'If everyone has an alarm that is going off all the time, will it help OR does anyone actually care?"
Lets try a quick test case. This will be visual as I do not want to bludgen all of you folks from the US with noises that are incredibly annoying. You have not been trained to simply ignore them like me.
Lets pretend this is a normal area outside. Some of the people are cars, some are houses, some are actually people. In this situation, Waldo is your car.
Bad news, someone is robbing Waldo (remember, your car). If you find him in three seconds you can save your car. Luckily...your alarm - the red circle - is going off so it helps. Because this is the US, look with 10 other people too....they would normally help you out.
Oh no! You are now in Latin America and Waldo is being stolen! Now you have only 1/2 of a second to find him before it is gone. Also, you can only look yourself this time - no one else cares about your stuff. Everyone's alarm is going off....oh dear.In the US....you hear an alarm go off and even if it is not yours you get concerned. If it is a car alarm you will look over and make sure no one suspicious is there. If it your neighbors house alarm you will likely call the police or at least look over for lights or suspicious activity. Down here, you basically hear alarms all the time - to the point where you totally zone them out. I would say that it is to the point that if I saw a large suspicious man with sunglasses on driving down the road in a nice car with an alarm going crazy - I'd laugh becuase his alarm was probably malfunctioning. Most of the car alarms down here are both proximity and/or noise triggered which is funny....we get cars on our street that are set off all day becuase someone parks next to a gate and everytime the dog inside the gate barks or walks close to the front it goes off. Awesome.
I was joking around with my tico friend Walter about it this week. He laughed when I explained how futile it was. He said...'This is Costa Rica my friend! Pura Vida!' Pura Vida indeed!
As mentioned I was with Walter yesterday getting some routine maintenance done on the van. I guess when you by a new car imported from Korea down here it is a really good idea to change the timing belt and get the fluids flushed. It was important for me to go with him to mechanics/stores he knows because as a gringo i would a) get charged more and b) probably get bad service. So...we went out together at 7:30am to the mechanics. Walter took the 'back way' which was a rush for me...nothing like dodging people, bikes, crators in the road...etc. When we got to the mechanic he dismantled my entire enegine into the 'keep' and 'throw away' pile. Walter and I gathered up the 'throw away' pile and went to the store to by new parts....things here are different like that. You don't have the mechanic do it because he will probably charge you more to go get the pieces and also, you don't actually know what he is installing that way. It could be good, or aftermarket, or used....better just to do it yourself. We also stopped at about 8 other stores for various things that day. It usually went something like this...
1. Talk to someone to explain what you need
1' - Walter sees someone he knows and talks for a while
2. They find what you are looking for.
3. You inspect said piece.
4. You say yes, and hand the piece back.
5. They take your name on a piece of paper and tell you to go to the cashier.
5' - Walter sees another friend.
6. You go to the cashier and pay.
7. You take the slip of paper that says you have paid and you take it back to the guy who had the part.
8. You then take the part and the paper to another man who then stamps your paper.
8' - Walter sees another friend.
9. You are now free to go...Pura Vida!
I learned two things. Process is key when you buy anything from a 190 colone screw to 200 dollars worth of autoparts. Also, Walter knows many people! At the end of the day I was able to replace my timing belt, timing belt assembly, air conditioning belt, air conditioning belt assemply, some big plastic cover thing in the engine, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, oil and some other stuff for about 300 dollars. In the states this would probably cost closer to 1500 - so its a good day!
As odd as I make things sound down here - often times they are more efficient. I went to pick up my liscence plate on Friday and it was a piece of cake. I handed a form (only three lines I needed to fill out) and my title to the car - they stamped it and said go to window seven in 30 minutes. I came back and picked up my plates and left. No wait at either place. There is no way any DMV in the states is that quick.
To leave you with today...a small slide show. I took a couple shots with Lizzy's camera when I ran on Thursday to help show you some things we see every day(almost). Enjoy!
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