My first week in Costa Rica has been amazing! Initially I was nervous about the food and the language barrier, however by stepping out of my comfort zone I have already gained so much from this experience. Going into the trip I had hoped to gain knowledge and understanding on how culture, location, and everyday life affects businesses and how they operate. Obviously we can see these differences in parts of the US, but compared to another country these differences are minute. By seeing and experiencing how people in Costa Rica live their daily lives and what different businesses value, I’ve really begun to notice differences in our cultures and how those differences affect our business practices. Beginning with differences in everyday life. Costa Ricans or “Ticos”, run on what they call “Tico time”. Unless in a business or appointment setting, punctuality is not typically perceived as important. Meaning you could plan to go shopping at 1:00pm but not really go until 2:00pm and that is completely normal. To me that was something that was a little shocking because I was always taught to be early to events/plans. The people in general are very friendly and active. The country as a whole is also very pet friendly, meaning that there are people walking their dogs almost everywhere you look! There is a saying here, “Pura Vida”, that symbolizes the happy and go with the flow culture here in Costa Rica. They are also very family centric, Costa Ricans value spending time with their families over other priorities, such as their career, which is different to where people are workaholics here in the US. Homes are typically multi-generational, meaning that great-grandparents all the way down to the youngest generation of grandchildren will live in the same home. This is something that also was different to me because a lot of families where I grew up live spread out and have to travel long distances to see each other. Along with the family centric and friendly culture here in Costa Rica, Environmental sustainability is huge, waste is decreased in any way possible through the expectations to clean your plate, take shorter showers (10 minutes), and by using every part of a material in manufacturing practices. All to say that my time in Costa Rica so far has been eye opening and absolutely amazing!
