Things I'm Glad They Have in Costa Rica Now

1. ATMs

Actually, they've been around for a while, but I so love that I hardly ever have to go inside a bank. Partly because, who wouldn't be glad. And partly because, on the inside, the banks are still closer to the third-world mode, with pretty long lines for most of what you want. Although there, too, they've made strides. Now you can show your ATM card and ID and just tell the teller how much you want to deposit or withdraw - no more filling out little slips, no more passbooks where the current balance prints on top of the previous balance and the ink ribbon is so old you couldn't have read it anyway.

Oh, and too? Costa Rica's unit of currency, the colon (pronounced cologne), is so small that when you key in the amount you want to withdraw, you can play "Shave and a Haircut," all the way through the "two bits" part, if you count "enter" as the final note. What's not to love?


2. Networks

Yesterday I went to an ATM to withdraw some money but no money came out. I was at PriceSmart, which is like Sam's Club. There's a bank in the store (which is not actually that common here yet), but the teller there said that even though the ATM is theirs, I would have to go complain to my own bank.

This morning, I checked the account balance online (whee!) and found that the money was in fact debited from the account, so I printed out the statement and took it to the bank. The teller there very nicely pointed out that--right there on my own printout--next to the line showing that the the ATM had debited $78.43 (it was an even number of colones), was a line showing that the bank had credited $78.43 back into the account. Networks. I'm a fan.


3. E-mail

Because, who can live without E-mail, right? Now take that and put yourself 3000 miles away from a whole bunch of people you want to keep in touch with. Actually, these days it's not even E-mail that keeps us in touch, but this blog. With the added bonus that I don't feel bad about my scrapbooks being 12 years behind anymore. The girls can come back someday and see not just pictures, but a running commentary, with comments and everything. Awesome.


4. Cappuccino

I guess it's not everywhere yet, but it's easy enough to find. They even opened a little coffee shop across from the girls' school. Although when I tried to go there this morning it was closed, but it is brand new, so hopefully they'll get the hang of it soon.


5. Thrift stores

This used to be on my list of things I missed about the United States, but now they're all over the place. (A lot of the clothes, incidentally, still have stapled-on white, yellow or pink slips of paper with prices in dollars written in black grease pencil.) (Others have little grocery-store type sticky tags that have a five-digit code and what I believe is the symbol for yen.)

But the best part is that, as a group, they're known as Ropa Americana (American Clothing) stores here, so if I talk to someone about thrift stores in the States, I get to say, "of course, there we just call them 'Clothing' stores." That joke will just never lose its charm for me, although I have to admit it really hasn't done that well with most of the Costa Ricans I've told it to.

And now, a brief list of Things they have in Costa Rica that, frankly, I can take or leave:

1. Outback
(Not that I don't like Outback, but I've heard that the prices are the same here as in the United States and, here, that's a LOT of money.)


2. Hooters


3. McDonald's
(Okay, the girls love the play places, but ever since I saw Supersize Me at Lisa's that time, I have actually never gone back to a McDonald's. It just seemed like maybe it wasn't necessary. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but it's really not that hard to avoid, so I figure I'll keep it up. Plus, José & Yolanda take the kids there sometimes, and there are a few other restaurants with playgrounds now, so if I really wanted to, I could still take them to one.)

While we're at it, here are a couple of Things Costa Rica Doesn't Have, But Could Use:

1. Dollar stores


2. All you can eat buffets


3. Yard sales


4. A beltway
That goes all the way around. (The capital city. Around the capital city. Not all the way around Costa Rica. It's not that small.


5. Shoulders
On the highways. Oh, and turn lanes. I heart turn lanes.

And, in closing, I leave you with Something That Should Not Exist Anywhere, But Does, Here in Costa Rica:

1. A major department store called Carrion.

Hmm. Says here it means 'The decaying flesh of a dead body.' Fabulous name for the new store, old boy. Let's advertise it on the radio!