A Tica Pedicure

Last Sunday I went with the Chinchilla family to visit Luz’s grandparents. Luz is the only daughter of the family not to live in the same town as the parents, so her arrival at the family home always carries a little more fanfare than the other sisters’ regular visits. I was introduced as Luz’s new “daughter” (“Look how quickly she’s grown up!” “I know, I didn’t even have to pay for her schooling!”) to her gaggle of sisters and her mom and dad, Amable and Guillermo. After a few moments of “Mucho gusto,” everyone quickly slipped into their different cliques – sisters and mom out back, grinding, patting out, and toasting tortillas alongside several other dishes, husbands out front discussing farm matters, and children running through all ends of the house as a noisy herd. Daniel, the oldest daughter’s boyfriend, had also come along for the first time, and he and I both sort of drifted back out toward the front of the house, unsure of where to settle. I ended up out front with the men, mostly because I stuck with Daniel and Nicol. Whether this was a gaff on my part or whether I was excused by virtue of being a confused foreigner, I’m not sure.

Most of the day passed with the expected stress on my part. For the majority of the time, I simply sat somewhere and tried to look satisfied and interested in the conversation going on around me. I tried a drink made from corn – it tasted exactly like someone had soaked tortilla chips in water for an hour and then drained the water into my cup – and ate a huge helping of rice, spaghetti, beans, and cabbage salad. I watched an episode of survivor with Memo, Daniel, and Nicol and tried to convince Memo that not everyone in the United States thinks that Costa Ricans run around in loincloths.

But the highlight of the day came when Luz poked her head around the corner and asked me “You don’t want to get your nails painted?” Luz’s sister Ana is a self-taught beautician who does nails and hair. She often brings her kit along to these Sunday gatherings and does a few freebies for her family. This week I won the drawing! I scattered the thirty or so acrylic nails that Ana provides as samples across my legs and got to choosing. Every option was incredibly detailed and flashy. This was going to be fun. I finally choose and settled in to the chair, draping my ankle over Ana’s knee. She was a total pro with her teeny tiny brushes and in no time I was sporting a seriously noteworthy design! My toes now have a pink and silver French manicure topped on each big toe with a sunflower design. Something about the process and my willingness and excitement over it bought me a ticket into the girls group. For the rest of the day I had something to display and talk about with all the ladies. It was a strange ticket in, but I’ll take it as I get it these days.

P.S. I´m going to save you the weirdness of posting a big picture of my toes. Just use your imagination!