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San Jose

Today we spend time in San Jose, the capitol of Costa Rica. We saw a noontime show at the national theater. Each day, the theater has a midday performance and several of the local workers stop for their lunch hour to sit and enjoy the theater's delights. Today, we were serenaded by a Glenn Miller style Jazz band. Moonlight Serenade and Chattanooga Choo Choo had me swaying and tapping my feet. Inside the theater, extravagant design and Italian paintings grace the walls. The designers hired an Italian painter to create the theater's appeal. While the painter worked with quality, he never actually visited Costa Rica. As a result, his images are purely drawn from imagination, and the painting has a few unrealistic elements. For example, the coffee plantation is depicted near the sea. However, coffee plants operate in the mountains. One painting shows a man holding a giant bunch of bananas to his chest. In reality, bananas are hooked onto a pole and carried on the back by holding the pole. The building is considered one of Costa Rica's finest buildings, rich with a history which drew people to see the Italian art, although a bit mistaken, proudly standing today, continuing to draw locals each day for a midday show.

Inside the museum, I learned a tid bit about the history of Costa Rica's peace. On December 1st, 1948 Jose Figueres broke down an almena from the building, symbolizing the abolition of the army and the decision to transfer the building, previously used for army barracks, to the National Museum, which currently stands. The abolition was made effective a year later and the funds which went to military efforts were transferred to education. The decision to eliminate the army resulted in a country known for its peace. The pictures highlight Figueres' action and a group of the children who would grow up calling the country of peace their home.

Also within the museum were giant stone spheres. These massive globes are blotted throughout the campus and constitute one of the outstanding objects among the goods made by the indigenous societies in pre-Colombian Costa Rica. Archaeologists associate their function to elite power symbols, used as territorial markings for villages. The entrance to the museum has one such stone surrounded by a futuristic, glass globe of protection.

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you."
2 Thessalonians 3:16
All my love,
Gennavieve

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