¡El Fin! (The End)

Barcelo Resort on Langosta Beach

Well, it is a little bittersweet (MUY POCO) but my days in Costa Rica has come to an end. I can honestly say that I have learned so much from this study abroad experience. I have learned that the Costa Rican culture and traditions are enveloped in strong family values, which form the foundation of social and cultural life in Costa Rica. The "Ticos" as the people call themselves, are generally very friendly, happy and content, and they are also extremely well-mannered and polite. The large scale developments in Costa Rica in recent years have been improving both the desirability of traveling to the country as well as increasing tourist demand. There is still some debate as to whether future tourism developments should continue to focus on the more traditional smaller eco-tourism hotels or whether the approach will be more of mass tourism similar to Cancun with plane loads of visitors staying in large mega-resorts. For now it seems they are trying to accommodate a bit of both. 

The physical features of Costa Rica and its natural geography are nothing short of spectacular. With its diverse physical makeup, the Costa Rican landscape flows from

Geographical Sketch

teaming mountain peaks, scattered with volcanoes  waterfalls, and hot springs and on through to its mystical cloud forests. The lush green valleys and verdant rain forests provide an incredible backdrop leading down to the beautiful, beautiful beaches. With its diverse geography, there is some variation based on location, with regards to the climate of the country. Costa Rica actually has over 11 different micro climates (MUY CALIENTE!) and is home to many thousands of different types of unique species of both plant and animal life. The amount of biodiversity in the country is astounding.

Well, these are all of the topics that I have learned while in Costa Rica for my ten day adventure. Before coming on this trip I had many doubts about traveling to another country by myself. There was always a bit of paranoia that remained at the back of my head that something TERRIBLE was about to happen. However, that was never the case. Gabriela, the director of Costa Rica tourism, and Fernando, our tour guide, made itself assuring that nothing bad was going to happen (FINGERS CROSSED). I really needed the reassurance from them because you are here amongst strangers and anything tragic could happen at any second. Overall, I am very glad that I participated in this program because if not I wouldn't have made so many new friends and learned so much about Costa Rica. PURA VIDA MIS AMIGOS!!!!

 

"Pure Life"

Day 6

"Lecture Day"

Today we had an eventful day with five guest speakers. The lectures were so invaluable and enriching. Our first guest speaker was Senor Manuel, a Costa Rican entrpreneur, he told us how to look beyond our natural scope of business and venture out. He said that the United States is Costa Rica’s most important commercial and agricultural partner. In 2001, Costa Rica was expected to import an estimated $3.4 billion worth of U.S. goods and services amounting to 53.5% of its total imports. U.S. technology, products and services are welcomed due to the close geographical proximity of the U.S. to Costa Rica, and the high quality and wide selection of competitively priced products. U.S. style marketing techniques and malls are the norm. Franchise outlets and hypermarkets are proliferating. E-commerce is a small, growing sales channel, but is constrained by Costa Rica’s telecommunications infrastructure, lack of legislation and inefficient local delivery service options. Which was very imperative. He also mentioned that he has an e-business that he runs with his sons and it has been successful since 2003.

The next speaker was Senora Castille and she talked about history and the economy of Costa Rica. She mentioned that the Costa Rican economy is being transformed from it’s long-time dependence on coffee and bananas to microprocessor production and high-tech telecommunications. Costa Rica is becoming the Silicon Valley of Latin America. Throughout history the economy of Costa Rica came primarily from the export of agricultural products, most importantly coffee and bananas. In the 1990’s tourism also became a key economic driver. During the last two decades the industrial sector has grown rapidly and exports began to include pharmaceutical products, textiles and manufactured goods. The costa Rica currency is becoming stronger than it has ever been. So the U.S. Dollar isnt worth as much at this time.  Senora Castille had a great lecture and it was the best one I had experienced throughout the entire day.

The third lecturer talked to us about the slums of Costa Rica. Mrs. Sandy is a U.S. native from Texas and since 1977 she has lived in Costa Rica. She is a member of the peace corp and has fallen in love with the people of Costa Rica. The principle of her lecture was to explain how she runs her company "The Homage Palace" on merely donations and volunteer hours. She told us that it isnt easy to sustain such a business like this one in the U.S. because of the cost but in Costa Rica it is fairly easy.

The fourth lecturer was Dr. Hernandez. Dr. Hernandez is the Director of the University of Costa Rica and has wrote many books. He gave us a lecture on how all cultures are intertwined and that we should be very mindful of that fact. This was a very interesting perspective he shared with us.

The last lecturer was Mr. Hibbooboo, an afro-descendant philospher. His main topic was on afro-descendant history that is in Costa Rica and throughout the world. He showed us pictures of homes built on the carribbean side of Costa Rica and they are very similar to homes in Louisiana. The reason being is because of the humidity. Costa Ricans experience the same temperatures as we do in Louisiana. That is why when they travel to the states they always prefer Louisiana. I found it extremely interesting to find the connections we share with this country.

Well that pretty much sums up my last day in San Jose, Costa Rica. I had a wonderful expierence in San Jose and cant wait to.go back and visit. Now I have journeyed to Guancaste, Costa Rica where I am at a resort in Tamarindo (Langosta Beach). I have 1 blog left that will sum up my experience in the country and home sweet home it is. Until then, ADIOS MIS AMIGOS!!

Day 5

"Legislative Assembly"

Bueno, hola a todos, hoy ha sido un día muy interesante y lucrativo! We had to be at the bus for 7:30 am and head towards Central Avenue to visit the Central Market and the artisans market to shop and look at all the different customs that are made in the country. Many of the stores were not open when we arrived but the ones that were open had a lot of amazing items in them. The way central market is set-up is generally like a maze. You are constantly walking and turning and after a while you might not know how to find the ext. Thankfully we have a tour guide that knows how to go in and out of the market. Some of the students bought merchandise from the stores and got a really great deal on them! Once we exited the market, we walked around downtown San Jose to see all of the different stores that were around and surprisingly there are a lot of U.S. operated business surrounding the downtown area of San Jose. Some include, but not limited to: McDonalds, Levi, Clothing stores, etc. After viewing the various stores that San Jose had to offer, we visited an famous building where President Obama was just recently at a few days ago.

Once we finished our tour of downtown San Jose, we walked to the Congress building where we had an lecture on how political structures are set-up in Costa Rica. The structure of the government is similar to the system we have in the United States in that it is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Constitution established the separation of powers between these three branches similar to the United States checks and balances concept. Administrative divisions in Costa Rica consist of 7 provinces including San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Guanacaste, Puntarenas, and Limon. These provinces (similar to U.S. states) are then further divided up into different cantones (similar to U.S. counties). San Jose is the largest with 20 cantons, Alajuela with 15, Heredia with 10, Cartago with 8, Guancaste with 11, Puntarenas with 11 and Limon with 6. The cantons in turn are divided into territories headed by a Municipal government. There are 81 Municipal governments in Costa Rica. The municipalities are run by a mayor (alcalde) who are elected by popular vote and appointed by the Municipal Council (Consejo Municipal). Main control of the country, however, lies in the hands of the central government.There is what is considered a fourth branch of governments called the Supreme Tribunal of Elections. This sector controls all aspects of the elections and is even given power to control security forces for periods around election time. So, after the speech about how the Costa Rican government is ran, we were all astonished that it is almost ran the same way. The only difference is that they have several parties running, instead of the traditional two we have. Lastly, we got to talk with a past congress president who gave us a lot of insight on what improvements he would like to see with Costa Rica.

Our next trip was to the souvenir shop. There were a lot of fascinating things at the shop and I even bought a few things to bring to mi familia. At the souvenir shop we also ate lunch. We were served these big and juicy burgers that had great flavor. Once we finished eating and souvenir shopping, we took a tour of the facility with the owner and he showed us the process of how the souvenirs are made. There is a lot of work involved when making souvenirs in Costa Rica and the hard work from the employees pays off because they have a lot of nice things.

The last trip of the day consisted of touring the bubble gum factory. We got to see firsthand the entire process of how bubble gum is created and what steps are necessary to ensure the quality is impeccable. We even got to take a whole bag for ourselves!

So thats all I did today, stay tuned to day 6! 

Day 4

"Jurassic Park...ish"

Irazu Volcano

Well today began like most days in Costa Rica, EXTREMELY EARLY!!. We began our adventure today at 6:30 am traveling towards the city of Cartago to tour the Irazu Volcano, FANTASTICO! The Irazú Volcano is located in the Central Highlands of Costa Rica. It is the tallest volcano in the country, reaching upwards of 11,260 ft. and has several active craters. The largest of these craters is 900 ft. deep, while the smallest crater, dubbed Diego de la Haya, dips some 300 ft. beneath the surface. Its mineral-rich lake can transform color, often fluctuating between emerald-green and crimson-red. On a clear day, the Pacific and Caribbean coasts are visible from the summit. However, that is not what I saw when I was at the Volcano site. We reached the site and the entire volcano was surrounded by clouds. Once we reached the peak of the volcano the temperature was so cold that we barely stayed five minutes. Since we were at such a high elevation, it was a bit difficult to breathe and walk at the same time, so I basically had to pick one. It was surely a disappointment not to see the peak, but hey, that is why the gift shop sells post cards!

After we finished our expedited tour of the volcano, we journeyed back down to sea level and headed towards our lunch destination, Casona del Cafetal. As we got closer to the restaurant the driver noticed that the street was blocked by a MASSIVE pile of dirt. It was apparent that a landslide had occurred and landed

right onto the road. So, we took an alternative route to the location which took and additional twenty-five minutes to get to. As we got closer to the restaurant for a second time, so it seemed, we had another obstacle that came into the mix, a bridge. The bridge was too short for us to cross so we had to go to plan C. Lastly after about an hour of trying to finally go and eat lunch we arrive to our destination. The restaurant served a variety of foods including, but not limited to: fish and beef. I chose to eat the beef which was nice and tender and cooked to perfection! It was so peaceful outside that we hardly wanted to leave. Even though it had been raining for a little while some of our more adventurous travelers didn't let that stop them from going view the flowers. Also, after we finish eating, Senor Fernando gave us a history lesson about coffee and how much you can expect to produce in a given amount of time.

Lastly, we viewed the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica) Catholic Church. When we arrived at the church there were a few members attending afternoon mass. We were there to take pictures but we did not know that they had a mass so late in the day. But our tour guide, Fernando, assured us that it was perfectly fine to take pictures and walk around the church during mass, (SAY WHAT?!). So we walked around and viewed the amazing artwork and took a lot of great pictures. Fernando told us that the basilica was built in 1639 and was partially destroyed by

Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles

an earthquake. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels was consecrated to the Virgin of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, a small representation of the Virgin Mary carrying the infant Jesus, said to have been discovered by a peasant girl in Cartago. The story goes that the little girl found the small statue on a rock and took it home. The next morning she found that the statue was not there but back at the rock, so she took it to the priest and he locked it in a small box. The next morning the statue was back at the rock. During the construction, the church was destroyed by earthquakes so many times, it was finally decided to move it to the location where the statue was found and they were able to finish construction. Many people (one being Andrea Meszaros, a local expert on religious affairs) think that the earthquakes were signs that the Lady of Los Ángeles wanted the basilica built there. This was a very interesting story about the creation of the Bascilia. 

Well that concludes the bulk of my adventure I had today. I went to some awesome places and learned a ton of history. So stay tuned for my next blog titled, DAY 5: "Legislative Assembly"...

Day 3

"Hotel Fiesta"

Well today wasn't as adventurous as the last but it was very informative and educational. We all decided to remain at the hotel today and while remained inside we were introduced to four speakers who talked about various sustainable business entities that promotes the welfare of Costa Rica. Our first speaker was Senora Vanessa and she lectured about the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, commonly known as (CINDE). During its 29 years, CINDE has attracted more than 200 companies to Costa Rica, including worldwide leaders such as: Intel, Baxter, St Jude Medical, Western Union and many others. CINDE ranks among the Top 10 best-practice Investment Promotion Agencies worldwide, according to the 2012 Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking of the Investment Climate Advisory Service of the World Bank Group. Some of the services provided by CINDE at no cost to the investing companies are: Assistance in the site selection due diligence process by providing detailed information on the country and its advantages, and organizing customized investment agendas; Meeting the investor’s needs, arranging meetings with: service providers, Government organizations, universities, Real Estate brokers, attorneys, accountants, industrial parks, and office parks; Facilitating direct contacts and links with potential investors from North America and other countries through CINDE’s office in New York; Once the company has been established in the country, CINDE provides specialized support for strategic aspects geared to new operational expansion projects or promoting product diversification. From her presentation I truly learned a lot of information on how strategic business structures can benefit from outsourcing their companies.

Development of Sustainable Tourism

The next lecturer that presented was Senor Miguel. He presented a lot of statistics on tourism in Costa Rica. He mentioned how tourism is sustainable in Cost Rica and what steps are vital for keeping the ball rolling. He said that the development of sustainable tourism must be seen as the balanced interaction between the use of the natural and cultural resources, the improvement of the quality of life among the local communities, and the economic success of the industry, which also contributes to national development. Sustainable tourism is not only a response to demand, but also an imperative condition to successfully compete now and in the future. Also he further explains that Since the late 1980s Costa Rica became a popular nature travel destination, and its main competitive advantage is its well-established system of national parks and protected areas, covering around 23.4% of the country's land area. The country also has plenty of beaches, both in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, within short travel distances, and also several volcanoes that can be visited with safety. By the early 1990s, Costa Rica became known as the poster child of ecotourism, with tourist arrivals reaching an average annual growth rate of 17% in 1986 to 1994.  According to the Costa Rican Tourism Board, 49% of international tourists visiting the country in 2011 engaged in activities related to ecotourism, which includes hiking, vegetation, wildlife, and bird watching, and visits to rural communities. However, most visitors look for adventure activities.

The third lecturer that spoke to us was Senor Beer. His presentation was on Trade Promotion/Management and how branding Costa Rica products is very imperative to their GDP. The Foreign Trade Corporation of Costa Rica, PROCOMER, is a public non-state, which is responsible for the promotion of Costa Rican exports.It was created in 1996 through Republic Act No. 7638, to assume the functions which, until then-carried Corporation Zones, the Center for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (CENPRO) and the National Investment Council. According to its founding law, PROCOMER is responsible for: Design and coordinate programs on exports and investment, technical and financial support to the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex), to manage special export regimes. Promote and protect the commercial interests of the country abroad. Centralize and streamline import and export procedures. Follow up to foreign trade statistics. Senor Beer told us that they have twelve locations around the world and at each location there is an Costa Rican director that is marketing their products and services all the time. The presentation had a lot of valuable information in regards to Costa Rican products and trades.

Our final lecturer of the day was Senor Alberto. During his presentation he gave us a synopsis on the various statistics about different topics that central america is facing. He tells us that the Estado de la Region, State of the Region, is an instrument from Central America to Central America, which analyzes and tracks the major challenges of sustainable human development by providing timely, accurate, complete and legitimate on the performance of the isthmus, strengthening capabilities dialogue and negotiation of civil society organizations and the state.

So, that sums up the things that I learned today during our lecturers. Stay tuned to tomorrows blog titled Day 4: Jurassic Park...

Day 2

"Let the games begin"

Rafting site

Today was the first day where I experienced the highs and the lows of Costa Rica. The morning began at 6:00 A.M. where we ate a wonderful buffet style breakfast at the Tryp Sabana. Around 6:30 A.M. we all loaded onto the tour bus and headed to the white water rafting site. While there we met several people who gave us instructions on how to raft properly and how to keep safe in the dangerous parts of the river. Before getting onto the raft, I had anticipation on being the first person to fall into the water but fortunately I was pretty good at keeping my balance on the raft. We traveled about 8 kilometers on the raft, which is approximately five miles. There were some areas in the river where we hit stage four water pressures and my group and I handled it very well. Even though we never fell into the water, we still were completely soaked with water from bumping into the rocks that were all over the river. Surprisingly, I am typically motion sick when I am on the water but that wasn't the case. It was very exciting and refreshing. Once we finished rafting, lunch was provided and we had a variety of fruits and vegetables. It was very tasty and different from what I usually eat in the states.

Bridge to the Cocoa Plantation

When we left the water rafting site, we traveled to the Tambina wildlife resort and we took a tour of the entire facility. Our guide instructed us that we would be surrounded by many different animals, such as monkeys, snakes, iguanas and many insects. We began to walk and I noticed that we were getting close to this bridge that extended 800 feet which is very high in the sky over water and the jungle. I was EXTREMELY nervous when I took my first step on the bridge, it was shaking like a swing and I was terrified. Every step I took felt like my demise! The only thing that was between me and falling 300 feet out of the sky was one long medal bar. Every step I made the bridge was making snapping sounds like it was going to crash. Nonetheless, I made it across...drenched in sweat. When we finally got off the bridge we were greeted by monkeys and they were not too happy to see us. The monkeys were throwing sticks at us and one monkey even pooped on the tour guide, (true story). We walked on side of a mountain where we could look at the river and the jungle simultaneously. As we trailed and trailed we finally made it to a stopping point at a hut where we got a ton of history on the cocoa bean and how different cultures have used it for over 3000 years. The information provided was very informative and helpful. The guide even gave us a gift which consisted of fifteen cocoa beans!

Tour guide/lecturer

As soon as we were done with the cocoa bean presentation, we all headed back to our starting point, which meant crossing the bridge of death again, and we received a lecture on eco-tourism/ sustainable business practices. Eco-tourism is a practical way to shield the natural environment and create social and economic aids for local communities. Our lecturer told us that an important element of Costa Rican innovation was a certificate of sustainable tourism, which is known as the five leaf program. The system is designed to include a series of direct incentives that will increase in benefits for each company, in direct proportion to its increased rating. This means that as the rating increases, more and better benefits will be received; international and national publicity and promotion, specifically designed for the CST; training for its personnel; priority participation in various world tourism fairs and events, etc. So, in essence, we learned a lot about the various tourism programs that are held in the country and what percentages of the proceeds that are earned go to the various components they have.

The trip today was very exciting and educational. I learned something new about the tourism industry and how imperative and vital it is to the Costa Rican country. So, stay tuned for tomorrows blog titled “DAY 3: Hotel Fiesta”…

DAY 1

"THE PLANE HAS LANDED"

"La paz es un proceso que nunca termina ... No se puede ignorar o pasar por alto las diferencias de nuestros intereses comunes. Requiere que trabajamos y vivimos juntos." 
                                                                                   --Oscar Arias Sanchez 

Costa Rica Airport

Today has been an EXTREMELY long day! I have been up since 3 a.m. and I have been moving non-stop ever since. My day began at the Lafayette Regional Airport where I had gotten there at 4 a.m., not realizing that the airport didn't even open until 4:30 a.m.(OVERACHIEVER SYNDROME)! Since this was my first time flying and being out of the country I had a lot of adjusting to do. When I first got onto the plane leaving from Lafayette, flight 5479 to Atlanta, I was beginning to feel a bit queasy. However, by being somewhat medicated prior to boarding the airplane, I managed not to throw up this morning's breakfast. Interestingly, the flight from Lafayette to Atlanta was not too shabby and I can even say we made perfect timing. Once we all arrived in "HOTLANTA" the airport was definitely bigger than the one that was in Lafayette. There were several retail stores, restaurants and electronic stores all over the facility. The airport was so big that we all had to take a subway to get to the other side, YIKES! After settling down at the Atlanta airport some of us decided that we wanted to get something to eat before boarding our next flight to Cost Rica. With that being said, we ate and then we waited a little while and we were on our next flight here to San Jose, Costa Rica. While I was on-flight here to Costa Rica we did have a little bit of turbulence that lead to me obtaining a minor headache but once again, it wasn't too shabby. Once we landed in Costa Rica we had to wait in this long line extending from Costa Rica to Kilimanjaro, (KIDDING), but it did feel like I was in line FOREVER.

Tour Bus

Once we all got through customs and exchanged our U.S. currency for the Costa Rican currency, the colons, we all met our tour guide and the director of Costa Rica tourism. Our tour guide, Mr. Fernando, told us a brief history about the country and what elements of sustainability are truly ideal out here. He discussed how important coffee is to Costa Rica and how growing the coffee bean is very important as it is the main component of the country's GDP. Mr. Fernando also mentioned that by having an eco-friendly environment, Costa Rica can produce more organic items such as fruits and vegetables for individuals living in and out of the country. When the lecture was over from our tour guide, we all got acquainted to our hotel, the TRYP SABANA and when to go settle in for a few minutes. After we settled in, Mr. Fernando took us around the block and showed us historical buildings and even brought us to an authentic restaurant called Soda Tapia. After our escapade around the community, we all went into a convenient store to buy a few snacks for our room and that concluded our evening. So tune in tomorrow for my next blog titled, DAY 2: "LET THE GAMES BEGIN..." where I will be talking about what we have learned in regards to maintaining a sustainable business process and how it relates to...

Ate lunch at SODA TAPIA! Muy Bueno!

Senor Fernando giving us in-site on the  community