Costa Rica's Second Language

Every town has a multitude of noises that make up its soundtrack; the roars, rumbles, mumbles and wooshes that one hears in the background, much like the sounds of waves, gulls, and children at play when visiting the beach.  While every such soundtrack includes at least an occasional car horn honking, when I first arrived in San Jose and then Puriscal, I noticed that the sound of honking horns was far more than occasional.  It was so constant that I experienced it more like a heckler in the audience, disrupting the performance, than a key voice in the choir.  I wondered, 'what is the point of honking if everyone is honking at the same time?'

I was here only a few days when, out of the raucous cacophony, I began to hear the music.  A second language if you will.  Slowly, by observing the specific instance of a given honk, I could make out the intended meaning.  While, in the US, the honk of a horn is often quite  hostile, I found that here, it almost never is.  One afternoon, as I walked down a narrow road, I heard a honk that said, quite sweetly, "be careful, I'm coming up behind you."  At rush hour I observed the gentle patience of drivers saying, "go ahead and pull in here, I'll give you room" as well as the greetings of people who were driving in from the city to their friends who were walking home, "its good to see you my friend, after such a long day."  I watched a pedestrian, who was about to step off the curb, receive the caution, "don't step off just yet, I am rounding the corner."  And as we drove up a windy mountain road today, the horn of our faster car, forewarned the slower truck ahead, "I'm coming around." Upon being passed, the slower truck graciously replied..."you've cleared me, it's safe to move back into this lane."  Don't get me wrong, I have also heard the occasional angry outburst as well, "move it over buddy, you're blocking the lane" and "hey jerk, you just cut me off."  But every language has its swear words, just like music has its minor chords.  It's all part of the art of expression.  And just as each violin in the orchestra plays different notes, so too does each honking horn sing different lyrics that, when listened to closely, are all part of the beautiful music.