This last question, of course, holds the key to the profound poverty that afflicts the people at the bottom of the economic ladder in Costa Rica as well as other places all over the world. And there is definitely poverty and struggling in Costa Rica, even among the middle class. Each time I rode the bus to school, I spoke with people about their lives. Inevitably, they would tell me how difficult it was to make ends meet. Everyone is required to send his children to school.
Every student is required to wear a uniform consisting of a white shirt and blue skirt or trousers.
One Costa Rican told me that, despite two jobs, he could not afford to buy more than one uniform for each of his three children. If the white shirt became soiled during the day, the mother would wash it and hang it to dry for use the next day. If it rained, then the child would not go to school because the government authorities do not permit students to attend classes without a uniform. Everyone immediately accepted me as part of the family. They gave me a key to the house, furnished me wonderful meals, and would always stop whatever they were doing to converse with me.