After I graduated from university in May, panic began to set in. What the hell do I do now? Up until this point in my life, society had more or less told me what to do. Go to high school, graduate, to go college, graduate, began your career, etc etc. By the time graduation rolled around, most of my peers and friends already had fantastic jobs, ready to enter into the corporate world, were buying cars, and getting married. Although my plan was always to travel after graduation, the pressures of society became very real.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me about my career goals, when I was going to start working, when I was going to get my own house or apartment, or what my plans were for grad school, I would be able to fund my travels for the rest of my life. Everyone assumes that once you graduate university, you're ready to settle down, begin your climb on the corporate ladder, and start working toward retirement. So by my final semester, I was looking for corporate jobs, apartment hunting, trying to save money to buy a nicer car. And for what? That was never my plan, but damn, people sure pounded it into my head that that's what I should be doing. So I tried.
But I woke up one morning this summer and while I was watching an episode of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain (Rest in Peace) I realized settling down was absolutely zero percent what I wanted for my life. So then I started panicking all over again. Well shit, now what? I didn't know what I wanted to do, all I knew was how much I longed to get on a plane and set out for something new, a new way of life that my soul fit into better. I had made promises I was going to have to break, I was going to have to leave my comfortable life, and I was going to try to change my life.
"For what it’s worth... it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.” -Fitzgerald
As any millennial does, I took to the internet. 'How to move abroad.' 'Jobs Abroad.' 'Best destinations abroad.' 'How to make money abroad.' Searches like these frequented my search history until I came abroad a website about teaching English abroad. I thought to myself, well I speak English, I have a degree, why couldn't I do this? So I entered my email to get more information. I was desperate for change. The very next day, I received a call which I now realize would probably change my life. He was an advisor for this amazing that certified people, just like me, to become English teachers abroad. It's called a TEFL certification, and allows you to move and work basically anywhere in the world. We spoke for about two hours, and by the end of the conversation, I was completely sold. When I got home from work that night, I logged onto the TEFL website and studied all of the different places I could make this happen. Hawaii, Ho Chi Min City, Costa Rica, Peru, I could go back to my beloved Buenos Aires, France, Spain, Russia, Thailand. The possibilities were endless.
Before I knew it, I was enrolled in this course to become a teacher, my bags were packed, and I was on a plane to Costa Rica. I have been here for almost 6 weeks now. For the first 4 weeks, I lived with the most welcoming and loving host family. They seriously took me in and cared for me as one of their own. I feel so incredibly lucky to know that I have family here in Costa Rica who will always be there no matter what. The TEFL Costa Rica school is in a small suburb called Barva, just a few minutes outside of Heredia, where I live now. It is the perfect little town to get into the swing of things. The coordinators of the course always made sure that we had exactly what we needed to be successful and guided us every step of the way.
Here are some things that are pretty different from where I grew up:
1) Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. Which, I guess, when you think about it, why would a person have the right of way over a couple ton car already going 40 kph? And if you try to cross the road anyways, you'll either get honked at, yelled at, or hit. Be warned.
2) There are no street names here. Well there are, but no one knows them, and no one uses them. When you're lost as hell and Google Maps is telling you to turn on 1st Ave, it does you absolutely no good because, well, no one knows 1st Ave, nor is there any signage telling you where it is.
3) Because no one uses street names, there really aren't any recognizable addresses. An address is more is less a rough guestimate of where a place is. For example, my first address was 80 meters north of the National Bank in Barva. Well, you see, here's the problem with that. I have no idea how far 80 meters is, there are 3 national banks in Barva and also, I'm only 50% sure I know which way is north when I'm all turned around. You can understand my troubles, yeah?
4) Ticos will give you directions to a place, even if they don't know where it's at. It's considered really rude to not give someone directions when they ask, so Ticos will give you complete bull shit directions which will probably get you more lost than you were in the first place. But on the bright side, you might find your new favorite restaurant or hang out spot on the way! There's always a silver lining, amirite?
5) Tico Time. This is a real thing. Coming from a place where timing and punctuality are everything, it's taken me a while to step back, relax, and breathe. They will always show up, it just might be a few minutes later than expected. They probably just stopped to talk to their neighbor on the street.
6) Anywhere you go, expect to wait. Whether you're at the bank, a restaurant, or waiting to cross the street, might as well make yourself comfy and dive into a good chat, because more likely than not, you're going to be waiting for a while. Like I said, Ticos are in no rush. And now that I understand it, I love it. It's actually quite nice to be forced to sit back, relax, and enjoy being in the moment.
Just because something is different than what your used to, doesn't mean it's wrong. You can spend your whole life comparing everything to where you grew up, or how you're used to. But think of all the amazing things you would be missing out on! This is your daily reminder to keep your chin up, keep your mind open, and live in the moment.
Pura Vida Mae