Starting from the beginning of our study abroad at the airport helped me to be agile and cautious of my belongings. I was dropped off at the airport by my parents and I had to listen to all instructions from the professors in charge of the trip and also listen to the security and all workers at the airport. I quickly learned all the numbers in case of an emergency and I had them all on my phone. After landing in Costa Rica, I became calmer about the situation because of how friendly the people there were. I speak the language so I could talk to our homestay mom or how they liked to be called Mama Tica. Tica or Tico is the name for people from Costa Rica.?
We were told the story of why people are called Ticos or Ticas; this is because when they refer to something small they say tico at the end. In other countries, they say ?ito? for example the word, chico which means small Mexicans will say chiquito with that ?ito? at the end. Meanwhile, Costa Ricans will say chiquitico with the tico at the end. Talking about Ticos, we certainly saw what Tico Time means. Punctuality for Ticos is not their strong suit, so when they are going to go somewhere at 6 pm, we could assume that they will be late. Tico time was important to know when it came to hours of eating, getting to a place, and knowing when our next activity will be.?
We had our eating times with our homestays in the mornings, for lunch, and dinner. They eat a lot of rice and beans so for one day we would be fed eggs, rice, and beans for breakfast. Followed by chicken with rice and beans, then ending dinner with pork or a type of meat with rice and beans. Breakfast and dinner were accompanied with delicious coffee freshly made. Breakfast also had very tasteful fruits, some examples were pineapples, mangoes, apples, pears, and juicy watermelon. The fruits there were incredibly sweeter and tasted good. Our roommates described them as authentic because you could not taste any preservatives. We were thinking of all the waxes they add to maintain the freshness of the fruit but since they were already fresh, they tasted delicious.?
We had the opportunity to talk to various companies about their business and how they run their business. We talked to people who had just started their business and also to people who have years of experience. We got a feel of how an entrepreneur in this country learned to thrive. We got all the stories from the beginning from zero to the other end. One comment that stuck with me was that as long as you have a dream and you do not let go of it, you will do great things. We learned that from Mr. Giovanni Bogarin, who had a dream when he was a young kid. He explained to us that he had a dream that he was lost in a forest and one time he happened to come across the land where he was lost in his dream as a kid and he decided to buy it. This land was slowly converted into the Bogarin park we were able to enjoy. Here we were able to see sloths, snakes, wild frogs in their natural habitat. These animals who live in Costa Rica can be free in these parks and they can be animals. In this park, Mr. Bogarin believes in natural selection so he does not go out of his way to make sure the animals there are fed. These animals have enough resources to survive so the park thrives on the natural selection process.?
Other businesses included help from the community to spread awareness. The awareness the business wanted the community to transmit was different, they varied from animal care to their communities being held back by the government or simply to promote their business. Some businesses were greatly affected by COVID-19 and the sudden stop from tourists traveling. These circumstances affected many but to these businesses who depended so much on the income from tourists, they had some difficult challenges that they had to face. Some businesses had to let go of their valuable employees, some had to close down because of the lack of money to keep paying for utilities on top of the rent from the land. Other businesses had to explore the online world o make ends meet.?
Having the opportunity to go online was a great blessing to some of these businesses because they could still operate at a lower capacity but were still able to run their business. We saw a great example at the Toucan Rescue Ranch, where now with the advanced technology, they could do zoom tours of their animals. Here the animals are fed daily and are in cages for their protection, this way it is also easier for the people on Zoom to appreciate each animal individually in a better way. Here we got the opportunity to express our comments on how their business could be improved.?
Having a great community of Aggies helped to have a valuable and educational study abroad because the ideas that some people had, will be very impactful for the businesses who take these ideas from college students and implement them in their businesses. Learning about the thought process behind some of these ideas was incredible. Some people suggested for the Toucan Rescue Ranch to have some sort of gift shop through an app to receive donations faster. This place runs on mostly donations because they receive little to no money from the government, so they have to think outside the box to make money.?
Being able to share our ideas and to be heard was a great experience and I loved being pushed to think outside the box and come up with an idea that could help these people in their mission to a better world. Having this experience helped me think of others and be of service. I had a great time learning about a new culture and how they run their businesses.