Aero: Stephanie Strassner – Costa Rica 2013 – City Life
Aero: Stephanie Strassner – Costa Rica 2013 – City Life
Aero: Stephanie Strassner – Costa Rica 2013 – City Life
Oh, the city life in Costa Rica. The first thing I noticed in Costa Rica were the buildings along the streets. Almost every house and store had bared entrances with locks, and most had barbed wire along any fencing they had. In my home town, you don’t normally see that, people may have alarm systems but not bared doors and windows. This is something that I found kind of interesting because, looking at the streets with the barbed wire and the bared entrances, first impression someone might think it is a dangerous place. In actuality, though, we learned that the crime rate in Cost Rica is relatively low, these things really are for precaution.
Along with the buildings the driving in Costa Rica definitely differs from home. First of all, from my time there, it seems like traffic laws are very laid back. In short, pedestrians do not have the right of way; if you are walking it is a good idea to stay out of the way of the cars. This is way different from home where cars will stop for you. The seatbelt laws are also much more lenient. I learned that seatbelt laws are relatively new in Costa Rica. This would explain why no one really buckles their seatbelt, even children. This was a shocker for me when I saw three year olds not being buckled down, or any children for that matter. In the US there are seatbelt laws and they are highly enforced. So this was an adjustment.
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I also noticed that there would always be people standing around and selling things. There were stands on the side of the road or people that would come up to your window at a red light or stopped traffic. We even saw a juggler at a red light who was looking for tips, he was really good don’t get me wrong, but still. This is not something that I see on a daily basis in my neighborhood. It was definitely a different scene to witness because these stands and such are a part of some of these people’s income and was a very different scene from back home.
Another difference I noticed was the lack of night life in Costa Rica, at least in the city I was in. A group of us went to walk around one night and the town had just completely shut down. Almost everything was closed and there was really nowhere to go. During the day there were always tons of people everywhere, walking around or driving places. At night, though, some parts of the town were like a ghost town. We came across maybe a few places that were open till 9 o’clock, but that was it. I feel like in Rochester, when the sun goes down is when some people start their day. There is always something to do no matter what the time. I know my family went to bed most nights between 9 and 10 o’clock, and that was considered on the late side of the night. In Rochester I know some people don’t go out until 10 o’clock or even later than that. So this was an interesting aspect of living in Costa Rica.
– Stephanie Strassner
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