A month ago I had a change of pace from the Caribbean islands as far as my work travel goes. I went to COSTA RICA! My territory is only in the Caribbean, but I am on the international team with co-workers who cover Central and South America. Daniel is my teammate who covers Costa Rica and Panama, and he organized a huge event, a “Milwaukee Blitz Week.” Daniel, my manager, a teammate in Mexico, and I got to be in Costa Rica for 5 days, ‘blitzing’ the country with Milwaukee. We worked with a big hardware store chain and wholesale distributor called Torneca, and together the Milwaukee and Torneca teams went all around the Costa Rican countryside visiting little hardware stores, construction companies and construction worksites with the purpose of building and bettering relationships, spreading the word of Milwaukee Tool’s new initiatives internationally, analyzing the market’s need and opportunity, and ultimately driving sales to meet goals. This experience was so awesome and unlike any other I’ve had so far with this position. I’m always bouncing around the islands to the small hardware stores, but my islands speak almost all English (a thick ‘island English’)… Costa Rica is a Latin country where they speak ALL SPANISH! Todo en Español! Those who know me, you know how big of a passion I have for the Latin culture and for speaking Spanish, so this was a great fit. It was also a unique experience because I worked with a Torneca representative and got to experience being on a 3-way team: Torneca, myself (representing Milwaukee), and the little hardware stores in the countryside of the country that Torneca attends to. This was different because sometimes a store’s perception of and attitude toward a brand is defined by the relationship (good or bad) with the sales rep. For many years Torneca has been representing Milwaukee Tool without Milwaukee Tool having its own reps in the countryside of Costa Rica, and they’ve been doing a great job, but nothing is flawless, and there are always some hiccups. It was interesting to hear what some of these little hardware stores thought of Milwaukee just by what they’d heard, or by the way they were or were NOT cared for well in the past when being sold our tools. There were a couple instances where I had to set some records straight about misconceptions on our tools and our objectives moving forward, but overall I collected really great data about a positive attitude for Milwaukee in Costa Rica. I rode with the Torneca reps in their cars, and I got to see much of the Costa Rican countryside that I wouldn’t have seen if I was there on vacation. We drove up in the mountains around San Jose (the capital) through Sarchi, Palmares, Atenas, Grecia, and Naranjo. Interesting fact: Naranjo is a region of Costa Rica with a lot of coffee plantations, and it is one of the places that Starbucks buys its coffee beans from internationally.
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| Costa Rican countryside...everything is GREEN! |
One of my days on the jobsites, I went with a Torneca rep named Gerardo to a couple of the big construction projects around San Jose. I had to wear a hardhat and everything. One of the companies in particular, Eliseo Vargas, is one of the biggest construction companies in Costa Rica, and I got to demonstrate to a few of the head guys the benefits of some of our new cordless tools, corded grinders, and also speak to Milwaukee’s commitment in Costa Rica moving forward. A sidenote about power tools: the future of tools is a cordless tool, un inalámbrico. There are electric tools that plug in and then there are tools that function from a battery that can be recharged. Well, corded tools are less expensive, but less convenient. Batteries are not cheap, but the benefits and longevity of a cordless tool with a high-quality Lithium-Ion battery far outweigh the higher cost. Both on my islands and through much of Costa Rica, the higher cost associated is a huge barrier in getting the people to believe in and invest in cordless tools; so, this was something we really focused on through the week—educating the people on cordless tools, letting them touch and use the tools, and hopefully invest in what is better for business in the long-run. In the middle of the week we had a huge Milwaukee Event from 7-11pm at night, where hardware store owners and construction company management came from all over the countryside to a Torneca store in San Jose for a big evening event promoting Milwaukee. We had about 100 of our tools on display and demonstration areas to cut, grind and drill with the tools. Torneca catered in food and drinks and hired the “best comedian in Costa Rica” to come and give a show. Even though I speak pretty solid Spanish, I didn’t get many of the jokes and had to pull out some fake laughs. A joke is never as funny if it’s not in your native language (that’s a fact) even if you understand the words being spoken. It was packed and a valuable experience for me. I didn’t sit down once…I just stood by the tool wall and talked Spanish about Milwaukee tools nonstop for 4 hours.
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| At Ferreteria San Ramon up in the mountains...a loyal Milwaukee store! |
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| At the jobsite in San Jose. |
Enough about work. Let’s back up to the weekend before that. I worked in Costa Rica a Monday – Friday, but I was able to book my ticket a few days early and spend the prior weekend on the island to explore a little. I flew in on a Friday afternoon and met up with my new Costa Rican friend, Freddy. A friend of mine from living in Dallas, Ashley, told me about a good friend she had in Costa Rica who might want to hang out during my free weekend. Through Ashley and Facebook, I connected with Freddy O’Connor. Now, you’re probably picturing a red-headed, freckled boy from Ireland, but Freddy is full Costa Rican. You sort of pronounce his name with a Latin accent: ‘Fray-dee Oh-coe-nore.’ Anyway, I trusted Ashley and she trusted Freddy, so he picked me up from the airport and brought me to a safe hotel/hostel in Alajuela, Costa Rica, where I stayed for 3 nights before I had to transfer to the Marriott in San Jose when work started on Monday. As many of you know, I’m a big SALSA dancer now…I learned in Dallas and dance a lot in Miami with the Latin scene, and Freddy knew of a couple great places to dance, so we went to a traditional Costa Rican restaurant and went dancing the first night. They eat a lot of rice and beans, but something else I fell in love with in Costa Rica is ceviche! I’m not even sure what it is, and I know it differs in every country (originally from Peru), but it’s like a raw white fish that sits ‘marinating’ in lime/lemon juice all night, and they serve it chilled in a small cocktail dish with cilantro, onion, etc. I loved it! I had it four times in my eight days there, and I only got sick once from it… The dancing in Costa Rica was great! They dance something called cumbia…and I thought I knew how to dance cumbia from the Mexican influence in Dallas, but there are all sorts of cumbia styles. Costa Rican cumbia involves not only turning and spinning, but JUMPING! They do these little hop steps for part of the basic move, and I was really bad at it the one time I tried, but it was interesting to watch…looked almost like a jumping workout that you’d do in basketball practice! On Saturday we drove around the area and tried to see one of the many volcanoes in Costa Rica – Vulcan Poas. The drive was BEAUTIFUL. I’ve never been anywhere that’s more green than Costa Rica. There’s so much rainforest, and the people really know how to take care of it by recycling, promoting eco-tourism, etc. Unfortunately it was too foggy to get up to the volcano, but the drive was nice, and we ended up stopping at a waterfall. There is so much more to do in Costa Rica – volcanoes, natural springs, hiking, ziplining, beaches, etc., but I decided I need to fly down there and just spend at least a week exploring someday. I also went to Café Britt, a coffee manufacturer who buys all of its beans from suppliers around the Costa Rican countryside, and I sampled more coffee than I’ve ever had in my life. The BEST part about the coffee tour, though, was the chocolate-covered coffee beans that they make. I had some great conversations with the workers in the gift shop, and they recommended to me some great Costa Rican salsa and cumbia music that I’m listening to now as I type.
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| Typical Costa Rican dinner: fried plantains, rice, chicken, black beans, salsa, vegetables. |
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| That's Freddy - looking up at La Paz Waterfall |
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| Catarata La Paz (Peace Waterfall)! |
Sunday, my last day of freedom before work: I spent it with some CAM (Central American Ministries) missionaries who my missionary friend from Dallas hooked me up with. Before leaving for Costa Rica, I was commenting to my Dallas missionary friend, Stephen, that I had to check a huge bag on my flight to take a few hammer drills down for work purposes, but that I’d have extra space in the bag. He suggested that I get in touch with a mission team down in CR and see if they needed me to bring anything. So, through Stephen, I got in touch with Alejandro and Daniel, two Costa Rican CAM missionaries. They suggested that I bring some school supplies for the Sunday school at their church. So, I packed a huge suitcase full of Milwaukee hammer drills, notebooks, and pencils. I met up with the missionary brothers, Daniel and Alejandro, and also their significant others, and we went to church together in the morning and just spent time together in fellowship for the afternoon. The Sunday school wasn’t aware that I was bringing anything, but they ended up needing to use some of the supplies I had brought on that same day, so that was really awesome to be a vessel to bring what they needed! I don’t mean to say there aren’t school supplies in Costa Rica, but they are more expensive and mission churches don’t exactly roll in the dough. I’ve never been on a major mission trip or anything, so it was great to be able to do something small and see how grateful people can be. It was humbling. Spending time with Alejandro, his wife Lory, and the others was really great to just share together in good conversation about our travels, our countries’ similarities/differences, how God is working in our lives and the lives of others, laughing about my Spanish accent and their English accents, etc. As I keep them in my prayers and stay thankful for having met them briefly, I know that when I go back down there someday, whether for work or leisure or both, I will meet up with them again.
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| One of my 2 suitcases, full of power tools for work and school supplies for the church. |
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| The CAM Missionaries I hung out with (Alejandro and Daniel) and their wives. |
I can’t end this blog post without speaking a little to culture and also the Spanish language differences in Costa Rica. Freddy was awesome to talk to about all of this and go with to local restaurants. As you know, I’m ALL about the local, cultural experience—trying new foods and learning about the language differences. Obviously, the language is Spanish, but I’m talking about the accent that they use in Costa Rica versus in Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. This kind of thing fascinates me.
FOOD: So, besides eating ceviche, Freddy and I stopped for breakfast at a small, local place in the mountains called Dona Mayela, where I tried a typical Costa Rican breakfast: gallo pinto (rice mixed with beans, cilantro, and spices), eggs (cooked in pan from chickens…you know…), and my favorite – una chorreada! A chorreada is like an amazing pancake x10! It’s made of corn, and is flat and sweet and cooked in a pan. You can put whip cream (a Costa Rican whip cream equivalent…Natilla) on it…I would have preferred peanut butter or Nutella, but the chorreada was amazing. Now, if you’re not a sweet-tooth like me, you might not like it. I also had some of the freshest juices I’ve ever had in Costa Rica. There are juices (called ‘naturales’) made of fruits I’ve never heard of – guanabana, maracuya, mamey, etc.
CULTURAL FACTS: People from Costa Rica are called Costa Ricans, but they’re also called ‘Ticos’ or ‘Ticas.’ In fact, anything or anyone Costa Rican can be Tico/Tica. For example, the paragraph you just read was explaining typical comida tica. I went to tico restaurants, met a lot of Ticos, tried dancing cumbia tica, etc. I would frequently say throughout the week when people asked me if I liked Costa Rica, “Si! Ya me he puesto en media Tica!” (I’ve already become half-Costa Rican!). They also use a key phrase in Costa Rica – ‘Pura Vida.’ This literally means ‘pure life,’ but can translate as many, many, many things. For example, when greeting someone in the morning, one person says “Buenos Dias” and the other says “Pura Vida”…meaning hello. You can say Pura Vida instead of Gracias (thank you), Pura Vida instead of Que Pasa (what’s up?), Pura Vida instead of a word for ‘cool!’…etc. Another difference in the Costa Rican Spanish is the words for ‘you’re welcome.’ Typically in Spanish, this is ‘de nada,’ but in Costa Rica they say ‘con gusto,’ which literally translates at ‘with pleasure.’ I must say, it grew on me and sounds much more pleasant!
‘TICO’ SPANISH: A final language difference I’ll explain is the way they DO NOT roll their ‘R’s.’ As you know, when saying the Spanish word for car – ‘carro,’ your tongue is supposed to roll, but they don’t in Costa Rica! At first it sounded to me like they were saying it wrong – like a bunch of silly Americans attempting to speak Spanish. But, that’s how they pronounce most of the R’s…just as we would in English…whether it’s a double ‘rr’ or a single ‘r.’ One of my secrets: as much in love as I am with the Latin culture and Spanish language, and as much as I tried when living in Spain and also taking phonetics and linguistics classes in college, I could NEVER learn to properly roll my R’s….so I fit right in!
Overall, my 9 days in Costa Rica were amazing. The country was beautiful and so much different than the Caribbean islands. You can tell it’s not a small island, but rather a developed country with more amenities, a faster pace of living (not the fast American pace, but not the pokey island pace), a really friendly and open-minded people, and a welcoming attitude for foreigners interested in their country. Seriously, Costa Rica is extremely advanced. While they have no army, they invest heavily in education, and it shows with their literacy rate over 95%...which is better than the U.S. They are still classified as a third world country, but many, many young people attend a university and unemployment isn’t as bad as it is in parts of the Caribbean and Latin America. And for me, just having everything in Spanish and spending 9 straight days speaking Spanish and even doing business in Spanish was AWESOME. I truly have been blessed with a passion for the language and culture. It was rewarding to spend time with local people like Freddy and the CAM missionaries, who openly invested time and energy in me and helping me learn more about their country. It’s something to be proud of. Thanks for reading, guys! Pura Vida!
