09/07/2025
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Living in Costa Rica, do you see Expats get angry a lot? If so, what did they get mad about? When we get angry, chemicals are released into our body and usually it lasts for only about 90 seconds! The only reason we STAY ANGRY is because we continuously think about it! If we would just let it go, then life would be easier for us and for those around us. And of course, Pura Vida enters our bloodstream and we smile!
There’s a funny truth about living in Costa Rica: most expats arrive wanting nothing but peace, tranquility, and that magical Pura Vida lifestyle. But sometimes, you’ll see one of them lose their cool. Usually, it’s not because of anything major—it’s over things like a bus being late, a sloth crossing the road at a snail’s pace (well…sloth’s pace), or the fact that the grocery store ran out of peanut butter.
I remember one fellow expat, let’s call him Bob from Boise. Bob walked into the bank, and there were 27 people in front of him. He huffed, puffed, checked his watch, and muttered things about “how back home this would take five minutes.” You could practically see his blood pressure rising.
Now here’s the thing: science tells us that when we get angry, chemicals are released into our body and they naturally fade away after about 90 seconds. But Bob wasn’t done. Nope. For the next hour, while standing in line, he replayed the whole drama in his head. Every 90 seconds, he hit the “repeat” button!
By the time he got to the teller, his face was red, his hair was frazzled, and he was practically glowing like a hot tamale. And do you know what the teller said, with the biggest smile? “Señor, today is Wednesday… we don’t do those kinds of transactions until Friday.”
Bob almost exploded. But then, the old Tico gentleman behind him gently patted his shoulder, handed him a piece of candy, and said in Spanish, “Tranquilo… it’s Costa Rica.” Everyone laughed, even Bob. And just like that—poof!—his anger vanished.
The moral? Life in Costa Rica is too beautiful to spend it mad about sloths, buses, or peanut butter. Anger lasts only 90 seconds… unless, like Bob, you keep hitting the “replay” button.
