¡Los gringos dicen “go bananas,” y los Ticos dicen “se vuelva loco”! Bananas was the topic of the day given that we visited a Dole banana plantation. Formerly known as the National Fruit Company, Dole grows and exports tropical fruits such as bananas and pineapples from Costa Rica. It is interesting to learn about the…

¡Café, café y más café! Over the past two centuries, Costa Rica’s coffee trade has provided major economic benefits for the country. Coffee exports have boosted the country’s overall revenue, and the existence of a high consumer demand, especially in developed countries, have caused Costa Rica to want to further increase their coffee production. The…

Es verdad que hay impactos que determinan la manera de vida en Costa Rica. Present day Costa Rica is the way that it is due to events of the past; Monteverde has been shaped by Quakers, and today there still exists evidence of foreign influence. Since arriving to Costa Rica from Alabama in 1951, Quakers…

¿Hay animales de finca en Costa Rica? ¡Si! Having been born in Hershey, an area of Pennsylvania with a decent amount of farmland, and having grown up going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, I was not expecting to see farm animals in Costa Rica. Nevertheless, today I found myself at a farm by…

¡Un viaje! As we drove uphill on bumpy roads past the large, steep mountainsides and watched the fog amongst the tall trees of Monteverde, it was more than obvious that we had left the Central Valley region of Costa Rica. While attending a guest lecture on the Quaker history pertaining to Monteverde, we were properly…

Esta edición: la vida en la ciudad de San Jose. The Costa Rican coffee and banana trade have interesting influences in San Jose. For example, there is an influence on its history and art. The National Theater, known as the city’s prized possession, is home to a historical painting by an Italian artist who attempted…

Costa Rica tiene café rico, ¡seguro! Doka Estate and Café Britt are two large, Costa Rican companies that both fit into the coffee supply chain, but in two different sections of the chain. Doka deals with the raw resources end of the supply chain; the company grows coffee plants and produces its own coffee from…

Por fin, ¡hemos llegado! Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a unique culture, amazing food and Ticos simpáticos! My first impressions of the country are all positive, and I could not be happier that I have such an incredible opportunity to experience this study abroad program. My host family is extremely welcoming, and I…

¡Hola! My name is Taylor Siegfried and I am a rising sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh in the College of Business Administration. In just a couple days I will be saying “adios” to Pittsburgh because I will be flying to Costa Rica on the Pitt Plus3 Program! This program stood out to me for…