Day 2 – Exploring San Jose

Group outside of our last destination today, the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

While walking around the city today, I was introduced to several cultural nuances of Costa Rica that differ considerably from the United States. For example, our tour guide, Mario, explained the living situation of their president. Rather than moving to the White House with an entourage of Secret Service agents like in the US, the Costa Rican president lives in his own house under the protection of a single police officer parked on the street outside, and he chooses the location of his office upon his election. In fact, the current president’s office is a room in the Hotel Jade, the hotel we’re staying in!

In addition, the way that Costa Ricans interact with foreigners is very different than the way they do with the locals, as expected. In large groups, we attract many stares and smiles from Costa Ricans going about their day. In fact, many times when I have interacted with them, such as at dinner, I occasionally see them chuckle to themselves and my assumed ineptitude. The weird thing is when I speak in Spanish to them out of courtesy, some Costa Ricans respond in English, as if to spite me. However, because according to our require reading The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica, Costa Ricans always try to save face, the conversation always remains polite and they maintain a friendly disposition throughout.

Finally, during the tour today we passed the University of Costa Rica as Mario told us a bit about the education system in Costa Rica. Much like the US, the private high schools usually produce smarter students than their public counterparts, but the interesting difference is that students in public colleges in Costa Rica tend to find jobs easier than private school students. I'm curious about this last detail because The Ticos claimed that students that attend private high schools usually will also enroll into a private university because they're parents can afford it, and additionally, that these students will find jobs more easily because they're parents have connections throughout the country to give them more opportunities. Its not based as much on the quality of your education as much as who you know.

Also, the University of Costa Rica is supposed to be the most prestigious institution in the nation, but the facilities were fairly basic and, in some places, quite run down. This was odd to me because at home the most prestigious schools are normally the most beautiful as well. However, I suppose this different makes sense given the socioeconomic status of Costa Rica.