Patience is a Virtue

Life takes patience. A mother needs it when negotiating with her children. Kids need it to deal with their siblings. It takes patience to learn a new skill, work on a project, and to do all sorts of business. At times life requires us to take a deep breath and go with the flow. There is a new meaning to being patient when you transplant yourself from one country to another. Everything runs differently, and the order that you are accustomed to is disrupted. Costa Rica is certainly no exception to this rule. I have heard comments from North Americans, South Americans and Europeans, Costa Rica is ticking with a different clock and at times there seems no method to the maddness. Without patience, spontaneous combustion could be the end of all foreigners coming to live here.

I offer an example, one that is written about in most guide books: Costa Ricans, "Ticos," do not like to say that they don't know the way. They would rather give it their best shot than to send you off without directions. Lots of time can be spent running in circles, but with patience you will find your destination. The frustrations don't end after you know your way around, patience is tested in many of the things we try to accomplish daily. Long lines are endless, and one must be patient and wait in order to accomplish even the simplest task. It requires patience when the people in the car ahead of you abruptly stop to have a conversation with someone on the side of the road. It takes patience if you ever have the need for a service technician from the phone and electric company. For that matter, it requires patience if you need a phone line, perhaps two years of patiently waiting. Patience helps you to finally realize that there is no use in feeling frustrated over obsurd policies and procedures, that cutting in line isn't rude, it is just part of the culture, and that asking two or three times might be better than asking just once. So many differences that don't make sense but can be accepted with a little bit of patience.