Week in San Jose

Last week I was in San Jose for the entire week living with a different host family. San Jose is the complete opposite of where I am living in Miramar. Miramar is what you would think of as a really safe town where no one has to lock their doors and you never have to watch your back. Everyone is friendly and says hi as you walk by. In contrast is San Jose, where you don’t leave your house after dark, you have a taxi pick you up at the front gate because it’s not safe to walk the streets during the middle of the day. Complete opposites. However, in the safe parts- San Jose was also a lot of fun.
We visited different clinics and hospitals in downtown San Jose. The first private hospital that we visited was actually much nicer than any hospital I have seen in the U.S. We also visited that National Theater where some of the world’s best known orchestras play. It was one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever set foot in. Then we enjoyed shopping downtown, American-style malls, and of course, eating American food like McDonalds and Subway. Their menus were very similar than in the U.S. except McDonalds sold fried chicken and taco bell sold French fries. That was a little different.
Then during the weekend we went to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The culture there is very different because there have been a ton of immigrants that came over from Jamaica. We even listened to some live reggae music one night. It was so very beautiful and even the trees were different that what I am used to- it is true tropical rainforest instead of cloudforest where I live. We saw howler monkeys and a sloth while we were driving down the road. I am going to miss all this wildlife when I go back to Wisconsin.
Right now I am sitting in my room with my laptop unplugged from the electricity praying that the house won’t get struck by lightning. When I was gone last week there was a lightning bolt that hit right outside of our house and messed up my host parents’ computer. I have to admit that I am actually a little bit scared of thunderstorms here- it seems like we get a crazy one every other day. (It’s okay mom and dad- I’m making sure to be safe)
I’ll try to update more often now since I don’t have as many classes during the day for the next week. Its crazy to think that I’m going to be back in Wisconsin in 11 days.
Pura Vida!