The following interview was conducted on Wednesday, November 12, 2014.  The individual interviewed is a 33-year-old female from Costa Rica.  She has lived in the United States for three years.  The interviewee relocated to Southwest Florida following her marriage to a U.S. citizen.  She has an 11-year-old son who also relocated to the United States.

 

“You know, when I first came to the United States, I know very little English.  Dario, he knew a lot.  I depended on Dari and Jason to help me with my talking.  I didn’t say too much then.”

Question:         Why did Dario (her son) know so much more English than you did?

Answer:           I sent him to a private school.  I wanted him to learn English.  The school was a Christian school run by an American company.  They also ran the church.  Dari started to go when he was only five.  At the school, English was the primary language.

 

Question:         Why was it important for Dari to learn English?

Answer:           In Costa Rica, where I am from, in Guanacaste, many people speak English.  We have a lot of tourists and a lot of people who retire to Costa Rica from the United States. Our coast in Costa Rico is all natural.  You cannot build on the beach.  There are not roads.  You have to walk there or you have to go on a boat.  In our country there are lots of regulations to protect the environment.  We have volcanoes, rain forests, hot springs, and mountains. You can cross the whole country in eight hours.  It’s not so big.

We are outside a lot.  Our kids don’t play a lot of video games.  They climb trees, go to the beach or play soccer.  Soccer is very big in Costa Rica especially for the boys.

I think too, a lot of people come there because of medical tourism.  Our hospitals are like resorts and the cost is super cheap.  Tourism, real estate and coffee are our major industries.  So, we put a high premium on English.  That’s how I met Jason.  He was selling houses for a developer.

Of course, I wanted to learn English too.  Before I met Jason, I wanted to go to Europe to get my Ph.D. in psychology.  I was just too lazy to learn English.  To a child, it comes easy but to me, not so much.  Oh, I learn it now because I have to and because Jason and Dari they help me so much.

 

Question:         Tell me about the family structure in Costa Rico and the gender roles of males and females.

Answer:           It is definitely a matriarchal society.  Many of the fathers, they are not involved with their kids.  Marriage is not highly valued.  My story is very typical.  My father had like 11 kids.  We didn’t even know each other.  When I was in college, I was sitting in a class one day and I learned that the girl sitting next to me was my sister.  We figured this out.  We had never met before that day.

I had a brother growing up but my dad had other relationships so there were other children.  My mom and dad always lived together.  They never got divorced.  This is common there.  Adultery is openly accepted.  We are Catholic.  Many Costa Ricans are so, there is no divorce.  It is frowned upon.

 

Question:         So, are women valued in Costa Rican society?

Answer:           No.  They want women to be married.  They don’t discourage us economically.  We can go to school.  I got a degree but, the education is free.  They still expect women to cook, clean and take care of the kids.  The boys are raised to think this.  They are very, how you say, macho?

 

Question:         And what about the family?  Are families close?

Answer:           Yes.  I know this sounds strange but the families are tight and, they are very traditional.  Most Costa Ricans live with their grandparents, aunts, cousins.  Families are big and many people live together.  You can be 35 and still live at home.  We don’t have much privacy.  It is not so much valued in Costa Rica as it is here (in the United States).

 

Question:         What is an appropriate Costa Rican greeting?

Answer:           We are very friendly, close and warm people.  Here, I feel people are very cold and distant.  We kiss when we greet someone even if we don’ want to.  The men, they shake hands a lot.  Human contact is commonplace.  You are a teacher.  Our teachers hug their students and our students kiss their teachers.  That would never happen here (in the United States).

Our kids also say yes ma’ am and yes sir.  They don’t raise their voice and they never argue with an adult or a teacher.  So, we are more respectful but we do not have good manners.  We talk over each other a lot.  We don’t say excuse me or I’m sorry much either.  And we don’t hold the door a lot.

 

Question:         What about dress?  What is appropriate?

Answer:           Well, for the women very sexy but, we don’t put as much emphasis on clothes.  There is a 30% tax on cars and clothes in Costa Rica so we can’t afford them, especially the big labels.  We don’t have so much of them (clothes).

 

Question:         What are your feelings about tardiness and promptness?

Answer:           [Laughs] Well, we are very relaxed.  We have TICO TIME.  Time isn’t important.  We get there when we get there.  RSVPs don’t even exist in Costa Rica.  We are on TICO TIME for everything…court, school, dinner.

 

Question:         How does your country view education?

Answer;           [In Costa Rica], we have public health and public education.  Education is free if you pass your tests otherwise you have to pay to go to a private school.  In Costa Rica, everybody has a masters degree.  In Costa Rica, the public school is considered more prestigious.  That is the opposite of here, huh?

 

Question:         Are there any rules for dating?

Answer:           Yes.  To date or to enter into a relationship, a formal request is necessary.  It is just the way it is.  It’s very traditional.  Jason had to ask my father to date.

 

Question:         What kinds of things did you do on a date?

Answer:           Well, we went to the beach.  We also went to the mountains and the rainforest.  I showed Jason everything.  We have large family celebrations.  In Costa Rica there are four big celebrations.  We celebrate Independence Day on September 15th.  We march in a parade with a faraole.  We make these and we put a candle on top.  Faraoles are hand-made lanterns.  When the Latin American countries won their independence from Spain, a man walked from Mexico to Costa Rica holding a candle to announce our independence.  This celebration marks that event.  It is like Fourth of July.

Marching bands are big in Costa Rica so, every school has a marching band.  There are marching bands at every Costa Rican celebration.

We also celebrate Christmas but, in Costa Rica, it is more church than presents.  In October, on the 12, we celebrate Cultural Day.  This is Columbus Day in the United States.  Dia de la Raza celebrates the influence that many cultures have had on Costa Rica including the Europeans, Africans, and Indians.

We also celebrate Holy week.  This is a whole week of celebrations marking Easter.  We are Catholic so we practice the Lenten traditions and abstain from meat on Wednesday and Friday.

 

Interview Transcript #2

Conducted by Diana Vosburgh

 

The following interview was conducted on Sunday, November 16, 2014.  The individual interviewed is a 12-year-old male from Costa Rica.  He has lived in the United States for three years.  The interviewee relocated to Southwest Florida following his mother’s marriage to a U.S. citizen.  He currently attends a private Christian school in Southwest Florida.

 

Question:         How do you like living here in the United States?

Answer:           There is a lot to do.  I like to go to the Sky Zone and go fishing on the boat.  I also like to go to the beach and play soccer.  Soccer is big in Costa Rica.  I play on two soccer teams.

 

Question:         How do you like school?

Answer:           It’s okay.  I’m the biggest kid in my class.  I don’t like that.  I’m supposed to be in 7th grade but I’m only in 6th.  They made me stay in third grade when I came here.

[Mom interjects:  The school year in Costa Rica is different.  In Costa Rica the kids go to school from March to December.  It’s not like that here.  So they wanted Dario to repeat third grade.  It was not my decision.  I would not have wanted that.  I didn’t know any better.

 

Question:         Do you have any other thoughts about school in the United States?

 

Answer:           There are a lot of rules.  Sometimes I don’t do good and I forget.  My mom says things are different here and I have to learn. I think my teacher in Costa Rica was much nicer.  I didn’t get in to trouble all the time.

 

Question:         Mom said you played outside a lot when you lived in Costa Rica?

Answer:           Yes.  I do here too but sometimes my friends want to play inside.  They play Xbox a lot.  I like to play soccer or go fishing.  I want to do something.

 

Question:         Did you like school better in Costa Rica or, do you like it better here?

Answer:           I like it here.  I liked it there too but I like living here better.  There is more to do.

 

Question:         Do you think that you are different from the other kids in your class or, at your school?

Answer:           No.  I like to play outside some more.  My friends like to play inside a lot.  Sometimes they get mad because I don’t want to play video games or because I talk when they don’t want me to.  I don’t like to go to the movies very much.  Some of my friends, they are like me.  They like to play outside.

I think that’s why I get in trouble at school too.  I talk and I like to do stuff.

[Mom interjects:  Dari doesn’t always see the things he should.  We talk a lot in Costa Rica and we tend to talk over each other.  Sometimes his friends and his teacher don’t understand.  Dari needs to understand.  Sometimes people tell me Dari has ADHD.  He doesn’t.  I should know, right?  He just needs to learn to take his turn and to let other people talk.  He gets bored if he isn’t outside playing.]

 

Question:         How does school here in the United States compare to school in Costa Rica?

Answer:           I went to an American school in Costa Rica.  I think it is pretty much the same.  There are a lot of rules.

[Mom interjects:  In Costa Rica, teachers are respected and held in esteem.  I don’t think that is so much true here so, Dari he listen.  I don’t think the teachers are how you say, friendly.  Warm?  You can’t touch a kid here.  In Costa Rica, teachers always hug their kids and their kids hug them.]

 

Question:         Your mom was telling me about some of the celebrations in Costa Rica.  Do you miss them?

Answer:           No. We do them here too except for the Independence Day.  Mom, did you tell her about the faraoles?  Show her the picture.  I made it and we marched in the parade.

 

Question:         I would love to see the picture.  Dario, maybe you can make another one so your classmates can see what a faraole is.  It would be a great way for you to share something about Costa Rica with your friends.

 

Question:         What changed for you when you moved here?

Answer:           Well, I have a dad now.  I never had one before.  Jason is good.  I still go to school and I still play soccer.  I play soccer a lot.  It is very big in Costa Rica.  The World Cup is like the Super Bowl only better.

[Mom interjects:  We live with fewer people too.  At home we lived with my parents, my grandparents and my brother.  In Costa Rica, there is not privacy.  We don’t know what that is.  Here, you have lots of privacy if you want it.]

 

Question:         Do you dress the same or eat differently?

Answer:           No.  I wear shorts and t-shirts.  I have lots of soccer shorts and t-shirts.  We have to wear a uniform for school.  What was the question?

[Mom interjects:  Many of the people in Costa Rica are poor.  We eat a lot of pasta.  It is cheap.  It is a lot like the pasta here.  We also eat a lot of rice and beans.  We eat this with every meal.  We still do.  Jason [my husband], he know like so much.  I still make Picadillo.  It is a dish with potatoes and ground beef.  You can put veggies, or fruit in it.  You can use any meat.  In Costa Rica we eat a lot of Picadillos.  We also eat sweet plantains and we make our own juice.  We don’t buy juice like you do here.]

I eat my mom’s food and stuff from here.  I like everything.