The IIP 2008 Report

The country assigned to my group was Costa Rica. I had never known anything or really wondered about Costa Rica until this project started. All I knew was that it is very tropical. I really wanted to have Japan or United Kingdom because to me they are interesting countries. Now I am happy that I can talk to people and know more about Costa Rica then they do. Our interviewee was named Guillermo Duran. When we came in we let him know that we were going to focus on religion, ethnicities, and education.

            I was nervous about interviewing him because as time went by I knew the answer to my own questions. Many questions I knew I had made up for a certain group of people. I asked him about the interference of religion with politics. He looked down at his hands really thinking it through. He finally said “So so. A candidate usually goes to religious parties to get more votes.” It was then obvious that a person’s vote goes to the candidate that appeases to their religion. It’s not like that here at all. A candidate does not have to support a certain religion. I also asked about the mandated religion. He was confused but after I explain he was fast at answering. “The constitution says that Catholic is that main religion but it is not forced.” It is obviously different here because our constitution states the freedom of religion. At the same time it is the same because they freely participate in other religions.

            That was all for religion so it was time for Jane who sat across me to start her questions. She began by asking if there were any whites in Costa Rica. He gave us a chuckle and answer. “South or west of the country you would find more whites. They mainly live in the cities.” This means they mainly live in cities like San Jose. It’s not like that here. Here there is no such thing as finding them in one neighborhood and nowhere else. You can find neighborhoods that have two ethnicities in the same neighborhood. They are everywhere in a diverse city. Jane also asked about the black population. He chuckle again knowing Jane’s concern and seriousness. “The Caribbean coast is black populated and they mostly hear reggae.” He answered. He also added he really enjoyed the Caribbean area. This basically says that they have their own style. It is different here because the black population has no limits in where it lives. The music is different because here they listen to rap and R&B.

            Terry who was brave enough to start the whole interview was ready. Terry asked about the difference between private and public school. Guillermo took a second and proudly answered. “In private school you learn different language that’s how I learned English.” He had gone to private school and had learned English. This is different from here because schools here offer languages to any kind of school. Terry also asked about scholarships for education. Guillermo smiled at us, looked at his hands and looked up. “There are good scholarships, that’s why I came to America.” He had given us his reason for being here. He was a person who loved to discover and expand his horizons. He told us he is here studying in San Francisco State. I wouldn’t really know about how hard it is here to get a scholarship but knowing that over there it is easier to get a scholarship made me want to go there and study.

            The time went by fast with many laughs and new knowledge. We learned how life was in Costa Rica. We learned that housing over there is quite cheap and that prostitution is legal when you’re eighteen. We learned that Costa Rica has no army because all money goes to education and health. I think it is a debatable question whether having an army is good or bad for a country. I believe that Costa Rica’s policy of no army causes big peace and relaxation. Most importantly we learned the biggest mistake a person does about Costa Rica. It is not the island of Puerto Rica!! It is land in Central America!!