As my time in Costa Rica nears three weeks, I have made an observation that I find fascinating...
Although women have much greater freedom and rights now than they did in previous centuries, there seems to be a cloud from the past hanging over modern Tica women. The rate of teenage pregnancies is very high, and from what I have seen, a trend among Costa Rican girls seems to be to have one or two kids at a young age--with or without a father present in the home--and then "get started" with life, and whatever career that may or may not involve. There does not seem to be as much expectation for Tico men to be faithful or committed to a family and raising kids as there is in, say, the United States. I've heard from several people that fathers typically tell their sons, "You can't expect to sleep with every woman in the world...but you have to at least try." Growing up with this sort of chauvinistic mentality does not encourage young men to commit to a family, however Costa Rican women seem to accept this fact and make the best of it.
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