Huge shoutout to Done Jose for maneuvering through the windy roads of the Costa Rican mountains. The drive up to Monteverde was really interesting and not only because of the views. The mountain views were insane and I was not previously aware of the presence of many mountains in Costa Rica. Additionally, we drove by many street vendors, Ticos working, and other cars on the street. The common denominator amongst everything I saw, everyone was working. The street vendors were selling their products, some people were working on their property, and all the cars we drove by were carrying products.

My perception of the country has changed entirely. In fact, I think my perception of foreign countries as a whole has changed entirely. While I’ve known that many countries are poorer than the United States, I never quite understood what that implied. Everyone is always working, prices are incredibly low compared to the United States, and everyone is so much friendlier.

When it came to Don Ricardo’s presentation, he made it very easy to understand how foreigners impacted the advancement of places like Monteverde. He talked about how his father met a biologist and how that biologist helped advance Monteverde to the state is at today. Don Ricardo talked a lot about his family’s story and how they started as a not-very-advanced “civilization” before foreigners came to help advance things like cheese production, and other aspects of their lives. I believe that this concept is applicable to all parts of Costa Rica and not just Monteverde. Foreigners bring knowledge that the hard-working Ticos don’t have because of their lack of education and it ultimately advances Costa Rica in a positive way.