Submitted by Janelle Skaden on the 2017 winter session program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
Last weekend, we traveled to San José, Costa Rica which is in San José Province. San José is the capital of Costa Rica and is only about 30 to 40 minutes from Heredia depending on the traffic. I think it is important when visiting a new country to always stop in the capital city, this because many times capital cities have a lot of history to share with those who are interested in learning about it.
The first stop we made in San José was Museo de Arte Costarricense; I think this stop was very important because we were able to learn about the history of Costa Rica from Pre-Columbian times up to the 1940’s, when the building was built. It set a good foundation for the rest of the day and the rest of our time in Costa Rica.
What surprised me the most about the trip to San José was how many different American Presidents had been to Costa Rica. During the walking tour, our tour guide mentioned different presidents and important people who had been to the different buildings. I knew that American presidents traveled to different places in the world, but I just never expected Costa Rica to be one of the places they traveled to. I’m not really sure why I overlooked the fact that it is a country with which the U.S. has ties to and so it makes sense for a president to make an appearance. I was also surprised by how little security protection the president of Costa Rica has! Presidents in Costa Rica live in their own homes and there is only one police car that is their protection sitting outside of their homes. In the U.S. it is so different, the President cannot travel anywhere without intense protection and they do not live in their own homes since they move into the White House.