Hola mi amigos!
Thats about all the spanish i can scrounge up but its better than nothing right! (Gimme a lil’ credit haha) It’s Jacob here and I’m currently retreating out in the beautiful jungles of Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. A little background history: it is my first time outside of the states and traveled I out here solo to escape the cold winters of the east coast to learn more about myself and life itself. And Costa Rica has not fallen short to accomplish that by any means. For one I learned to refer to back home as “the states” rather than America since where not the only Americans. We can’t forget about Central america and south america as well. So it’s just common courtesy to refer to home as “the states”. Not that I was getting ridiculed by the locals for referring to home as America. That would never happen here in Costa Rica!Costa Rica is known for Pura Vida- meaning Pure Life and that is exactly what it is like out here in the beautiful jungle of central america.
Its almost impossible to ignore the Pura Vida Vibes out here. Every person you meet or come across is sure to greet you with a smile or a quick “buenas”, short for good day. It seems like you could just about be friends with everyone you meet. Whether its on the local transportation bus or while your hanging out on the tropical sands of the beach, you will not feel like your alone. And if your ever in a rare occasion when you do feel alone just go up to someone nearby and say “pura vida”, they will give you a warm hello right back!
The lifestyle is quite different from back home on the east coast in Philadelphia, to say the least. Its refreshing to see bungalos made out of local wood and bamboo or sheet metal rather than extravagant homes decked out with every new technology and gizmo available. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not hating on the beautiful homes on the east coast they have there place, and I’m not saying there aren’t decked out homes and hotels here in Manuel Antonio. There are plenty of those too. I think that’s why i love it here so much because there is a healthy balance between extravagance and simplicity, and everyone fits into one category…Pura vida. As long as your out here you cant escape the purity of life. This beautiful land reminds you to appreciate the simplicity of life; the sounds of tropical birds singing, the way the wind sways the tree’s, the smell of fragrant colorful flowers. You even often get woken up by the sound of roosters cockle-doodle-dooing, which could be annoying at first but once you wake up and take a look outside your grateful that you woke up to see the miracle of life.
I have learned so much being immersed in a different culture. The way of life is different all across the world, and we’ll never get to experience the richness of life if we stay stuck inside our bubble back home. Above all, i learned that traveling is one of the most important things to do in life. There is too much to learn, experience and discover outside of your local community and culture. So i encourage you to think about a place you’ve been dieing to travel to, and to purchase your ticket! It’s that simple. If your dream dream destination is too expensive try another option. Don’t let money be an excuse for living life to the fullest! There are ways around money. After all money is just energy so use your energy wisely and put it towards creating the trip of a lifetime…you’ll be glad you did!
