The days of this trip are winding down, and I see the end in sight. I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE!!! It could just be that Costa Rica is so different from any place I have seen before, but I am in awe of everything (other than the trash in some locations). The houses are colorful, the trees are pretty, and the locals are friendly. I love speaking Spanish to everyone. I am getting better and better, especially with Mama Maria. Last night, we had an hour-long conversation about nothing and everything. We talked about shows, soccer, phrases, and a lot more. I enjoy our dinners together. We burst out laughing every minute.
Today, we took a train to the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. There, we had a walking city tour. We saw the National Museum, Central Market, and the Plaza de la Cultura. We went on three coffee tours, and I now see signs of it everywhere. The impact coffee has had on Costa Rica is immense. Just walking around the city, you are bound to walk past something directly shaped by coffee. The Plaza de la Cultura had paintings of coffee and banana plantation workers to honor those who helped build the theater. The revenue from coffee and bananas helped improve funds for many projects, including the Plaza de la Cultura.
San Jose and Pittsburgh have a lot in common. Education is important in both cities. In Costa Rica, a shift is occurring, drawing people away from the fields and towards classrooms. Renowned institutions like the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon are in Pittsburgh. While the culture is different, both are rich. San Jose has theaters, museums, and musical performances in the streets. Pittsburgh has its museums and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. I was lucky to watch the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra after a friend named Austin suggested we go.
One of the fun parts of this trip has been navigating the city. I don’t have many street names memorized in my hometown or Pittsburgh, but here, no addresses need to be memorized. Street names don’t exist except for a few. To find the location of something, we need to use a landmark as a guide. This makes things more challenging for us, but it is all fun. If I traveled alone, this would be a big bother. We have dealt with this by dropping a pin or checking Find My iPhone for any devices left at our homestay. Most tourist locations can be found with a Google search, but it isn’t always easy. I think that there is no urgent need to change the system. The locals have gone without street names for a long time without problems. Addresses would be easier for people like me who need to use Google Maps to go more than 10 minutes in any direction. An address would be helpful for almost anywhere except the airport. I wish I never needed to know where the airport was because I love it here.