The Difference of Money in Two Cultures

Hey everyone!

Wednesday was a big day of shopping. Our main attraction of the day, Cafe Britt, was primarily a tour of the plantation, but we also had the chance to browse the gift shop to buy coffee, chocolate, souveneirs, and anything else we wanted. After Cafe Britt we had the option of going to San Jose or waiting and going Thursday. Many of us took advantage of the opportunity and went shopping again. Some friends and I decided to go shopping here in Heredia at the Mercado Central and various other small shops. It was a lot of fun and we bought some really neat knick-knacks and souvineirs. But, that's not what I wanted to focus on in this blog. We went shopping. But it's the money we spent that I want to focus on.

In Costa Rica I've found that there is an immense gap between the local currency, colones, and our U.S. dollar. The food is cheaper and the clothes are cheaper (if you're shopping in the right place), but another thing I found out in talking to my host family and from our visits to the National University is that college is also cheaper. Before we'd even walked over to the university and had our tour, my host mother had told Ronni and I at dinner that her daughter was attending college for $30 per semester. $30!! I was surprised at how cheap it was to get an education here in Costa Rica. Given, our host sister has a 70% scholarship. But still. $100 per semester sounds good to me! Later, the tour confirmed that $100 is the price per semester at the National University. The private universities are far more expensive, but that's the way it is in the States, too.

I value the education Wartburg is giving me, providing me opportunity to come here among other things. However, my mind keeps returning to that tiny little price tag for a college education---$100 per semester. Our tour guide said that students normally graduate in 4-5 years, so the total cost of a college education for Ticos and Ticas comes out to $800 to $1000. That would bearly pay for books for a year or two at Wartburg. I think this is very interesting and thought I'd share.