Costa Rica Day 1 & 2

Written by Michael Pittek,

Day 1, Monday, June 25th, 2012:

Today was mostly traveling. Our flight from Pittsburgh to Dallas was delayed by an hour. We had to rush a little in the Dallas airport due to the delay but there were no problems and everything went smoothly. After the long two flights that seemed to go on forever we made it to San Jose, Costa Rica. The hotel that we are staying at is nicer than what I was expecting. The staff and our guide Alfrado are very kind and helpful. They warmly greeted us and feed us a nice meal. That night we went over what our agenda was and then went to bed.

Day 2, Tuesday, June 26th, 2012:

Today was an interesting day. We learned a lot about Costa Rica and its culture. The day started off with a nice breakfast and then an interview with Epsy Campbell. Epsy is a popular political leader in Costa Rica, she ran for president in the past but was defeated by a very few number of votes. It was a very close race. She has gained popularity once again and is considering running for president again in the upcoming election. Not only is Epsy a woman but she is also of African descent. If she were to win the upcoming election it would be a huge victory for women and minorities in the country. After listening to Epsy's story and asking her a few questions she was kind enough to take a group photo with us before leaving. It was very kind of her to take time out of her busy schedule to talk with us.

After our interview we headed out with our tour guide Alfrado to do some sightseeing in downtown San Jose. The city is very large and seems to go on forever. One thing that surprised me was that the tallest building in the entire city was around the same size as City High's building. The market place is very vast and all of the government branches have their own buildings that are all located near each other.

After our tour we stopped at a restaurant for lunch before heading to the high school, Liceo Julio Fonseca. However when we arrived the school was out and none of the teachers or students were there. The guard at the school told us that he was told nothing about the meeting and did not know that one had even been scheduled. I'm not sure what had happened. There may have been some form of miscommunication but whatever the case may be I was a little upset that we did not get a chance to meet the students. I was looking forward to playing a game of soccer with them.

After we left the school we moved to "Plan B" which involved a trip to Costa Rica's National Museum. Our tour guide Alfrado showed us around and told us some interesting facts about the country and gave us a brief overview of the country's history. After we were finished looking around the museum we split into two groups. One of the groups went back to the hotel and the other group took another walk around the city. I choose to go with the walking group. We enjoyed fresh Costa Rican Coffee and took a bunch of group pictures.

When we arrived back at the hotel the power was out and there was an incoming storm. We spent the rest of the day eating dinner followed by a few card games and some relaxation. The power came back on and we had on more group meeting before going to bed for the night.