More Cultural Differences - Pura Vida for All Life

One of the coolest parts of my job as a private English teacher is that I get to have a lot of conversations.  With students that are more advanced, I literally get paid to converse.  How much better can a job get?!  Oh yeah, and I do constantly analyze the student's language skills, correct them, write notes, and think of mini lessons to address their weaknesses - haha... but I can do all of that while talking about deep things.

I have a 16 year old student who is wise beyond her years.  I would want to talk with her even if she wasn't paying me.  I have learned so much from her over the past year and a half - about her view on culture, life, major issues in the country.  Yesterday, the topic of killing animals came up.  I told her that I had noticed that in general, Ticos would rather coax an insect out of their house than kill it. 

Just the other day, a wasp landed on a student's neck in my house and he flicked it off.  It landed on the floor and I squished it.  That wasn't like me and I wasn't proud of it.  I don't know why I did that.  The teenage boy's reaction was what shocked me.  "Awww.... why did you kill it?  Poor thing.  It was alive."  I repeat, a TEENAGE BOY.

When I was a kid, I was always the one getting mad at the other kids at the pool for squishing bees while I rescued them with my kick-board.

I told the girl this story and she said, "Yes. We take the insect out.  And I am afraid of snakes, but I only will kill one if it is in my house.  If it is in the street and I am driving the car... I will wait so that it will cross.  That is the home of the snake.  Not my home."

She proceeded to tell me about how her family would catch scorpions and put them outside.  I told her that my family did the same, but that it wasn't very common I thought.

This observation and conversation made me wonder.... why is animal life valued more highly in this country than in the US?  I mean, I don't want to over generalize, but I have seen a lot more personal examples of young people caring for wildlife... making sure to not step on a trail of leaf cutter ants who are working so hard to bring those leafs back to the nest.  I have seen kids in the US purposefully stomp on ants when the ants weren't even harming them at all. 

Why is this? Is it the closer connection to the outside?  Does the fact that houses aren't even inclosed, sealing humans off from the outside world, make people more connected to their environment?  Is it a value that hasn't been lost from the native people?  Is it because the country has so much biodiversity and eco-tourism is a huge focus of the economy?  Is it taught in schools or is it just passed on through modeling... not even noticed as a value?

I know that this care for all life is a value in say.... Hinduism, but I did not expect to see it in a heavily Catholic culture.

I continue to learn from my students every day and the lessons they teach me are often lessons I needed to be reminded of.  I guess I'll continue living in harmony with my cockroach and ant friends.

Pura Vida.  Pure Life.  For All Forms.