Day 2

     I arrived yesterday in San José around 2.  From lack of sleep, and because I am a huge wimp when it comes to leaving home, I felt a little emotional but after my 11 hours of sleep last night I woke up to the peaceful Costa Rican air and was very excited to start my day.  
     My group had our program orientation today.  I am the only student living in my host family now so I was excited to meet other students.  There are 5 other girls here for the same program, and next week there will be 4 more arriving (one will live in my host house).  
      We had an informational orientation and then went to have a typical Costa Rican lunch.  After that, we took a walking tour around San José which is a 15 minute walk from my house.  It was neat to see the culture, and we also stopped and saw some historical places along the way.  

My lunch: a typical Costa Rican plate called "casado" (which means married) that includes a meat, vegetables, rice, beans, and salad.

We had Costa Rican coffee made fresh with our rice pudding dessert.

Us Girls in front of a statue in the National Park

I don't remember exact names but thought this statue was neat because it represents a man that came from the United States that wanted to take control of Costa Rican land (the man on the right with his hand over his face) and the women fighting behind him represent various Latin American countries that are fighting to keep the land. 

A government building

This is called "the blue house" and it is across the street from the government building.  It is not where presidents live, but there has been 3 presidents that lived in it by choice.  Right now the president of Costa Rica lives in a small neighborhood in a humble home with tico neighbors.

An old movie theatre built in the early 1900's. You can see the modern architecture on either side.

The top of the national theatre.  The three statues stand for music, fame, and dance.

Inside the national theatre

An elementary school made out of metal.  The city experience alot of damage from an earthquake in the 1980's so they build a school and church out of metal so it could withstand volcanoes and earthquakes.

See the Apple icon, Bob?

This is a hotel where John F. Kennedy stayed.  The guide said the preserved the room and left it exactly how it was when he left and now people tour it.

These are just some of the places we saw on our tour.  San José is an interesting place!