76 and its' transition to culture...5/8/2016

GATE 76

Gate 76 directly translates to a lesson in culture. Here we took a flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, with a 7 hour layover, we then boarded the plane to Costa Rica for a 4 hour flight! After going through the process of customs and immigration we were eventually united with our host families, pretty late in the night I might add. It’s turning out to be a completely interesting and great experience! However, back to the topic at hand, “…and its’ transition to culture.” Official day 1 (as I’ve deemed it), has been completely amazing. The day started off with a breakfast filled with papaya, cornflakes, a sandwich, and some juice. The papaya is by far better than the ones in the US, and that’s saying a lot for someone who previously did not like.

                Breakfast was followed by a walk to the San Jose ISA (International Study Abroad) office. Of which Ania, the program coordinator, gave us advice and a rundown on some of the basic facts and ways in which Costa Rica functions. Afterwards we went on both a bus and walking tour of San Jose, and gained a lot of the history behind the city.  One of the first things we saw was the University of Costa Rica, founded by Rafael Angel Guardia Calderon as we had previously discussed.

Universidad de Costa Rica

What I found interesting was the fact that public colleges are harder to get into than a private college, thus mostly students that were privileged and came from private high schools got into public universities.

                It’s still very evident that Costa Ricans are proud. We visited a park that had an interesting statue pictured below:

Previous to 1854, William Walker, an American from Tenessee, had gained control over Nicaragua. He wanted to see slavery through to Costa Rica, and of course there were several people who disliked this. The war lasted two years, and this statue is representative of it. There are 5 women there that represent the 5 countries of South America and one is a sort of covered women that represents William Walkers rule over Nicaragua. The woman with the flag (Costa Rica) is guiding the countries towards liberty, with the fallen man being William Walker. Costa Rican pride is not only present in its' statues. The people are very prideful and friendly as well.

Unfortunately, this post is getting slightly long, but there's so much more! Here's a few snapshots from the days:

View of downtown Costa Rica

               Legislative Branch of Costa Rica

Congress is comprised of 59 senators. These senators are tasked with providing efficient and helpful laws for the public. Some individuals publicly express their opinions on the government by putting graffiti on the buildings.

Casado!!

Food wise, a Casado is a marriage of food, or a bunch of different portions mixed together to form a meal. Trust me, the food was great!




Only day one, and the experience has been amazing! See you tomorrow!!!