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Ticos Take ‘Tranquilo’ To Heart

By Jo Stuart

There have been times when I have been worried about something and have expressed my concern and then heard a Tico say to me, “tranquilo.”

“How can you be tranquilo in the face of—-and I can fill in the blanks of with any number of stresses I felt in my first few years here.

Well, evidently, Ticos have figured out a way because in a recent poll 51% said that they do not consider themselves stressed or nervous about anything. Only 7% said they are continuously stressed and 42% are worried about certain things.

Among those things that worry those who do worry, high on the list is walking alone on streets that are considered dangerous (20%).
The two next big worries, both at 16%, are money worries and concern that their wife or children might get sick. (Obviously, this poll, which was reported in the daily newspaper the Nacion was done of men only.) From then on any of the stresses of everyday life affected less than 10% of the people, with fear of earthquakes and school exams affecting less than five percent of those who responded. So, ‘Don’t worry, be happy,’ certainly applies to Ticos. And, I am happy to say that in recent years that pretty much applies to me.

The one thing I AM going to worry about when the time comes, is renewing my residency. My friend, Sandy, has been trying to do that.
She is one of the most even-tempered people I know and her comment, after her second visit was, “Immigration sucks.” She arrived early for her 2 p.m. appointment, and after waiting three hours as she watched Immigration officials try to cram 40 people into appointments before closing time at 4 p.m., she had to make another appointment. I guess when my time comes it will be a good opportunity for me to finally finish Remembrance of Things Past.

Meanwhile, life goes on. Or it doesn’t. Last Saturday I attended a memorial gathering to mark a year since my friend Bill White left this planet. The memorial was held at the Artists Colony, which Bill established. Bill was a great music lover so music was very much a part of the occasion. A choral group of twenty singers from Ciudad Colon sang a medley of folk songs from many countries. Bill would have loved them, as did we, his many friends who had gathered there.
The night before there was a concert at the local church, which I did not attend, but heard was packed with people remembering Bill and enjoying a program presented by members of the National Symphony.

In contrast, during the week, my friends, James and Alexis, gave a lunch (read feast) to celebrate James’ birthday. The food was Moroccan, the company international. One of the guests commented to me afterward, “I am always surprised anew at the interesting people one meets in Costa Rica.”

Life is interesting, but tenuous, at best. Perhaps the wisest thing we can do while we are here is to not worry and be happy. Easy for me to say. I’m in Costa Rica.

Jo Stuart is the author of the popular book about life in Costa Rica entitled, “Butterfly in the City.” To order a copy of her wonderful book please contact her at: jostuart@amcostarica.com