Aero: Patricia Wallace – Costa Rica 2013 – City Life
Aero: Patricia Wallace – Costa Rica 2013 – City Life
Aero: Patricia Wallace – Costa Rica 2013 – City Life
Looking back I still find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that there were no street names in Alajuela. In addition, that means there are no addresses like there are in the U.S. Directions are given by well-known landmarks and the numbers of blocks away from a given building. I try to think of what it would be like to call for the police or an ambulance and attempt to explain my location. When you dial 911 in the U.S. they either know your coordinates or will ask you the address. It must take longer for emergency vehicles to respond, especially with all the one-way streets!
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When I return to Costa Rica the one thing I will not do is rent a car. Driving seems to be a different way of life. When it isn’t a one way street , the two way streets rarely have painted lines down the center, causing traffic to create multiple lanes instead of just two. In addition, there seems to be a language in honking. Constantly you hear vehicles beeping at people, cars, and dogs. When you park on a street in Alajuela there is usually a worker who walks up and down the street to protect the parked vehicles from a break-in. The worker leaves around 9 PM and most drivers tip the man as they leave their parking spot. This would be an interesting idea for the U.S., because even in Rochester car break-ins do happen. Therefore, in summary it would be much less of a worry to take an inexpensive taxi around the city instead of a rental car.
During the day I would always find central park crowed with people sitting on the benches. When I stopped to observe the environment, one major difference I notice between Coast Ricans and Americans is the use of cell phones. Americans are continuously staring at the screens of their phones. In the park, I could only pick out a handful of people talking on their phones not even texting. Instead, people were reading the newspaper, having conversations, or simply just sitting. This plays into the Costa Rican way of taking it easy and relaxing. Pura Vida!
– Patricia Wallace
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