“Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.” -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

My professor asked us today to tell us why our states were the best and then continued to ask us questions about how they compared to Costa Rica.  I didn’t know the answers to some of his questions so after a little research I compiled some interesting information:

	Iowa	Costa Rica
Area	60,000 square miles	20,000 square miles
Population	3 million	4.3 million
GDP/capita	$23,000	$11,000
Flag
Motto	Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain (who knew?)	Vivan simpre el trabajo y la paz. (Long live work and peace)
Capital	Des Moines (The monks) Just a fun fact…. Las Vegas means the meadows	San José (Saint Joseph)
Independence	1846	1847
Time zone	-5/-6 (Central Time)	-6 (right now I’m an hour behind Iowa)
Average low in December	12 F	65 F
Average high in July	86 F	80 F (April is actually their hottest month) They only have summer and winter and they are opposite of summer and winter in Iowa.
Major products	Corn, pork, ethanol	Coffee & bananas
Wildlife	No where near those numbers	500,000 animal species & 10,000 plant species (1,500 of which are orchids)
Life expectancy	78 years	79 years (and ranks higher than the US in health care)
Driving age	16	18
Drinking age	21 -the US is the only place in the world with a drinking age this high -in Poland and Portugal there is no minimum drinking age	18
Interesting Facts	- Quaker Oats, in Cedar Rapids, is the largest cereal company in the world. -Iowa gets more tornados than any other state. -We pretend to be a travel destination: Cancun, Delaware, Denver, Geneva, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Madrid, Nevada, Norway, Panama, Toronto, or Wyoming are all cities in Iowa. - More than 1 million people visit the State Fair every year.	- Costa Ricans call speed bumps dead people - The constitution states that they will have no military. -They call Americans gringos. (I’m a gringa) -They don’t have to pretend to be a travel destination, this country is incredible. - Costa Rica has 7 active volcanoes.

Q&A

Q: How are you choosing your destinations? Did you set an itinerary before going to Costa Rica? Your journey sounds fascinating thus far! Enjoy! Kristin, David and the kids.

A: Hi Kristin! It is so great to hear from you! I was so busy before I left that I had NO plans whatsoever, but that worked out just fine because there are many students at my school that have already been here for quite awhile and are more than happy to share about the best places they’ve been. I have become a planner (I learned these skills from you and my mom) and my friends are happy to tag along on my adventures. We go on a week by week basis according to weather and what other people have said. I have a bunch of places that I want to visit on a list and 12 weekends to do it!

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

It is the first day when the weather has not been perfect, yet it doesn't make the country any less beautiful. The mountains that surround the city were gorgeous; the tops were blanketed in clouds. During my walk to school, which is about ten minutes, I decided that embracing the humidity and rain was the best thing to do and my new found appreciation turned into a very fun day! After school I went with friends to play soccer in the rain. I've never had so much fun playing soccer. I came back a little more wet and a little more dirty than I left, but it was definitely worth the experience.


Last night we went to a movie at the San Pedro Mall, very near my home. We saw La chica de la capa roja aka Little Red Riding Hood. It was in English with Spanish subtitles and only cost 1000 colones. That may seem expensive, but in reality it is only $2! In the airport in Houston I exchanged some dollars and received 50,000₡ in return! Afterwards we went out for a little while. I love being in the city; there is so much to do and so much to see.


This weekend I have planned a trip to Manuel Antonio National Park. Manuel Antonio is a small town with beautiful white sand beaches on the Pacific coast. Apparently, monkeys run around everywhere, on the beach, in the town, and, of course, in the rainforest that borders the beach. In the rainforest crocodiles, toucans, parrots, aardvarks and sloths are commonly seen. I will have my camera ready! My friends and I are leaving immediately after school tomorrow and taking the bus three hours to coast, so this will be my last post until Sunday. I live at the green arrow and Manuel Antonio is the red arrow. It should be an awesome first adventure!

Q&A

Q: Mangos are my favorite. Sounds like time for fruit smoothies.
A: They have smoothies everywhere and my host grandma serves me different juices at each meal! They are a little different than at home. Most smoothies are made with just one fruit and then milk or water, it's your choice. It is basically a thick juice. I tried a pineapple smoothie yesterday, yum! My favorite drink that I have had here is called horchata (there is no English translation that I've found) It is a drink made from ground rice, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, milk, and water. It is light, refreshing, and delicious.