by Lisa Khajavi

Costa Rica is known for its special way of life and attitude known as pura vida, which literally translated means pure life.  It’s a lot like “aloha” for Hawaii, because it has so many meanings. When someone says hello and asks how you are, the response is often “pura vida”, or loosely translated “I am well” or “life is good“.  In a situation where something unfortunate happens it is used as well. A response to a flat tire might be “pura vida” meant like “oh well, no worries.” or “that’s ok, life is still good!”

There are many other Costa Rican expressions that relay that the glass is definitely half-full. “Por dicha” is very common here, literally translated as “for bliss”. The phrase is more easily understood when translated as “luckily” or “thankfully”.  How have you been? “Como le ha ido?” Well, thankfully. “Bien, por dicha.” I appreciate the use of dicha (bliss) instead of suerte (luck). We could all use a little more bliss in our lives.

If you don’t hear “por dicha” at least 10 times a day, than either you are all by yourself with other foreigners, or you’re not in Costa Rica! If there’s one phrase that captures the positive outlook of Costa Ricans, it would definitely be “pura vida”. I have a feeling this positive outlook on life is why Costa Rica was recently named the “World’s Happiest Nation” by an independent British research group. We don’t need a survey to tell us what the optimism and warmth of the locals, happy tourists and contented expats already know, but we’ll take the honor, nonetheless. After all, there are so many destinations in the world to visit and only so much time to do it. So you might as well visit the happiest place on Earth. Sorry Disney. Pura Vida! Read the rest of this entry »