Pura Vida

Traveling is one of the most educational things we can do in this life. With the emergence of social media and all the other things the internet has made possible, the ability to envision other places in the world has become paramount to our daily practices. We are all connected in this world and it’s a shame that we don’t make it easier to move about the planet.

Before I had my son, I thought I would see the entire world before I brought a person into it. That did not happen. The most international place I had ever been before him was Matamoros, Mexico. While it was certainly an exciting place, going to a bar 20 minutes from the border and ONLY a bar was not my idea of world travel. Still, I cherish those trips because I got to speak Spanish and the beer was much, much cheaper than where I’m from.

The last few years raising my son have been interesting. I’ve learned how to live very poor and stretch money further than I ever imagined. However, a vacation for me was not in the cards with my part-time job I had while I got through school.

That is until last summer, one of my oldest and dearest friends gave me all of her airline miles so I could go on a vacation. After careful consideration (okay, five minutes) I decided I wanted to go to Costa Rica. Thankfully, I had enough miles to cover airfare for myself and my son. People thought I was crazy to take my five-year-old autistic son out of the country like that, but we both needed a break. Best decision I ever made.

Not only did I get back to speaking Spanish fluently after I submersed myself into the culture, but my son, who just the year before barely spoke English, played with local children there and co-existed despite their language barrier and picked up a few phrases on his own. No one there even thought he was different or weird or got mad when he screamed because all he wanted to eat the entire time we were was ice cream and french fries.

I think about going back all the time. I think about how happy we were there and how good it was to get rid of all the expectations placed upon us here and just BE. Just BEing is highly underrated. But most of all, I remember how normal we both felt being around such a warm culture of people. If I can teach my son to say “soy contento en el mar,” then I can do anything.

Push yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you that something isn’t possible. If they do, then they’re just too chicken to do it themselves. Don’t let them hold you back and never, ever, ever let them make you feel like you are crazy. Those memories I have in Costa Rica will never fade or hold any less weight on our existence. My son, who before we went there, couldn’t even tell me about what he learned at school that day, remembers our trip like it happened yesterday. Even now, almost a year later.

Finally, my first and second language met my third.