Most of my first impressions lined up well with my expectations prior to coming to Costa Rica: the people are friendly, warm, and hospitable, they use fresh ingredients in cooking, and there is a large fútbol culture, similar to many other Spanish-speaking countries.

Some examples of the hospitable, warm culture I picked up today and yesterday were from meeting our host mom, and walking around in el Parque Central. Our host mom, Noilyn, immediately made me, Blu, and Krista feel welcome at our homestay, and her face lit up when we spoke Spanish to her the first time. She also always makes sure we are happy with our meals, that we’ve had enough to eat, etc. Another example of Ticos’ friendliness was when we were walking around Parque Central today, and a live concert with a band and dancers had just finished. The dancers were taking pictures with their parents at the Gazebo, and one of the girls came up to our group and asked if we wanted to take a picture with them too! The girls were so sweet and spoke a little English with us 🙂

The Mercado Central proved how fresh the ingredients that Ticos use to cook are. Even though a lot of the shops were closed today, I could see the vast variety of tropical fruits hanging from the storefronts, along with the several cuts of cheeses, fish, and meat available to buy. The Mercado Central was quite reminiscent of Mercat Central de València in Spain, actually.

After we had finished the walking tour of Heredia, the group headed to a playground near one of the homestays to play some fútbol, and soon, four kids from the neighborhood joined in! They all spoke a little English with us, and we spoke some Spanish with them as well–none of them hesitated to join in the game, even when communication was limited. This once again displayed the friendliness of the Tico culture, in addition to their love of fútbol.

One aspect that I found surprising, however, was the Liceo Nocturno Alfredo González Flores, which is a nocturnal high school for students who need to work during the day, and can continue their education at nighttime. I found this very respectable because it makes education more accessible to students who need to work while they study, and I wish more high schools in the United States would offer an option like this.