I was looking for dinner on a balmy
Friday night in Limón, Costa Rica. I wanted something different, something I
couldn’t get in San José. I walked down a line of food and souvenir stands. The
air smelled of salt water and chicken cooking and reggae music filled the
streets with its lively beats and rhythms. I was walking with some friends when
we decided on a stand that offered a meal of tacos and a coke. Perfect after a
long day of travel, interviews with locals, and lectures about the region. The
special was four tacos and one coke for 1200 colones. I went up and confidently
ordered just that, cuatro tacos con una coca. The man at the counter looked
mildly horrified after I ordered and asked me for 5,000 colones. Figuring I was
getting ripped off because I was a gringa tourist, I accepted and paid. I sat
and waited for my food as the man at the counter informed everyone that they
were out of tacos at the stand.
I waited and waited until finally
the man, who I now realized actually spoke English because of his Jamaican
heritage, informed me my last meal was not going to be tacos because they ran
out and so I was getting a hamburger. I looked down at the counter to see four
cokes sitting and waiting for me. Horrified and incredibly embarrassed I
realized what I had done. I had ordered four meals of four tacos. I bought
sixteen tacos supposedly for myself. I stood there as taco after taco was
handed to me. My fellow students cracked up laughing as I handed them excess
tacos to enjoy. After finishing my meal we all left together with a story to
muse over and lots of laughs (and tacos) shared.
While this story is very funny, it has a
deeper meaning on my whole experience in Limón and in Costa Rica in general. I
failed, big time, ordering those tacos. It’s not the first time I’ve failed
either. My life, since I landed in Alajuela, has been a series of failures,
some comical, some not so much. The thing is, that’s okay. It’s okay that I
accidentally asked if there were rules under the Christmas tree instead of
presents, it’s okay that I didn’t realize it’s okay, actually preferred, that I
hang out in my siblings room, and it’s okay I didn’t realize that you don’t eat
pork with a fork and knife here. While these are all failures, they’ve taught
me something. They have taught me how human I am, how much I need to learn, and
how much I need God and those he placed in my life.
Going to Limón smacked me in the
face with that reality. I needed to fail, because failure is good. There are
tons of people in Limón who know so much that I do not because they’ve
experienced different realities than I. I am beyond thankful I got to hear the
handful of stories and perspectives I did while I was there. Limón, with its
ups and downs, was something I needed to experience because it showed me that
even in the age where information is at my fingertips, I only know a handful of
perspectives and ideas. Limón broadened my horizon and that is invaluable.
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