Our trip to Monteverde further expanded my view of Costa Rica. I had pictured the country as being very forested with houses scattered loosely around. However, staying in Heredia for the whole trip up to this point, I began to picture Costa Rica as being more densely populated. I guess it is only like that in the central valley because most of the population lives there. There were shops, markets, and restaurants everywhere in Heredia, but coming to Monteverde, I barely saw any.

Something I had noticed while driving through the lush mountains were the few family-owned businesses. I saw a few sodas which I had remembered learning about in the predeparture meetings. Most of them were just connected to houses or farms, but one was attached to a car repair shop. It was cool to see a set up like this because I was able to infer the dynamic of the family that lived there. I believe I saw the man of the house working on the cars while the woman of the house ran the soda. Based on this, the people living up here in the mountains must be hardworking.

This hardworking attitude seems to have always been a part of Costa Rican culture as I have learned from Don Riccardo Guindon, a Costa Rican with a family history as quakers in the US. He was born here in Monteverde, but his parents moved here from Alabama. As foreigners, they were welcomed by the Costa Ricans and quickly set up a cheese business. Their business and many others like it introduced quaker values to the surrounding Costa Ricans, giving them a larger sense of community while bringing them more money. For example, many of the original inhabitants of Monteverde were hired by the Guindon family while also participating in the quaker beliefs and traditions that were brought in.