Por fin, ¡hemos llegado! Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a unique culture, amazing food and Ticos simpáticos! My first impressions of the country are all positive, and I could not be happier that I have such an incredible opportunity to experience this study abroad program. My host family is extremely welcoming, and I feel like a member of their family already. I also have begun to experience la gastronomía of Costa Rica, and I am thoroughly impressed. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, before I even arrived, I expected Costa Rica to be sustainability-focused. I did not realize, however, just how much the natural environment is a part of the Tico lifestyle or how sustainable this country is until I arrived here.
It is clear that in Costa Rica there is more willingness and effort put into being sustainable than in the United States. Unlike many American households, Ticos make sure that lights are turned off whenever they are not in use, they take quick showers lasting a maximum of around ten minutes and they try their best to not waste food. Additionally, it is evident that Ticos enjoy their natural environment because they tend to incorporate it into their lifestyles. For example, my host family—a couple with a twenty-year-old daughter and an adorable dog that happily wags her whole body when she greets you—has a gorgeous home with architecture that heavily incorporates and takes advantage of the beautiful natural environment of Costa Rica. Arriving at the gate of my host family’s home, they have a type of ivy that is spread across the gate and they have let it continue growing there for an aesthetic purpose. Upon entering the gate, the small front yard contains a coffee tree and some bushes with pink flowers, which is appropriate given that coffee is an integral part of Costa Rican culture and Heredia is known as the city of flowers. Walking inside the house, you are welcomed by natural light due to an open floor plan and large windows. Indoor plants are within the home and there are two spaces that seem to combine the outdoors and the indoors. I hesitate to call either of these two places “rooms” or “decks” because while they have sliding glass doors (which also allow for lots of natural light), they are ground level and not completely enclosed. These two areas have various plants within them, and they have the ambiance of the outdoors since they are not completely closed off with a ceiling. Even something as simple as the light, neutral colors used throughout the house and the bedspread on my bed, which is primarily white with some sporadic green leaves, portray Costa Rica’s mantra of living la pura vida. These facts about the layout, structure and contents of my host family’s home demonstrates the enjoyment of nature in Costa Rican culture, which further emphasizes the value that is given to taking care of such nature through sustainability methods. It is important to note that, as far as I have seen, Costa Rican homes appear to be quite similar from the outside; therefore I would think that my host family’s home is not an anomaly, but is instead a model that represents the interests and values of many other Costa Rican homeowners. I say all of this to highlight the difference between my perception before and after arriving to Costa Rica of the locals’ pride for their environment, which I believe to be a driving force behind sustainability efforts.
Overall, I am impressed by Costa Rica and I have not even been here for 24 hours. Before leaving the United States, I was told that Costa Rica had a laid-back culture, tasty food and kind locals who love their environment and focus on sustainability. Little did I know just how much Costa Rica offers of each of these!
Hasta pronto,
Taylor Siegfried