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If you want to get along with your Tico neighbors, you really don’t want to commit una polada. You don’t want those Tico neighbors or friends to think that you are a person of little culture and education. Because then you’ll be a polo.
Polada = stupidity, an act of bad taste.
Polo = A person with very little education, or culture, out of style, with uncivilized behavior.
A polada shows in the behavior of a person. Let me give you some samples of a polada.
Selfies
You can say que polada to a person who takes selfies in the most incredible locations:
· The bathroom
· The laundry room
· In front of the closet
Showing off
You can say que polada to a person who shows off with something that belongs to someone else, like showing off with a new car that is owned by a friend.
Or showing off in front of your friends that you speak Spanish and you really only know a few words!
Keys
Cleaning your ears with a set of keys is also a polada!
Vos
Ticos, when using the word “you”, use Usted or Vos. A polada is using the word Tu.
Que polada when someone posts everything that they do or think about during the day, on Facebook.
Dining out
It is a polada not knowing how and which knife and fork to use when dining out.
Check this polada
Qué Pinta
A pinta is a much different person than a polo. If you say “que pinta” to a person, it’s because that person is dressed strangely. A pinta is often also a pachuco.
Also, you can say ese mae es una pinta, which means a strange person or a criminal.
Maicero
Maicero is used instead of the word polo, although a real maicero is a farmer, a hick or a country bumpkin (as an insult). Farmers are now also educated, so you really have to be careful who you want to call a maicero. You’d be talking about a farmer who is still used to the old customs. One who hasn’t traveled and has not only knowledge and wisdom, but one who has a strong opinion.
Being a maicero is not a bad thing. It’s someone who knows the local culture and traditions down to the little details. And of course, everything about the local kitchen.
Chonete
Chonete = a typical campesino hat used by a polo or maicero, but introduced again by a large group of people before the 2018 Soccer World cup Russia as the national Costa Rican headdress. All three people in the main image wear a chonete.
If you’d like to learn more about Costa Rican culture and how to prevent culture shock, read more blogs about this topic. Contact us for any real estate requirements you have.
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