Tiquismos

My wonderful cousin Jamie Buckmaster sent me a fantastic map and a guide to Costa Rican Spanish in the mail! The best way to say thank you, I've heard, never uses those words — so suffice it to say that I have been looking all over for some kind of Costa Rican Spanish guide, and like magic I received one on the mail yesterday. Love you Jamie — this will be endlessly useful, and I will think of you every time I look something up in public and look like such a gringa.

Costa Ricans call themselves ticos (ticas for all my ladies), and accordingly their idioms are called "tiquismos." Here's a list of some of my favorites from the book:

achantarse- to be lazy and not feel like doing anything (certainly useful)
buena nota- a cool person (usually a good grade)
ser camote- to be weird (literally, to be a sweet potato)
¿Cómo está el arroz?- how are things? (literally, how is the rice?)
culo de tres nalgas- to be conceited (literally, to have three buttcheeks)
gato encerrado- more than meets the eye (literally, hidden cat)
jalarse una torta- to get pregnant, or err (literally, to pull the cake)
la madre- terrible (literally, the mother)
mamar- to do poorly on an exam (literally, to suck)
pelo de gato- a drizzle (literally, the hair of a cat)
pipa- a smart person, or a coconut (literally, a pipe)
ruco- horse, or pants (would this cause problems? give me my horse?)
yodo- coffee (literally, iodine)
zompopa- a big ant (very useful)

I love language! Although I'll probably wait to call someone a sweet potato until they've said it first.

15 days

Oh hello!

Bienvenidos (that means welcome, Mom) to my Costa Rica blog. Now don't worry — I haven't left yet. Don't think you missed something. More and more, though, as I approach the date of my departure (15 days!) my life is becoming geared solely toward my Costa Rica trip and, that being said, my mind is already practically there. It's the journey, not the destination, right? (Even if your journey is to a journey.)

The most exciting news today is I received official confirmation of my host family! My good friend Lynda, who is in Costa Rica already, is currently living with them and recommended them to me.

Here is my address:
Residencial Málaga de la casetilla del guarda a la izquierda hasta terminar la cuesta casa

You know what that says? The ... something ... to the left before the end of the slope. Do you think they drop letters off "before the slope"? Yeah, that's what I thought. Keep your postcards unaddressed for now.

Everything else seems to make perfect sense for me, though. My host mom is named Lily and she has a 10-year-old daughter, Sara. They are a Christian family and regularly host church events. I get my own room and bathroom. They know I'm a vegetarian. They live next to a park. And so much more — everything I've heard makes me think that I will be perfectly matched to live there. And I can't wait to watch Lily cook, do chores, dance with Sara, walk to the park, live in the city.

That's all for now — but as a preview to the kind of cheesy thing I'll probably do on here, let me give you a poema that's always been my favorite (excluding the beautiful Pablo Neruda one I memorized junior year — gracias a Sra. Kissane!). I like to think of myself as a traveller — a walker, metaphorically, here.

Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar.

por Antonio Machado

Hasta luego!