Working as a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl in this country never gets boring. I have had the opportunity to work as a professional in both the United States and here, and I feel that I am viewed differently in both societies. Talking with other female colleagues in my Costa Rican newsroom, I have found that difficulties in getting good interviews with male Ticos is something we all share. Over lunch the other day, one reporter said, "I feel like I just can't get any good quotes out of them. Later I'll read something in another paper and think, 'Why wouldn't he say that to me?!'"
Something that I find odd--and rather annoying--is that when I'm on assignments, men frequently try to find me a seat. "Give the girl a chair. Let the girl sit down." I don't need to sit. In fact, I don't want to sit down. I'm a photographer--sitting in one place inhibits my ability to do my job.
The men are very friendly--sometimes overly so, taking opportunity to kiss me on the cheek, which is common in some Latin American countries, but not Costa Rica. But I never leave an assignment feeling that I was related to as a working professional. Occasionally if I am working with a male reporter, they assume that I am his girlfriend--despite the fact that I have a monster camera around my neck.
Things like this make me think that professional working women are not yet common enough here to be viewed as normal.
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