My first day in Heredia was hot and humid, with a touch of sleep deprivation. My expectations prior to arriving in Costa Rica was primarily based off of my experiences in Belize last summer. I assumed there would be a few major “highways” that were really just two-way streets with dirt roads branching off of it. I also thought there would be many more street vendors selling fruit and homemade goods on the sides of the roads and less global food chains. Also bugs. I thought there would be many more spiders, flies, and other wildlife that I would see frequently. Although there are a few small ants, flies, and other smaller bugs, I was relieved to not see spiders the size of my face on walls.

Now in Costa Rica, everything is much different than I had imagined it. Heredia is more city-like than rural. The city is oriented like a grid with well paved roads. On each side of the road, I quickly noticed big divots between the streets and sidewalks. After some thought, I realized those divots were to prevent flooding of roads during the rainy season since the storms can get very heavy. Additionally, I noticed the houses were very different to those in the United States. Most homes are extremely protected. They tend to have bars on windows, multiple locks on doors, and are surrounded by gates or inside heavily gated communities. I was very shocked by this because in the United States, the majority of homes do not usually have that level of protection. When homes in the U.S. have gates, they’re usually for decoration or to keep dogs or children from running into the streets.

On all of the homes, I noticed the architecture is very intricate. The basic structure is simple and box-like, but the tops of wealthier homes have more fancy decorations and carved patterns. Although the tops of the buildings are different, I saw that all of the homes have metal roofs. If I were to guess, I would say that was because of the amount it rains here and also it is probably cheaper and more accessible than other roofing options.

Instead of larger global businesses, I expected to see more family-owned shops. Although there are plenty of smaller restaurants and shops in Heredia, I was very surprised to see larger businesses like Walmart and Office Depot here in Heredia. Food chains like McDonalds and Taco Bell were less shocking yet still somewhat surprising.

Overall, the majority of my expectations were not super accurate, but I’m very excited to see more of Heredia and learn about Costa Rica for the next two weeks!