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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
We got to Cancun at 10 o'clock and left for San Jose around 10:30 AM. We arrived and passed through customs at around 2. Waiting for us outside the airport was Josh, our tour guide and planner for the week. Josh also coaches the team we will be playing tomorrow night in San Ramon. Josh will be showing us around the cities San Jose, San Ramon, and La Fortuna, which is the site of an active volcano. Today was the first time many of us had seen or been around a foreign country, which is exciting in many ways. Learning local customs and sayings along with seeing the landscape of a different country is something none of us will ever forget. When we arrived in San Jose, they were celebrating "Tope", which is a cultural festival where people ride horses through the center of the city, dressed in traditional attire. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Soda Tapia, and after enjoying a hearty meal, we ventured over to observe some of the ceremony. Many citizens were out in what could best be described as "cowboy" clothes (ie. boots, cowboy hat, flannels, etc.) watching the procession from the sidewalks. Later, we returned to the hotel where we met with the Costa Rican National Basketball Team for an exhibition match. At halftime, we were down by 1, 44-43. The final score was 90-77, but the game was much closer than the score indicates. The hotel provided an excellent meal for both teams afterwards. Tomorrow we will be doing a community service clinic in San Ramon and are very excited for what the rest of the week will bring for our team!
Mike Bonavita
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