Today we all cut class early, even the teachers, in order to go hear the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, speak. Today is a national holiday that celebrate the annexation of the region of Guanacaste as part of Costa Rica. After this occurred, Costa Rica was a nation that stretched from the Pacific to the Caribbean Ocean.
As we walked to the town square, a convoy of tractor trailers drove through town. They kept using their air horns and driving really slow. They had signs on their trucks protesting the condition of the roads here in Costa Rica. They were also protesting because there has been a new call for all truck drivers who haul trailers,(they call them "traileros" here), to receive psychological testing after a rash of deaths caused by traileros. The traileros say this is not fair, and that everyone should be tested who drives any type of motor vehicles. I´ve met enough truck drivers that I think they should all be sent to a shrink, its a good idea. Besides that, 100,000 pounds of metal and steel, is a little different than a 1 ton pick-up truck.
When we got to the park, there were a lot of people. Personal space was not really an issue. There were people everywhere, and very few people sat down. There were protestors, and picket signs, mostly against TLC. When the president arrived, people started yelling very loudly, "No TLC!". There was only one person yelling, "Sí, TLC!". I was managed to get a really great place to stand, about thirty feet directly in front of the president. The bad part was that the sun was brutal. I think I got a bit of a burn, I hope it was worth it.
It took about an hour before the president spoke. First, they signed three or four new projects into law: a new clean water act, and an act that formed a new group of police to help with tourism, and two others I did not catch.
They also presented certificates to local people for new houses. The Costa Rican Government actually builds very modest houses for the poor or elderly that truly cannot afford them, and presents them to the people as a gift with no strings attatched. I talked to a lady today whose 70 year old mother just recieved her new house, they were very excited. Her mom got to meet the president, and was presented with a certificate for her new house.
Finally, the president spoke. He is very interesting and a very good speaker. He said he had been raised on a finka(farm) and that he felt he was a part of Guanacaste,(all politicians are such suck-ups). But then he spoke about his plans for the future. He actually admitted the roads suck, which is good, because the week before the local government was fixing them up before he came. He explained what they are going to do for tourism, and how they are trying to promote the economy. He did not really say much about TLC.
He finally turned his attention to more global matters. He´s very good about being a very intelligent voice for the smaller countries in the world. He is a Notre Dame Graduate, and also won a Nobel Peace Prize, so he is not a slouch by a long shot.
He said that lately many larger countries in the world have made a big deal about helping poorer countries in Africa and Latino America, but they still persist with the hyprocrisy of subsidizing industries in their country, so that poorer countries still do not have the chance to compete in a fair global market. Pretty harsh words, but well thought out and fair.
He then turned his attention to the problems in the Middle East. He pointed out that no good ever comes from the slaughter of innocent civilians, such as in Lebanon and Haifa. He reminded all of us how there had been a peace accord in the nineties in the middle east and how important it was that all sides sat down to negotiate,(It seemed a little idealistic to me, but I´m a cynic and he´s the nobel prize winner).
After he finished his speech, I beat feet to get out of the park and head to Cafe Daniela to get out of the sun and get some diet coke with ice,(the ice is safe here!). As I walked in and sat down, I saw the TV with the image of the central park in Nicoya, where I had just been becoming un plato de gringo asada. I could have kicked myself. Except for getting a couple pictures of the president, why didn´t I just come to the cafe? I could watched the speech in the shade with a fan, and nice Latinas bringing me cold drinks and snacks. Oh well, I´ll just mark this one up to my incredible desire to learn, and my commitment to do whatever it takes to understand Latino culture, and hope it helps my final grade here.
Are you reading this Professor Davis?
Juanito
Next Costa Rican Entry: "I Love the Smell of Insecticide in the Morning...It Smells Like Victory!"
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