SURVIVAL IN COSTA RICA

ABOUT THE WRITER:

In this article, Rosemary Rein, and International Management Consultant, related wilderness survival skills she teaches to corporate executives in the United States, to a successful transition to living abroad in Costa Rica.

I can still see the Delta Airlines Terminal clearly, complete with two tranquilized Pets and lots of luggage in Tow. This was D Day-our move to Costa Rica, after months of planning, packing and pondering life in Paradise, not to mention convincing friends and relatives that we had not completely lost our minds! Who would have thought that our auspicious moving day would coincide with Hurricane Mitch, preventing us From reaching our Dream House, due to an impassable mountain road? Alas, this would be my first test of Survival Skills attained during a cold March weekend in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where under the Tutelage of Tom Brown Junior, I learned the basics of Wilderness Survival.

Coincidentally, a recent Edition of Newsweek showcases the current popularity of Tom's Tracker School, due in part I'm sure, to that top rated TV program, where grown adult's stab each other in the back to demonstrate their physical and mental superiority. I am certain Tom, trained in Native American Philosophy would not approve.

So I will save you from the actual harsh experience of searching for SCAT, AKA. "animal droppings", building a fire without matches--Tom Hanks did better than I in that lesson, and instead share with you the essential elements of Wilderness Survival. Why?

Because Wilderness Survival Skills not only apply to"Survival in Corporate America…They also are extremely useful tools for a successful transition to living abroad in Costa Rica."

Survival Skill # 1: AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENT:

Prior to my weekend of being blindfolded in the woods and searching for leaves to build a debris hut, my environmental awareness was limited to cosmopolitan instincts of looking for a new movie playing at the theatre or the latest sale at the Gap. I would learn that keen observation of the physical environment is critical to survival in the outdoors, the corporate world and yes, Costa Rica. Without it, dangers go unrecognized and rather than being comfortable and at peace in the environment, we tend to assume the behavior of a running animal, likely to fall in a ditch, or be caught by the predator. In the corporate world, environmental assessment includes knowledge of the competition and changing market demands. When moving to a foreign country awareness can be even more challenging, due to unfamiliar terrain.

When I met my husband, I told him, a condition of our life together, was an eventual move to Costa Rica. His logical queston was how often I had visited? "Never I had simply read the excellent book on retiring here." Fortunately it would be 5 years before taking the plunge, but not without some close calls of buying property which would have been disastrous for our particular lifestyle. We have a friend assigned to Costa Rica who is battling a mold allergy, an unknown environmental hazard to her until the onset of the rainy season. Another was horrified when she found her pet cat in the belly of boa, and yet another who is building a Safe Room in his new home after he was robbed while travelling for an extended period this past summer. Environmental assessment relates to security considerations, knowledge of plant and wild-life-a visit to the Serpentarium to identify poisonous serpents is a good idea, as well as a myriad of details related to daily life, including a study of Culture, Health Care, Travel Routes and Emergency Procedures.

When our houseman had a midnight medical emergency, we learned in panic "running animal" mode, how to get to the Hospital. We now have routes, alternate routes and all emergency numbers and papers with us at all times.

One technique we used prior to our move was emailing a list of questions to some long term residents here, asking them to share their input and suggestions on everything from whether or not to ship our furniture to how I was going to battle the Bugs. I really hate bugs! To this day, I refer to that survey and thank God for those kind people who shared their surprises and saved us a few.

SURVIVAL SKILL # 2: Basic Wilderness Skills:

Even with the art of awareness, a person without basic survival skills, such as the knowledge of exactly how you build a fire without matches or how to find pure water can perish in a harsh environment. In the corporate world, those skills often include the computer sciences. In Costa Rica, at the risk of offending some fellow expats who believe they do just fine without knowing the language, a working knowledge of Spanish and translation tools, tops the list. Throw in the added skills of evasive driving, tire changing and combat with exotic bugs and you're off to a pretty good start. Thanks to a skill base which grows each day, life is easier since those first few months of being tongue tied and frustrated when giving directions to cab drivers and being horrified upon seeing a scorpion under my bed pillow… I'm still working on tire changing, but carry the cell-phone, a tire-inflator and the AAA phone number. When all else fails, here's hoping, a smile and my Spanish will get me through.

Survival Skill #3: ADAPTABILITY TO CHANGING CONDITIONS:

In a survival situation a gentle environment can suddenly change into a life-threatening situation, and the key is being able to adapt to those changing environmental conditions! Today's advancing technology and global commerce mandates that successful businesses be able to frequently break their molds and re-invent their product and operations.

How often have we heard fellow gringos complain and compare the way things are done in Costa Rica, with the way things are done back home? Yikes, you're not back home, you're here and believe it or not, the key to happiness just may be not fighting your change in climate, but adapting to it.

Running a Restaurant certainly gave us daily experience with adaptability……Catering a 5 course dinner for 45 people without water all day was interesting….I said interesting, not fun! Gee, there was also being evacuated from two hotels last year due to A volcano eruption .at Arenal and an earthquake in neighboring Nicaragua. So we didn't sleep in our plush hotel rooms, but camped out on lawn-chairs in an outdoor field. We survived with much better reflexes in natural disasters. Believe it or not, when we now travel, we keep a bag packed by the bed just in case a quick exit is in order complete with flashlight and our mental plan for the most rapid egress.

Survival Skill # 4: CONSERVATION OF ENERGY:

Because a Survival Situation is physically taxing, conserving energy is critical. In the Wilderness, while searching for materials to build your shelter, you are also looking for possible food and water sources. In the business world, that's where Efficiency Experts come into play, with time and motion studies and new software designed to improve production and minimize wasted human energy.

We've already talked about how a little research will help you save a few steps and mistakes. It would take us an entire day to do one or two errands and we found ourselves physically drained at the end of the day from traffic lines and ignorance of the most basic tasks of daily life.

Clustering and timing errands to traffic patterns has certainly helped. Also walking a call grid in San Jose to explore, those tucked away tiendas that have just about anything you need, if you know where to find them. As for frustration over lines? We now keep our Down Time Survivor Kit in the Car that includes little luxuries like a mini cooler of diet coke and our spanish books, so even a 2-hour delay is time well spent.

Survival Skill # 5: POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE:

Wilderness Training is often used with troubled adolescents. I recall one young man enrolled in the Tracker program, who sat shivering on a log, refusing to construct his shelter and seething with misery. "It was all Bull .... ", he screamed at the instructors.

Mr. Brown approached the boy and told him "He was choosing to be cold" It wasn't Tom, the school, the weather…The young man had a choice. He could build a shelter and be warm or sit there on a log and freeze his .... off! Simply put, the boy could have a positive mental attitude or languish in despair. As the temperature dropped, be it Tom's inspiring words or physical necessity, a toasty refuge from the elements was constructed and the young boy endured that night and as it turned out adolescence. When I've listened to people grumbling about living here, I've often wanted to be Tom and say,"you are choosing to be miserable and you can choose to be otherwise". On a bad day, I would probably add "You can choose to leave".

Perhaps the real key to surviving in a foreign country comes down to just that-- A positive mental choice and don't forget a Sense of Humor. Oh , there will be days of changing conditions, depleted energy and just a feeling of plain incompetence! Chasing a pizote out of the beach house was one of my personal best. But hey when all is said and done, just think of your resume and skill listing: "Ability to wait in long lines, dodge pedestrians and motorcyclists; survive power outages and brief periods of water contamination. You even passed the exhaustive physical testing required with your new Costa Rican Drivers License.

As an aside, I recommend to my corporate clients the hiring of executive candidates who have lived abroad, following research that such individuals demonstrate creativity, adaptability and resourcefulness! That's Us! I do know our instincts are getting better each day we're here and I'd bet on many of us not only surviving but thriving amidst life's daily challenges of residing in a foreign country. Who Knows? We might even be lucky enough to find a creative and supportive best friend to get us through the tough times, like Tom Hanks found in a spunky little soccer ball named Wilson!

Here is the same article published in a well known Costa Rican website: Survival in Costa Rica

Rosemary Rein, PhD is an Author, Professional Speaker and founder of Costa Rica Learning Adventures – www.costaricatraining.com  She lectures internationally and hosts leadership and personal development retreats in tropical Costa Rica.