There, twenty-five of us headed to San Jose, where the national stadium is located. The air was filled with vibrant energy as our students donned red jerseys with blue stripes (the national uniform for Costa Rican’s soccer team); some were even wearing the Costa Rican flags on their backs. While we were starting our one hour drive to San Jose, our head study-abroad coordinator suddenly stopped our conversations and announced,
“Hey guys! I wanted to make a very important announcement.” We all looked at him, curious to see what wise words he might say.
“Never during the years, when I have brought students to a soccer game, has Costa Rica lost. So do not fail me, now!” His suddenly serious tone made all the students look at each other— wary to laugh or not, as this man was very serious about soccer. He finished his speech with an, “Enjoy!” And we all soon returned to our own animated conversations.
We arrived in San Jose at five o’clock. Since the game was due to start at seven, our coordinators advised us to break into small groups and explore the restaurants near the stadium, as the food being served at the game would be expensive. My friend-group had vegans in it, so we scoured nearby restaurants for potential vegan options. Luckily, unlike in San Ramon, San Jose, being a bigger city, had more vegan options. Since we had a lot of time to kill, we didn’t mind walking around and getting a meal that suited everyone’s tastes. For me, I went to a McDonald’s, as I was curious about the difference in menu and, since it was nearly the end of my study abroad trip, I was skimping on cash.
