(Study Abroad) Safety

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1. I was on a bus on my way to San Jose when a middle aged Tica lady sat next to me. We got to talking and she guessed correctly that I’m from the Estados Unidos. She told me that she has some family that lives in Texas and that she would love to visit the States, but she’s scared to. A bit puzzled, I asked her why on earth she would be scared to visit the United States. She told me that she’s scared of all of the terrorists, and that the police beat up black people and children. I was amazed that this is what she thought of the United States. Later, however, I realized that her perception of the United States is not very different from Americans’ views of Latin America. Everyone hears the worst things that happen in places and judge the entire region based on those isolated events. By mom’s worries about drug cartels and Latino gangs were as absurd as this Tica lady’s worries about terrorists and rampaging police officers.

If you’re smart, you will never be in danger in Costa Rica. Traveling in groups is important. While I did embark on a few independent travels, going in groups is always safer. Stay alert in San Jose. San Jose is the largest city in Costa Rica (the only large city, I believe) and it suffers from typical city ailments… unemployment, poverty, etc. I did not much enjoy San Jose, but it is worth exploring a couple times if you have a general idea of where to go, and you will have to go to San Jose to get to the bus stations that will take you to the rest of Costa Rica. Just be somewhat alert and try to stick with one or two other people. And do not be loud, obnoxious, and conspicuous. This will not only draw negative attention to you, but it will support a negative stereotype that other Americans will have to deal with.

No one in my group got mugged, but all of the mugging stories that I heard told a different lesson. I heard of one guy who was using an ATM at night and stepped out of the ATM to find himself face-to-face with a mugger. So don’t use ATMs at night. It seems pretty evident that an ATM would be a magnet for someone desperate for money.

A guy at a hostel was telling me that he got his ipod stolen. He admitted that he was being stupid, however. He was walking down an empty San Jose street by himself with his iPod headphones hanging out of his pocket. Think about how much an iPod would be worth to a homeless Tico, and it seems pretty sensible that he was robbed.

Another guy I knew was walking home drunk from the bars at 2 a.m. He got robbed. Don’t walk home alone and drunk at 2 a.m.

All of these stories could easily happen in the United States as well. The fact is, when living in a city you need to be aware and have common sense. Lapses in common sense could cost you quite a lot of money.

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