Una Vida Bonita!

Buenas días amigos,

One of my absolute favorite spanish vocabulary words I've picked up here in Costa Rica is "tranquila" which means "Calm", and here they use it how us americans would use, "It's all good" or "no worries." "Oh hey sorry I forgot to call you" "Tranqula mai." I love it! Tranquila is also a great way to describe my lifestyle here. Very laid back and very go-with-the-flow. It is hard to be in a bad mood surrounded by such happy and genuine people.

The people of Costa Rica, and America Latina in general, live life a little differently that we do in the United States. For one, their family unit is extremely close and the most important thing really. In the United States it's normal for kids to move out of the house when they turn 18, or when they are leaving for college. It's almost looked down upon to live with your parents past the age of 20. Here in central America, things run a little differently. Kids here live with their parents basically until they get married or move out of the country. 22, 25, even 30 year olds are still living with their parents, going to school, and working at the same time. This is the norm. When trying to explain to my parents that I am from Oregon but go to school in Arizona, I was met with extreme confusion. Why would I possibly go to school so far away from home? My host mom always asks me if I miss my family, and I don't really know how to explain to her that even if I was in the States, I would be at school in Flagstaff and it would be the same amount of time until I saw my parents and brother again.

This topic is hitting me pretty close to home this week because my 22 year old host twins have both announced plans to move out in October. Juan has been planning his move to West Virginia for about a year, so his parents were not surprised when he bought a plane ticket. Juan has a girlfriend living their and they plan to get married in December. Diego, on the other hand, out of the blue announced that he would be leaving for Canada at the end of October. Whenever this topic is brought up around my host mom, she is reduced to tears. The thought of any child leaving their home for the first time is always hard for a mother, but imagine both of your sons announcing they we're moving to different countries in a month! The tight-knit nature of this family is incredible, and it kinda breaks my heart to think that the boys will be leaving soon. It is kinda nice having two older brothers to hang out with everyday. My heart goes out to my host mom, because I know that their move will be very, very hard on her. I can only hope to do my best to comfort her and be here for her for the duration of my stay.

I feel so blessed to have been invited and excepted into this family, especially when the family unit is such an important part of their culture. What a beautiful thing it is to have such a strong support system at all times. If anything it gives me a chance to really appreciate my own family, and also makes me nostalgic for the time I lived at home, and the times I spent with my parents in the past. Although I am not permanently living in another country and will be returning home for the holidays, which is something I am really looking forward too.

What I'm really trying to get at in this entry is that in the United States, a lot of the time, we put other things before our families. We choose to go to schools in different towns and states, we choose to travel, we choose to work long hours and skip out on family time. We are all guilty. We are told to live our lives, and part of that is leaving your family and learning things for yourself. But maybe, just maybe, the people here have got something right. Maybe our families should be our number one, because in reality, when you take away the materialistic, they are all we have. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to leave your family and make the most out of your life, because if I hadn't done so, I don't think I ever would have appreciated what I had. All I know is, when I return home, I will be making room in my schedule for some much needed family time.

..