As we left the cramped areas of Heredia. The scenery took a drastic turn. Much as it does in America, as we moved farther away from the big city, housing began to spread out with larger yards and often wider houses. However, what particularly struck me was the mix of types of houses.

In one instance, there was a very large, well designed, clearly expensive house with its next door neighbors being very run down, small house. This was much different from the scenes in Heredia where different economic groups often lived in different sectors of the city. However, as we moved further away, the economical differences were more intermixed.

Its clear that the mountains maybe be a place where the upper class of heredia go for vacation, while the more permanent residents live in smaller, much less economically successful regions.

Furthermore, the closer we approached the mountains, the more tourist based the shops and other stops around the road became. Its clear that most people traveling along that road are headed to MonteVerde. While MonteVerdes main economy is based around tourism, they clearly are targeting not the locals but the tourists who will help keep Monteverde on its feet.

Since Saturday, I would say a lot about my perception of Costa Rica has changed. Flying in on Saturday I had the expectation that Costa Rica was some sustainability utopia without many flaws. Since then, I think I’ve realized that even though the Costa Rican government may value sustainability, it is not without its faults. The infrastructure is poor, poverty is rather rampid, and farmers are still even damaging the mountains by allowing their cows to graze. There is no right way for a country to exist. The United States is ultimately bad because it does not put high emphasis on sustainability and Costa Rica isn’t ultimately good because they encourage sustainability and conservation.

Foreign influence, especially in small countries like Costa Rica, is often seen as a negative. As in other latin american countries, we have seen how influences of large countries such as Spain have lead to issues that still prevalent and impacting the daily lives of their citizens. What I find most interesting is how Costa Rica has utilized this idea to both draw attraction to the country and stimulate growth. By offering groups like quakers the land, the not only put the country on the map but also gives the quakers to take on the heavy load of establishing development.

Furthermore, we can see major cultural impacts the quakers have. Compared to Heredia, the fluency in english of Tikos is much higher. This is due to not only the quakers introduction of English to the community (through their schools and other arrangements) but also their establishment of the tourism industry in Monteverde. They also have had major religious impacts. While driving around Heredia, it’s hard not to notice the many churches that exist on every block and the crosses that stand in many yards. However, in the mountains it is apparent that catholicism is less presence. We can accredit this to the quakers introducing their religion and creating a community centered around it.

Overall, I have grown quite a fondness for this country over the last couple of days. 3 months ago I couldn’t have pointed Costa Rica out on a map to you. Now however, getting to learn the intricates of day to day life, the economy, and values of Costa Rica has made it more human and less of a fun vacation spot. I am so grateful I have gotten to explore some place as exciting as Costa Rica