![]() However, there is an attitude that lies in the High-Context culture, and it is not that easy to detect and understand. These first two facts about Costa Rican culture can be frustrating for visitors, but it’s usually an easier decision to go with the flow and accept them. The dark side: facts about Costa Rica culture Of course, this won’t be all the time but happens quite often. So use your best intuition skills to understand that maybe when someone says yes it’s only to be nice. The reality is that the social dynamics of our culture will require guessing and reading between the lines. This will allow the person to give you an honest answer without the guilt of thinking that they are being rude. But a good thing to do is clarify that you won’t be hurt if they say “no” to you. Unfortunately, when you live here, you get used to that. Ticos can be seen as polite but not sincere. Over time, I learned that thinking differently is Ok and brings an enrichment to our relationships. When I first started working with other cultures, I felt that they were rude, but now I see that maybe Tico culture wired me to see a different opinion as bad. I personal had struggle a lot with this because of personality but also growing up in this culture that reinforces conflict avoidance. Rather than hurt someone, we say one thing and do another. “NO” is a syllable that seems almost rude to us. This will drive Ticos to avoid conflict-raised voices are seldom heard, fights rarely seen and Ticos will nod or say “si” even when they don’t mean it simply to avoid disappointing the people or making trouble. In the book “The Ticos”², the author refers to the fact that Costa Ricans value peace and friendliness. Ticos can’t say NO – Indirect communicationĬosta Ricans have the tendency to always quedar bien (be on the good side with everyone). – When Ticos invite someone to an event, we have to write in the invitation that the event starts 30 minutes before it actually does so people will show up on time.Ģ. ![]() – One day I committed to attend 3 appointments during the same day: a work appointment, coffee with my girlfriends and a conference at night…. – Rodrigo was running late to guided a tour of British tourists and the first thing that one of them said was, “To be on time is to be late.” He tried his best to make the group happy again, but it was difficult. One of the facts about Costa Rican culture definitely is that Polychronic orientation. It’s easy now for me to understand the potential number of misunderstandings about the way to interact with these two different views of time. These cultures organize their lives around time by relying on time-keeping, calendars, and cell phone reminders. Individuals from P-time cultures operate many things at the same time and are more concerned about people and the present moment.Ĭultures that operate on the M-time end of the time scale include most of the places in North America and Nothern Europe. ![]() ![]() P-time cultures include many countries in Africa, Latin America, and those bordering the Mediterranean. In the book The Silent Language (1959) Edward T Hall, an American anthropologist, and cross-cultural researcher coined the term “polychronic” (P-time) and “monochronic” (M-time) cultures.¹ It’s also about how people use the time in various places around the world. We often hear people from “X” culture are always late or people from “Y” are always on time.īut why? Well, let’s look from the perspective that is about more than being late, on time or early. You may have already heard about this or noticed it when visiting some other country. Classic facts about Costa Rican culture: 1. So this applies to other cultures similar to ours-basically if you are traveling around Latin America. In order to provide good service, they avoid doing cultural behaviors that can annoy our visitors.īecause of this, tourists who visit Costa Rica for short periods of time may not have time to experience or even notice some facts about Costa Rican culture.īut there are a few facts about Costa Rican culture that will be helpful for students, volunteers, missionaries or anyone who comes for a long period to understand the social dynamics of our country.īreaking through cultural differences will help you to better respect the culture that you are exploring. ![]() Costa Ricans who work in the tourist sector has to get used to the cultural differences. Your own way to do thing might not be always the right–or the only correct–way to do something.Īs a Costa Rican, I have to learn things like being on time, being more direct in my communication or just explaining our sense of humor to someone else.Ĭosta Rica is well-known for people’s friendliness and the Pura Vida lifestyle, and that is totally correct. ![]()
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