Just another day in San Jose

Museo Nacional

As I finish up my last days here (I fly home tomorrow) I am slowly seeing more and more of this amazing city. Sure its dirty by my standards but its really neat! Yesterday I went downtown to the Museo Nacional. The taxi had to drop us off a couple blocks up because the streets were closed for a protest. We walked head on into a protest of the indigenous people. It was very peaceful but amazing to watch. They were protesting for their rights to practice and protect their heritage. The people here (indigenous and non-indigenous) keep many elements of the indigenous culture alive. Many Costa Ricans have indigenous and Spanish blood and celebrate both cultures. Very different from back at home where we've all but eradicated Native American culture.

Smoothies (the one on the R is mine!)

The national museum is really neat. It is an old fort built in 1917 and was used to house the military. Bullet holes splatter the exterior walls from the Civil War of 1948. This Civil War greatly shaped this country. Lasting for 44 days, the rebel army overthrew the current president and legislature. They constructed a new Constitution outlining Costa Rican's Rights and abolished the army. In 1950 the Costa Rican government turned the fort into a museum. Inside the museum we found a butterfly garden, history of the fort, indigenous history and much more. I learned a lot about the first people to live in Costa Rica and how that culture has transformed today.

Walking the streets back to school we came across one of the thousands of smoothie shops that dot San Jose. These places are amazing, you watch them cut the fruit up right in front of you and its far better than any smoothie place in the states. I had Guanabana and Cas in yogurt...yum! It was so good. These are fruits I can't get back in the states and I love them so much!

Campus of Andres' School

This week I also got a chance to see where Andres goes to school. He goes to a private school and it is very different than the public school Indiana goes to. There are lots of gates, security guards, cameras and much more. The primary and secondary schools both have their own gyms and play facilities. It is a Catholic school and the chapel on campus is gorgeous. In a lot of ways this private school reminded me of Concordia's campus. They offer lots of programs to their students and really make the experience worth while. At Indiana's school, where she goes to Kinder, there is one guard, a gate, they say there is a camera but I couldn't find it, and its not very well protected. Her mom told me that drug dealers often stand on the street side of the gate and pass cigarettes, joints and other drugs in to the young students when the teachers aren't looking. The public school system is very corrupt so teachers and administrators often steal money and other resources from the schools. It is a world of a difference. Most people send their students to private school if they have the money and their children can pass the entrance exam. Private schools often prepare students better for University than public schools. In 11th grade (the last grade of Costa Rican school), all students have to take an exam for the University of Costa Rica, if they pass they get in if not they don't, it doesn't matter how much money a person has. Often times students with a lot of money who don't pass this exam will go to private universities in the country, like Veritas, where I studied. Public University is very cheap in Costa Rica. They can go to school for four years for the same price I pay for one year. Its crazy! And because University is so cheap, most families don't mind paying for their child's primary and secondary schools. My host family told me in the US we get free education along the way and pay a lot at the end, in Costa Rica they pay a little the whole way along so its just a little at the end. A very interesting and surprisingly successful system.

The group (minus Kirbs) on my last day in CR. (L to R) Jes, Kas, Me and Hans)

That about wraps up my final adventures in Costa Rica...I am actually home now but there will be one more entry about how I got here.