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THE DRAGOMAN CHRONICLES |
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| Home Safety While Travelling | HOW TO SAY NO IN SPANISH
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Walking the streets in Costa Rica, day or night, was always difficult for me. Men would yell things as they drove by. Others would stand on the sidewalks and make comments as I walked past. This behavior seemed to range from one extreme to the other. Some men would just yell out, "Hola, hola", but I also had men on two different occasions expose themselves to me. The comment I despised was when men would hiss, "Machita" followed by a long, wet slurp. The most common comments were, "Hola," "You're beautiful," or "Do you speak Spanish?" Normally, I didn't mind those types of comments too much, but after a while, I grew tired of even those. May people defend this behavior and say it is "cultural". I found it at the least, very tiring and at the most, insulting. Riding the bus was always an interesting adventure. I often wore shorts or a sun dress in Costa Rica, and I learned rather quickly that it isn't wise to sit in a seat next to or diagonally in front of an older man. These men would stare so hard at my legs that I literally felt the heat. Whenever we passed a church, however, they would take a brief pause - to bless themselves, of course - and then go right back to staring at my legs. At times, I would have to laugh at their behaviors. Although the behavior is not dangerous, it is certainly irritating - especially after you have been there for a while. So what do you do? How do you protect yourself from this? The best answer was one I read in a tour book. It said that one person will not change the culture overnight. All you will do is make a fool of yourself if you rant and rave and yell things back at the men. The best thing to do is just to ignore it - difficult as it may be at times. Some women carry a walkman with them so they have something to listen to as they walk. I didn't have a walkman (and they're expensive to buy in Costa Rica), so I just daydreamed or practiced my Spanish as I walked.
In writing this article, I am not trying to talk badly of Costa Rica. I obviously enjoyed it, I would not have stayed there for eight months. I'm just trying to prepare you. This is their culture. You won't change it, so you might as well as accept it so you can enjoy your travel in Costa Rica. One more recommendation: try to spend as little time in San Jose as possible. San Jose is a big and dirty city that houses people from all walks of life. It truly is not an accurate representation of what Costa Rica really is. Everything is exaggerated in San Jose, even the harassment. If however, you do find yourself spending a great amount of time in San Jose, just learn to do as I did: say, "NO" in Spanish. It's easy.
Linda Thomas is a teacher and trainer of writing skills based in Phoenix, Arizona. She spent eight months in Costa Rica observing the culture while studying Spanish and teaching English. Originally published November/December 1998 in Latin America Traveler ISSN 10960-4878 Copyright 1998 by Crowder Publications
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