to most of the places we visited; so we had a great time being
tourists together! The Plaza Cultura was very interesting. (I took
tons of pictures that will have to be uploaded later.) I loved seeing
where the indigenous people live now and where they came from. We saw
gold from all different regions and examples of houses, jars, and
weaponry. All of the museums were in walking distance from each other
and very reasonable. Pao's mom was upset because I had to pay more as
a tourist, but it only seemed fair to me. Costa Ricans pay the taxes
that build the museums, I don't mind paying more to support what I
have the priviledge to enjoy.
We had lunch at the Mercado Central with Johnn (my Tico brother). It
was delicious! Arroz con pollo is probably my favorite dish in the
world and this was the best that I've had. We sat in the middle of the
hustle and bustle and stuffed ourselves silly. I may have mentioned
this before, but I freakin' love my family here. I feel like they
really are the Tico version of my family at home. I can't wait for the
day that both families meet!
After lunch we walked around a park and saw some government buildings
(court house, etc.) and the National Museum (which is closed on
Mondays). Then we went to a museum of contemporary art. I loved it!
They had an exhibit about renewable resources and reusing things we
already own in new ways. My favorite idea was making purses out of old
jackets... Oh no, I take that back. My favorite was a display of lamps
made out of car parts. They were gorgeous! ...Oh crap; I lied. My
(actual) favorite was the exhibit of photography. There were
collections of photos from different Spanish speaking countries
separated between two floors. The bottom floor had pictures of people
from the lower classes of the countries. There were immigrants on the
Northbound trains in Mexico, children with no shoes in Peru, people
living on the streets in Brazil, etc. On the top floor were photos of
people living in excess; opulent weddings in Spain, Carnival in
Brazil, etc. It was very thoughtful and well done. Sometimes exhibits
spend too much time telling you what to think; this one left you with
the images and your own thoughts. It triggered some great
conversations between Mama and me. I am especially excited to upload a
few photos from that exhibit.
We went by the hospital that Pao did her internship at, which is the
same one her grandmother used to work at as a nurse! We walked around
San Jose some more and had a coffee date at Spoons (a great little
chain of snack/coffee shops). Then we thought we were going to tour
Teatro Nacional, but the information they gave Pao was wrong. So
instead we had a second coffee date, this time with Pao. :-) We
visited the national cathedral and their central park and it was time
to get home and let our feet rest.
For those of you traveling to Costa Rica, don't skip San Jose. It may
not be clean and fancy, but it's a great taste of the culture. The
majority of Ticos live here, so it's worth the time to get know a
little about life here.
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