Who are you?

Hi there, I’m Erin.

Tell us a little about you.

I’m a twenty-something freelance writer. I studied Cultural Anthropology and Spanish in college and have long wanted to live abroad. In January 2007, I achieve one of my life’s goals and moved to Costa Rica, where I’m happily ensconced in my wonderful one-bedroom apartment, writing and wiling away the hours.

What does gringuitica mean?

It’s not a real word; I have made it up. Costa Ricans have a linguistic quirk whereby they add the suffix -tico or -itico, instead of -ito or -itito, to the end of their words. [General Spanish: minuto > minutito; Costa Rican Spanish: minuto > minutico] Because of this speech characteristic, they are known as ticos. And while I’m an American by birth, I’m a tica in spirit. That said, if you take the word gringa and apply the Costa Rican -tico, you get gringuitica.

Why do you blog?

There are many reasons why I blog. I blog because I love the written word. I enjoy molding the thoughts in my head and coaxing words to form coherent sentences. I blog because I need a forum in which to practice my writing. I blog because I feel privileged to interact with the people I’ve met through mutual interactions in the blogosphere. I blog because I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t.

What do you write about?

I blog about myself and my personal experiences with the world around me. Topics include, but are by no means limited to, the following: things that make me chuckle, Costa Rica, things that make me angry, languages, nostalgia for times gone by, love and geeks.