The Doors Are Always Open

By Sarah A., on mission in Costa Rica

A large part of the culture that I have grown to love in Costa Rica is that the friendships of the people are very deep and their doors are always open to friends and family no matter the time. People are always asking me how I like Costa Rica, and when I tell them (in the limited Spanish I know) it is very beautiful, they always give me the same smile. Like a proud mama with her child. But, when it comes to the prosperity of the people it is a different story.

It wasn’t until my first visit that I realized what this meant. The family that we visited were very welcoming. 7 people are living in the house and 2 are from the ages of 8 to 14. Children in Costa Rica learn basic English in school, so they were very excited to try to speak English with me. Their mother asked me if I wanted a drink of Dulce agua which is a drink in Costa Rica. Of course you say yes when something is offered to you. When I told her I had never had it, she was excited to give me some to see if I would like it. As she started to fill the jug he was using with water it began to hiss and sputter. Ines explained to me that certain communities and places in Costa Rica don’t have access to water even though they live in the city and rely on it from them. In this particular community, high on the hill, they do not have water between the times of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. I asked why, and you should have seen the face Ines gave me when she answered, “Because they are poor Sarah.” I had forgotten where I was for a moment, and I still do sometimes. The people here are so friendly and loving that I forget that the houses they live in have tin roofs and that the buildings sometimes don’t have enclosed walls.