Yesterday, public schools started a new academic year. Students in Potrero were easy to spot since all Costa Rican students wear uniforms: navy blue pants or skirt, buttoned shirts —white for elementary and light blue for high school— and black shoes. That has been the uniform for public schools since as long as I can remember. In the late 80s, when the Education Minister wanted to homogenize public and private education, all students in Costa Rica had to wear that uniform, but since then, private schools have their own. The uniform for Country Day School Guanacaste, for example, consists of navy blue shorts or skorts and a polo shirt (white for elementary, gray for high school) with the school logo embroidered. Whereas public school uniforms are found in many large stores, those for private schools are generally bought through a vendor and cost about $13 a piece. One thing that both public and private uniforms share: polyester fabric that doesn’t breathe in the hot climate of the Pacific coast.