This morning we boarded the train for a quick trip over to San Jose. In the city, we visited the National Monument, the National Museum, and the National Theater. The National Monument portrays the victory of Costa Rica and South American countries against William Walker. William Walker wanted to overtake South America, but the countries successfully fought him. At the National Museum, we walked through a butterfly garden and viewed many of the pre-Columbian sculptures that were recovered from digs. Our tour of the National Theater allowed us to view the beautiful architecture and paintings. In San Jose, I saw the influences of coffee and banana trade with the National Theater. The plantation owners and other coffee elites wanted performances in Costa Rica and more actors to come here. They imposed a tax on their coffee to help fund the theater and demanded that the government build one. Because of their pressure, the National Theater was built and used.
Both San Jose and Pittsburgh are busy, urban areas. The cities have buses and a metro system. There is a train that travels to San Jose from other areas like Heredia. Both cities have parks and green space incorporated into them. Like the National Monument in San Jose, Pittsburgh has monuments like the monument Soldiers and Sailors. On the tour throughout San Jose, I noticed at least three parks in a small area of each other. Additionally, La Casa Amarilla was funded partially for by Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie established Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He also was very passionate about international peace. He donated money to build this house as an international court of justice. Pittsburgh and San Jose have this interesting connection through Andrew Carnegie.
In Costa Rica, there are few street addresses in the cities and towns. Instead, people use landmarks and distances to communicate addresses. Since there are no addresses, this can make logistics such as delivering mail and packages very difficult. Someone’s address may be multiple sentences long and may rely on old landmarks that no longer exist. This causes many mail to be undeliverable and lost. This also makes it difficult to find a tourist spot. Maps are not available to certain places, making it challenging to navigate at times. I believe this system of using landmarks as addresses works well enough, but it can be improved to make San Jose run more smoothly. As more online shopping and delivering may take place in San Jose, having addresses will make delivering much more easier and efficient. However, Costa Ricans still love shopping at malls and using these places to gather, so this may not be a large problem for awhile.
