Throughout the bus ride to Monteverde, we were able to look at many different communities both by the Pacific coast and the mountain rainforest. On the Pacific coast, the communities looked very impoverished. I saw a little boy walking down the street without shoes and only in his underwear with his mom following behind him. All of their houses were very close together with dirt roads and none of them had the fencing and bars around the homes and windows like Heredia. In the mountains, the homes had more of the fences and bars like Heredia. Although I didn’t see anyone on the streets, I assume that they are a little bit wealthier than by the coast.

Overall, my perception of Costa Rica has changed significantly since I arrived on Saturday. When first seeing Heredia and San Jose, I assumed that the rest of Costa Rica was similar. When driving by some of the other communities, I realized that my initial expectations were more correct than I thought. I expected to see somewhere in between where there would be houses close together and many people outside selling fruit or homemade food on the streets.

Although my perception of the appearance of communities has changed significantly, my perception of the people has stayed the same. There is definitely a big difference in culture which has been difficult to get used to, but most of them are good people. Many Ticos that I have met are very friendly, kind, willing to help, and excited to practice their English.