After returning home from Costa Rica, I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to experience another culture and business environment. Experiencing day-to-day life in Costa Rica made me realize that some of my assumptions about the country were very wrong, while others were right.
Going into the trip, I knew that Costa Rica was very focused on sustainability. However, I didn’t quite realize how integrated sustainability was into all industries within the country. For example, the country runs almost entirely on renewable energy sources, and electric vehicles are very widespread. Additionally, I learned that each company has to go through a rigorous licensing process where its potential environmental impact is scrutinized.
When we came to Costa Rica, I knew that the tourism industry was a very large part of the national economy. I was expecting this to be very evident in all locations throughout our trip. However, one of my favorite things about the trip was that we got to see both areas meant to cater to tourists and the “behind-the-scenes” areas, where most Costa Ricans actually live and work. For example, our neighborhood in Heredia was full of amenities for every day life, like parks, superstores, universities, and office buildings. Meanwhile, the towns of Jaco and La Fortuna were much more tourist-oriented, and even the architecture seemed to mimic a more American-style.
For me, the main takeaway from this trip is to be open to other people’s perspectives from around the world, because we all face global problems that require global solutions. Many of the issues that we discussed during the lectures, such as immigration, healthcare, and environmental sustainability, are issues that we also face in the United States. I had so much more in common with my host family than I expected, even though we didn’t speak the same language. I think it’s important, both in the business world and in our personal lives, to not let language or cultural barriers stand in the way of solving issues or working together.