Costa Rica 2017

Learning about Costa Rican original culture is very interesting. Reflecting on our culture at home, three places come to mind that try to preserve Louisiana original history and culture. 1. The McIlhenney Tobasco company: This company is well known to Louisiana and you can find their Tobasco product on almost every table in the state. They sell all over, including internationally and is a wonderful way to help stimulate our economy in the state. It helps preserve our culture because Louisianians love their spicy food. 2. The Jungle Gardens: The Jungle Gardens reminds me of Costa Rica in a sense that they want to protect the plants and animals that are in the garden. It shows more of the green side of Louisiana with a lush garden and peacocks spread around. It is a beautiful place to see native plants and learn about them. It contributes to our economy because people can learn about which types of plants thrive in the state and encourages people to use our fertile soil for the grea

Today we visited a pineapple production facility. We all had to wear hair nets, scrub our shoes, and use hand sanitizer to enter the facility. Essential Costa Rica is about benefitting not just the country of Costa Rica, but also the people of Costa Rica as well. This is why the pineapple plant was important. In order for the pineapple factory to be a part of the fair trade agreement, the company must pay it's employees a comfortable salary of 500-1,000 colones a month. The average Costa Rican makes 8,000 colones in one year. With the pineapple plant workers making a healthy salary, they are able to live more comfortable lives and be able to put their money back into local shops and stores. This results in the economy being stimulated which results in a greater benefit for the country as a whole. This is consistent with the country's model of sustainability because it is similar to the idea of what you put into the economy, you're going to get out of the economy. The only

Today we went to visit VMware, got to see how souvenirs are made, and went to a lecture at Thomson Reuters. We got to learn about different aspects of the businesses such as how they operate, their goals, how they want to portray their business, and what kind of impact they would like to have on the world. VMwarehouse clearly cares about the motivation and leadership abilities of their employees. They had many amenities in the company grounds, such as kitchenettes, reading corners, private desk space, a sleek innovative design, and even places to nap. The souvenir shop operated like a sweat shop where many questionable safety issues were all over. You could tell that they were about making a profit, and didn't care much for the health of their employees. Thompson Reuters has wonderful benefits for their employees where they have to take at least 2 days to do volunteer work and give back to the community and also, women get 3 months maternity leave, and even after that is over, t

Today we left the town of Monteverde and headed back to San Jose. It was a four hour drive back to the city, but it was a rather relaxing day compared to the other days of hiking we have had. Once we got back, we had lunch and then we went on to hear educational lectures from very influential people of Costa Rica. Here is what I learned: Country brands are a global marketing trend to help promote exporting products and services between countries. Country brands help attract more tourism, and build a better knowledge of a country. To have a country brand is one way to show that you are willing to give he the highest quality of products or services based on your country's ability to do so. Your brand must be truthful and must be able to represent your country as a whole. Since Costa Rica has developed their brand Essential Costa Rica, the country will be able to play a larger role in world trade. A country brand will help in negotiating a trade agreement by giving a government

Today we almost died driving up the side of a mountain in a big bus on a gravel road all the way up to Monteverde. We are staying in bungalows with no air conditioning tonight. I'll be sleeping in a bunk bed. I'm actually pretty excited to have this "one with nature" type of experience. When we got here, we were able to settle down and learn about the campus we are staying on. This campus studies the rainforest and natural ways to protect it. One of the interesting things I found out it that they use a "sewer system" that breaks down waste and turns it into methane gas which is what they use to cook our meals. We also have to be very conscientious about how much food we waste. Once filling your plate, whatever you don't eat you have to scrape it collectively  into a large bowl and it is then fed to their animals. All the fruit, juice, and meat is from their resources from their land. The food is DELICIOUS! After eating, we went on a five mile hike to v

It has been quite some time since my last trip over seas. I am excited, yet nervous, but more so nervous that my parents will forget to feed my dog. 🙈 This trip will definitely be one worth while. Costa Rica is nothing like the other places I have traveled to, and fortunately I have a green thumb and CANNOT WAIT to  see all of the beautiful sights and sounds of the rainforest. I especially look forward to the volcano, as I haven't seen one up close and in person before. I'm having some flight jitters, and I'm a little nervous about not packing enough but I feel like that's minor compared to the experiences I am about to have while on this trip. I expect to learn a lot about their hospitality and how they are focused on being environmentally friendly (kind of hoping to be more conscious of this when I return home). I can't lie, I am afraid of the howler monkeys. I can't wait to learn more about Costa Rica and visit their beautiful, exotic land. Tomorrow is