Our journey from Heredia to Monteverde provided a number of insightful looks into the lives and communities of Costa Rica beyond Heredia and San Jose. The roads and towns were much less developed. Infrastructure in many of these communities is only just beginning to grow into more developed and urbanized areas. The roads leading up to Monteverde, and even during the larger chunks of the road, were very narrow and windy, primarily leading up hills.

Between Sunday to now, my perception of Costa Rica hasn’t necessarily changed, but has instead been better informed. Between a handful of cultural and technological differences, such as smaller meals, electric showers, and putting used toilet paper in a trash can, I have come to appreciate many aspects of Costa Rican culture. As I previously mentioned with portion sizes, the difference in food between the United States and Costa Rica is very large, whether it’s the fact that Costa Ricans prefer to locally source or harvest their own food, or just the fact that there is a heavier emphasis on meat, rice and beans as opposed to hamburgers, fries and pizza. Furthermore, Costa Rican culture has helped me to examine my own perception of American culture, and how we perceive and analyze concepts like family, food, religion, and work.

Additionally, after our lecture today with Don Ricardo Guindon about Quakers from Alabama settling in Monteverde provided a number of insights into Quaker influence in the area. Firstly, this Quaker influence gave the Monteverde area an initial start in infrastructure, from the cheese factory to the schools. Monteverde grew from this initial settlement into an a community that was heavily influenced by education and communal celebrations, namely Christmas, as well as frequent family potlucks. The Quaker influence in the Monteverde area has permeated from the 1950s to the present, and it remains a very family and industry-oriented community.