On Thursday, May 18th the brave students of Saint Francis University emerged from the depths of San Jose airport into the haze of heat, humidity, and taxistas ardently attempting to solicit passengers that inundated the aerodrome that mid-morning. Harkening towards the blue shirts of the CPI employees sent to greet them, Saint Francis’s emissaries quickly found themselves on a bus and were spirited away to the local watering hole of Super Snacks. Here, they had their first introduction to Costa Rican cuisine. Casados and batidos were both on offer along with those staples of Costa Rican dining: rice and beans, beans and rice, and rice and beans.
Afterwards, the Saint Francis’s finest continued onwards to CPI’s campus, where they were introduced to their host families. Smiles, laughs and greetings of “pura vida” were all in abundance.
After a good night’s rest, the students arose early and made their way to the nearby city of Heredia where they had the chance to explore the central market and try an assortment of indigenous fruits such as la granadilla (passion fruit), la guanábana (soursop), and el mamón (Spanish lime). However, the day ‘s excitement most certainly peaked with the tour of Cafe Brit, one of Costa Rica’s premier coffee roasting companies. Here, the students of Saint Francis had the chance to sample some of the finest Costa Rican coffees and learn about the processes underlying the production of this staple Costa Rican export.
Saturday provided a sobering experience after the excitement of the previous day, as the students travelled to the marginalized community of La Carpio, populated primarily by Nicaraguan immigrants to Costa Rica. Following in the holy steps of Saint Francis himself, the students, in partnership with the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, helped to bring a little more light into the world by building a wall for a family, the integrity of whose house depended upon this, and by staffing a soup kitchen.
Exposed now to a part of Costa Rican society typically left hidden in the wings, the students stepped out onto the center stage and journeyed to Costa Rica’s capitol city: San Jose. Entrusted for the day to the indeterminably erudite keeping of one of Costa Rica’s premier guides, Johnny Villalobos, Saint Francis’s wayfaring pupils learned of Costa Rica’s past and society from 10,000 BC all the way up to the modern era.
Finally, on Monday, the students of Saint Francis sat down for their first of many Spanish classes to be had during their stay here. Of what further adventures, both physical and intellectual, that our students embark upon during their stay in Costa Rica, we shall hear more of in future posts.