Woohoo!

It's a pretty normal expression, right?  I didn't realize how much I use it as a part of my daily – erm, hourly – vocabulary.  Maybe it wasn't always such a fundamental part of my communication.  Here in Costa Rica, it's become a way of easily expressing agreement, contentment, commitment and excitement when I can't summon the brain power to get those thoughts across in Spanish.  Which happens fairly often.  And now, instead of greeting me with the customary, “¡Adiós!” as we pass in the street, my neighbors offer up a, “Woohoo!”  It's kind of cool and it makes me want to assess how this came to be.

Here's one example of why I think the Woohoo phenomenon has occurred: After participating in a two hour meeting about what kind of fund raiser would be best for a certain committee, a decision was reached.  About 20% of that time was actually productive, and the meeting definitely peaked early.  So for a long time I was spacing out, trying to go around the circle and say to myself what I thought everyone's names were and where I thought they lived (for the record, I do not feel guilty about this...it's Week 2).  By the end of the meeting, I wasn't really sure what all the fund raiser entailed.  I knew it was agreed upon to do a small-ish fund raiser before tackling a big one because this committee is fairly new.  For sure I agree with that principle.  However, without knowing the absolute specifics and not being able to articulate/confess my embarrassing mental absence, I did what came natural – a verb-less, tense-less, uncomplicated and well-received, “Woohoo!”

I hated feeling this way in college, but once again it's part of my life – pure mental exhaustion.  Feeling tired when all you've done all day is think about stuff, and then talk about the stuff you thought about.  And then think about what everyone else said that they thought about it.  On the whole, in the US I felt more satisfied feeling physically tired from a day's work at the thrift store than feeling tired from researching an essay, for example.  It's different here, it's more like a marriage of the two – I think twice, really analyze before doing something or going somewhere (and in Guanacaste, leaving my bed is the physical challenge because of the heat).  I don't mind it like I did in college, I've accepted it as part of my experience.  But it definitely leaves me blank with exhaustion at times.  When that happens, and then suddenly I'm up to bat...well...it's become a little bit of a show now.  I know what they want to hear, a happy and energetic affirmative despite my inner deflatedness.

The show must go on...“Woohoo!”

And I even have the language to support me!  I have so much respect for my friends, the other Volunteers who are still in the process of learning how to be themselves in Spanish.  They're also probably as beat as I am from having to be “on” all the time (even only after a few days), but they keep at it.  Actually, now that I write that down, I realize what an inspiration that is for my own efforts.  If you're a Tico 22-er reading this, just a heads up – I'm so proud of you guys!

Returning to the theme of my blag, the Woohoo is not just a marker my inability to form coherent thoughts.  It's actually turning into a handy way of carving out a place for myself in situations when it would be easy to be removed and alone.  On the way home from a soccer match that my town's team played in this past Sunday, I heard a high-pitched “Woohoo” from the back of the bus.  It was like some animal instinct, like a bird-call or something – I turned around and returned it.  I saw that it was the Sports Committee's president and when we looked at each other she and I both cracked up laughing.  That felt really good.  I've been laughing at a lot of things I don't understand the past few days – jokes in Spanish, especially in the colloquial Tico are not my strong suit – but I'm pretty accustomed to laughing at my own weird self.

The president of the sports committee, my family, my neighbors, the million of little kids everywhere that use Woohoo...it makes me think that they are interested in me at the least.  It's an opener, it gives me a chance to smile and laugh with them at how tonta I am, how silly my expressions are.  Usually, substantive conversation follows – I'm going to posit that it's because it's easier approaching someone who seems outrageously happy rather than someone who seems kind of serious and uncomfortable (which may be the underlying truth, haha).

So yeah, I'll say it again...

Woohoo!