Blame It (On the Alcohol)

Perhaps the biggest difference I've noticed so far between Americans and Ticos is their attitude toward alcohol. Americans think it's a big deal; Ticos don't. The drinking age here is 18, perhaps a reason for the difference. A couple funny observances:

1) Our guide, a well-educated curator of a local museum, was sipping straight tequila out of a small flask called a whiskera on the bus to the beach. No big.

2) In class, our sixty-something lit professor asked us if we liked beer. She told us she preferred Bacardi cause it didn't make her go to the bathroom as much. So what?

3) I learned there's an important festival here coming up on Thursday. Apparently more beer is consumed there than at any other festival besides Oktoberfest. A bunch of the host families are going with their kids. It's whatever.

Despite the alcohol culture, no one really gets trashed. It sure will be frustrating returning to the States.