Traveling to Costa Rica has given me so many different perspectives on both life and the way businesses are run. In Costa Rica, the main focus of everything is family and Pura Vida. When we were visiting different companies I could see this in the way they conducted their business.
One of the company visits that stuck out to me was by BiCi Chocolate. We got to spend the morning with the owner Andres, where he explained how he first started his company, where it is now, and where he is trying to head towards. Andres talked about how when he first started the company, he wanted to combine his passion for bicycling and chocolate making. He showed us the original machines he used to make the chocolate. He explained how everything was made of recycled materials. Using recycled materials is very common in Costa Rica. Three percent of the world’s biodiversity is contained in Costa Rica. Because of this, Ticos are very protective of their environment and want to recycle whenever possible.
Another business visit I really enjoyed was Cargill. Cargill is an American owned cooperation that has its headquarters in Minnesota. Cargill is located in 70 different countries servicing a number of different things from food, agriculture, commodities trading, and industrial conglomerate. The factory we visited in Costa Rica specialized in chicken production. We actually got to head inside and check out the whole assembly line and how the chicken is butchered. Our floor manager showed us different cuts of the chicken and explained how they prepare the chicken for their different clients, companies such as McDonalds, and KFC.
This trip was truly a one in a lifetime experience. I am so grateful to everyone who made this experience possible. I highly recommend attending a study abroad to anyone who has the opportunity to!
