Aero: Tiffany Bean – Costa Rica 2015 – City Life

Aero: Tiffany Bean – Costa Rica 2015 – City Life
Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

Aero: Tiffany Bean – Costa Rica 2015 – City Life

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Tiffany Bean

City life was very different than what it was in America; city life was different compared to other villages and towns within Costa Rica. Every different type of living space provided a different ambience. We visited many different cities, villages and town while we were traveling through Costa Rica. Each different space had a different feel and different people who had a slightly different culture.

When we would first walk around the city of Alajuela I was a bit nervous about the people because I heard that being and American made me an obvious target for pit pocketing but Alajuela was less of a tourist community so we were a little safer there than in any of the bigger cities like San Jose. Walking around in Alajuela was a lot of fun there was always something to see while we were walking. At first it was hard to navigate through the city but once I got a feel for it I understood how it was laid out. It was hard to get around because there were not any exact addresses. The entire city was set up in a block system and the center of the city was the cathedral and the central park so when I was able to find that I knew which way to go and how to get places. At night there were events that were held in the central park like dancing or some type of concert.

ML@FLCC Costa Rica
2015 Flickr Gallery

The people in Alajuela seemed to be more carefree and did not mind walking through the town and were very friendly. I met and talked to a lot of the people of Alajuela and they were always welcomed to talk to me and help me if I needed help to get somewhere. When we were in a bigger city like San Jose that was when we had to be more careful about being pit pocketed. San Jose was a lot more crowded than Alajuela and people were not very focused on doing whatever they needed to do. San Jose did not have a homey feeling to it seemed more like a place where people went to work. We only visited San Jose for two days but that seemed enough to me because we were able to visit museums and a soccer game but that seemed like the most exciting events that happened within San Jose.

Seeing and getting to know different living spaces made me see Costa Rica a different way. I made it feel more like home to know that it all was not the same throughout the country. Staying in Alajuela was small enough for me to feel safe but big enough to always see something new each time we went out.

Tiffany Bean
LEAF Contributor