the United States publicly.  Complaining foreigners do not endear themselves, and often only create backlashes that serve no one and change nothing.  We all know the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."  A more apropos saying in this instance might read, "When in Rome, don't offend the Romans." 

After all is said and done, it does not a matter of whether or not your observations are correct or incorrect, what matters is that you have publicly insulted a whole culture.  I sincerely hope that Ticos reading his message will not hold your message against the rest of the expats who have chosen to live here.

Basically, he has two choices, adapt to or leave Costa Rica.  Both are tough choices to make.  Adapting is the more positive choice and may require that he move to a more secure and tranquil area.  The latter choice is the one I hope he chooses.


Airport pat downs annoy
nearly every traveler

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I enjoyed the article about airport pat downs.
 
The woman who would like to think she got singled out due to her Middle Eastern dress style should not feel too special.
 
During my last trip to Costa Rica, I had to go through Atlanta's huge international airport.  I had to go through all the scanners, x-rays, searches, took the shoes, belt, and everything else off even though I had already done it in my hometown when I went through my local airport.  For the life of me I couldn't figure out what was setting the alarms off, so a pretty blonde woman ran her hands inside my pants, etc, etc.  "Hey this isn't bad" I thought.  Offered her 20 bucks to do it again, but she declined.  Anyway, turned out there was a tiny plastic bottle of Germ-X hand sanitizer in one of my pant pockets that I had missed.   Ooooooh, call me the mad bomber!  What a hoot.
 
Coming back I got another laugh in the San José airport.  The alcohol that I had bought at the duty-free shop had been torn apart by the package searchers and caused the plane to wait for the package to be retaped and sent to the plane.  The duty-free shop where I had bought the package was about 150 feet from the tables where the package searchers did their thing.  If someone thought that I had put something in the duty free box in such a short space of time and distance, they must have forgotten about the checkpoint I had to go through just to get in the airport — shoes and belt off, x-ray, metal detector, and all the rest of it.
 
No the Middle Eastern woman should not flatter herself in any way, manner, shape or form.  She simply isn't entitled to!  I am a white male, 59, six feet tall, and worked for the defense department 30 years as an intelligence analyst.  Clearances and all the rest of it. 
 
So if anyone wants to say that their race, religion, sex, clothes or anything else caused them to be searched I would like to talk to them!

But there is a happy note to all this as I hear more people are opting for travel via cruise ship and ground travel.
 
I am just glad that I don't own stock in an airline.
 

Find out what the papers said today in Spanish By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Here is the section where you can scan short summaries from the Spanish-language press. If you want to know more, just click on a link and you will see and longer summary and have the opportunity to read the entire news story on the page of the Spanish-language newspaper but translated into English. Translations may be a bit rough, but software is improving every day. When you see the Summary in English of news stories not covered today by A.M. Costa Rica, you will have a chance to comment. This is a new service of A.M. Costa Rica called Costa Rica Report. Editor is Daniel Woodall, and you can contact him HERE!

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