In Costa Rica, I have learned that many people here don’t speak English. Many of the businesses we visited focused more on tourism and most of the employees at these businesses could speak English. They said that speaking English is very helpful when finding a job. Many jobs are centered around tourism, and a lot of the tourists speak English, so being able to communicate with them is crucial. We visited a zipline tour, a small hotel owner, a rescue ranch, and a nature trail tour, and they all mentioned how important it is to be able to speak English and Spanish as well.
I have enjoyed my time abroad and it has made me realize the importance of small businesses. A lot of the companies that we visited started because one person had a dream and the drive to make that dream happen. Their stories were very inspirational, and you could tell that they were passionate about what they were doing. The rescue ranch started because the founder wanted to protect toucans, so she worked hard to get that started, and now it is larger than she thought it would ever be, and she’s saving not only toucans but a lot of different mammals as well. Also, the founder of the nature trail said that his business started because of a dream that he had, so he worked hard and went through a lot of obstacles to get his business started.
My initial impression was that tourism was very important for Costa Rica, and I still believe that, but I have a new perspective on small businesses and entrepreneurship than I had at the beginning of the trip. All of the businesses had to work hard to achieve their goals and dreams to become a business. Also, another thing that I didn’t realize at the beginning of the trip was how much Costa Rica values the environment. All of the businesses that we visited were very ecofriendly. Overall, I think that a lot of these businesses had to work hard to get to where they are today, and it is inspiring to hear their stories and what they had to overcome.
