This morning, we left the city atmosphere of Heredia for rural Monteverde. During our 3 hour bus ride from Heredia to Monteverde, I spent a lot of time observing the changing scenery. The two distinct ecosystems that we saw were Puntarenas (the Pacific Coast and nearby beach) and Monteverde (mountain rainforest). Towards the start of our trip, the land was relatively flat and houses were far more spread out than in the cramped city of Heredia. To add to that, those houses looked much larger and nicer than those in Heredia. This may be due to these houses being built in a less popular area. In contrast, towards the end of the bud ride to Monteverde, the terrain become extremely mountainous, and the buildings were much smaller. I believe that the change in architecture must be related to how difficult it is to get materials to this part of the country. This trip has changed my understanding of Costa Rica from when I first arrived on Saturaday. It made me realize that there is a lot of diversity in this country. Costa Rica has many different types of environments/communities, and the people who live there have varying lifestyles.

A while after we arrived in Monteverde, my group heard a lecture from Don Ricardo Guindon. He discusssed how quakers from Alabama settled in the Monteverde region. These quakers decided to move to Costa Rica since, unlike the United States, Costa Rica did not have an army. The quakers setup their community far from most of the Costa Rican population, but they still interacted with Costa Ricans a lot in order to get supplies for their farms, cheese business, and daily living. As time went on, more Costa Ricans got involved with their community. The quakers even taught some of Costa Rican history and culture as well as the Spanish language in their schools. While the majority of Costa Ricans and quakers were respectful to eachother, there were some issues related to the difference in race and religion (since most Costa Ricans are Catholic). Nonetheless, the quakers mostly have had a positive impact on the economy and culture of Costa Rica. Their cheese business has been profitable and stimulates and Costa Rican economy. Also, they employ aspects of Costa Rica’s culture while teaching Costa Ricans their own traditions.

I really enjoyed learning about these aspects of Costa Rica today, and I am excited for what else I will learn tomorrow!