Houses
As everywhere else, houses in Costa Rica vary across income levels. Low-income ones are built out of tin sheets or wood planks; middle- and upper-income houses are built out of steel columns and cement blocks. The cement blocks are covered with stucco (sometimes decorative volcanic rocks) and painted in Mediterranean colors. The majority of houses have window bars for anti-theft protection as well as a fence in front of it. Because of the long rainy season, most houses have pitched roofs and deep eaves. Sometimes, thick chains from the roof to the ground serve as a rain gutter to guide the flow of the water. If a house doesn’t have a doorbell, people yell “¡upe! ¡upe!,” an expression used to let people know they’re at the door, one that only Costa Ricans use. No houses have a mailbox. (Mail is usually delivered to a PO box or a messenger will come to the door.) Instead of a mailbox, most houses have a tall basket on the sidewalk. This is a container for garbage bags; that way, street dogs don’t tear the bag before the garbage truck collects it.
Saturday, May 2, 2009