Ticos are pretty tranquilo about most things, and they tend to speak at a relaxed speed and enunciate clearly, especially when addressing a foreigner. Costa Ricans are known for saying “Mae”, which means “Dude” but has become a form of verbal punctutation used in some circles in almost every sentence. A notable idiosyncrasy here is creating diminutives with “ico” instead of “ito” (”un poquitico”)—hence the words “Tico” and “Tica” to describe a Costa Rican man and women. Ticos are said to have an odd way or pronouncing the “R” at the beginning of a word, as in “Rica”—the “R” is never rolled or trilled. All in all, rest assured that if your español is not buenísimo, most Costa Ricans will speak slow, proper Spanish for you.