Pura vida. Before the costa rican in my blood dilutes, and while I still absorb the costa rican way of life, attitude, culture, aura...I would like to share with you some sayings and foods specific to Costa Rica (although some might overlap with other Central American countries).
- Conversational Slang
- al chile? = really? same as saying verdad? de veras?
- al cachete! = literally means to the cheek, which translates into very good!
- esta legal = yeah that works out, or that's legit
- Choquela! = high five
- tome chicha = take a hit. can be said when someone accidentally hit something or when swapping a fly. XD
- mae = dude, they call that each other all the time. It is also common to say when impressed by something, "Que buena, mae!"
- mop = a recently hip way to say dude, use sparingly
- guila = it means a girl but used in certain cases. Chica is used to refer to a girl all the time. Guila is more special. For example when a girl does something silly, or is having trouble with something you can say, "Ay, guila" and shake your head. Instead of chica linda (pretty girl) sometimes they say guila.
- Bien, gracias a dios = a way to respond to como esta? (it is not como estas, because they use the Ud. form always)
- pura vida = although it can be used as anything, there are certain moments that are just right for it. Most commonly used to answer como esta, thank you, hello, or you are welcome. It is a kind of costa rican philosophy. I feel like it is a way to remind each other how great life is. It adds meaning to the overused thank you. That is why they do not use it all the time, but on certain occasions.
- tuanis = cool
- rico = an adjective equivalent to delicious, or very good. can be applied to many things including but not limited to: sleep, food, kisses...
- Suave un toque = wait a second, I'll be ready soon.
- tranquilo/a = it's ok, be calm about it
- Que vaya con dios = when saying a goodbye for a long time
- Comida
- mata 'e ....= plant of put in whatever plant. It is a colloquial way to call a useful plant. it could be sugar cane (caña) or it could be canabis
- chancho = pig, also peccary = chancho de monte By the way, this is the name of my professor's band.
- chicharron = pieces of deep fried pork, very good
- chayote = a weird green vegetable with a sweet taste
- guanabana = my favorite fruit! it is big, green, and white inside. Soursop in English.
- patacones = they only types of plantains I love. So, you cut unripe green plantains into thick circles, press them into thin slices with a wooden press, and deep fry them on a pan. They taste like potato chips but better. Also, add lime and salt.
- picadillo = the equivalent of pico de gallo in mexico: thinly chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
- gallo pinto = rice with black beans sometimes with red bell pepper and cilantro added: the most common meal. I never got sick of it, in fact I would eat it right now.
- arepa - a big cookie, no a sweet pancake like tortilla...basically a thick tortilla with sugar added.
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| eating arepas we made with Amber =) |
- cahetas = literally means shoe: deep fried corn patties with edges upturned. Then you can put all kind of stuff like chicken, salad, etc on it. Kind of like indian fried bread.
Making una Caheta- arroz con pollo, arroz con autun (tuna) = self explanatory and delicious
- mudo - like tamales in corn tortilla with refried black beans, boiled eggs, and garlic. Eaten during Semana Santa
- casada - a meal of meat married to, gallo pinto, and salad (usually of cabbage and carrot)
- casero - homemade food
I will miss the locals here. I have made many friends. And they all invited me to come back. Such warm hearts they have.
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| Me on one of my tico friend's bike |
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