Today was our first full day in Costa Rica. We went on a bus/walking tour of the capital city, San Jose. During the tour, many of the cultural stereotypes discussed in our Costa Rica book were confirmed. For example, the Ticos are very interested in us gringos. Many of them whistled or waved at us, as we were very clearly foreigners. But everyone has been super friendly, which is another stereotype from the book. In addition to the whistling and waving, people often said hello, and were very welcoming. My host family in particular has been very friendly and enthusiastic about their American students.
Also mentioned in the book, was that the Ticos place a strong emphasis on family. This was proven to be accurate during the tour, as we drove past parks full of families taking pictures together, playing soccer, and spending time together.
The Ticos also highly value religion (another value mentioned in the book). Most of the country is Catholic, and this made sense as we drove past several large, beautiful Catholic churches on our bus tour today.
Something that I found interesting (that was not mentioned in the book) was that most of the houses had some form of tall fence with barbed wire on the top. The tour guide mentioned this was because the Ticos enjoy the security and peace of mind provided by the fence. However, we drove past the current president (Luis Guillermo Solis)'s house, which was interesting because not only did he live in a relatively normal looking area, but the only form of protection that was visible was a fence and a single police officer.
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