Intercultural Negotiations

Growing up in the forested farmland of northwestern Pennsylvania I thought I would be prepared for the rural remoteness of Costa Rica. However during my first weeks in Costa Rica I was met with several surprises. Although the design of my program at first restricted my view of Costa Rica to the forests of Corcovado and Santa Rosa along the Pacific slope. First I noticed the climate. Coping with the heat, I began to appreciate that it was completely acceptable for me to be shirtless during classes and even while presenting to my fellow students. At home shirts are generally required when entering into most public buildings. In a small town where our bus pulled over, I anxiously ran back towards the bus thinking my shirt necessary for entrance into the local general store. While in the store I witnessed my TA, a native Tico, stroll in casually with his full, bare chest exposed. As our field trip continued over the next couple weeks I gratefully accepted being shirtless, as a way to keep cool and maintain some clean shirts.