Universal Language

Courtney, 17

My expectations of today were way higher than what I recieved. The volcano was beautiful, but there were way too many bugs for me and I was covered in them!!!! They were like little Costa Rican gnats that must have loved the body spray that I was wearing because they were covering my jacket!!!!

On a much happier note, I met a new amigo named Josue and we shared alot of music and I found that everyone has a way to communicate no matter where your from or what language you speak. Though my Spanish was broken, and his English was almost as terrible...we shared a lot of similarities and I love techno music much more than before.

This whole experience has taught me one very important thing, and that's that there is a huge world outside of America and if we don't experience what it has to offer we won't ever know exactly what the importance of life is. I can't believe I've been here and seen all that I have, yet no one in my family has ever done the same, beyond an average vacation.

In the morning we leave for Yorkin, and I must say I'm nervous; mainly because of the bugs, but I will have my arms wide open for everything else.

Cows to the States...

Larry, 16

Arturo, 17

Today we made the trek to from Dos Pinos, a dairy cooperative to the US Embassy, and it was truly interesting. A lot of the information provided to us in both places couldn't have been looked up, or photographed.

The Dos Pinos plant really gave us an in-depth view of not only of how milk is processed, but WHAT a cooperative is, and HOW it's beneficial in many ways. We really enjoyed it. The way that a cooperative is run, as well as how it's run, is completely different from how a traditional company in America is run. The business is based on all around inclusiveness as oppose to the traditional exclusiveness that we've grown accustomed to in American businesses, especially large corporations.

The cooperative has many different farmers contributing their milk, but the interesting part is that the people contributing into this cooperative can be the little guy that has 20 cows all the way to the big guy with 200 or 2,000 cows. They make it so that everyone is involved and everyone has a say in how the dairy cooperative is run regardless of how many cows you have. To ensure that this process is carried out effectively they set up a system kind of like a field campaign. Each area has field organizers who are farmers themselves. Those farmers report to their regional field director who is the elected leader of that specific area. Then that person reports to the state director which is part of the cooperative council.

As we were walking around with the group and the Dos Pinos PR representative, We were interested to learn how much money business marketers make in Costa Rica. Apparently from $17,000 to to $20,000 a year is typical for what people in this position make, though it depends on how long they have been with the cooperative. Even the highest paid person in the company makes no more than $150,000-$200,000 a year, a big difference from US corporations where CEOs can make $8-$10 Million a year in some of the biggest companies. The representative we spoke with said this was partly due to the cooperative model where members have greater control over leadership actions, and partly a result of Costa Rican values which focus more on egalitarianism. [This was also echoed by "Chico," advisor to the ruling PLN, during our interview at the Legislative Assembly. He stated that Costa Ricans have always been opposed to titles and any other conspicuous signs of putting one's self above others. Jokes meant to bring someone back down to earth are the norm when people, historically and in the present.]

We also learned that people in La Carpio make an estimated $100 a month which is below poverty line in Costa Rica. Another question I asked was, "Can people who graduate from college with an undergraduate degree and earn an MBA work in Costa Rica?" The answer was that it can be possible through different programs that company's have or on different working visas.

Day 4 of Costa Rica

Kiera, 16

Today was one of my favorite days so far. We did a lot of running around today, but it was fun. First thing in the morning, we went to a place called Dos Piños. It is a organic dairy factory located in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It was a gigantic factory, that was really up-to-date on everything. I liked visiting this factory because it gave me the realization of how other companies outside of the U.S. run.

It was interesting how their milk "leche"can be kept out of refrigeration for up to 6 months. The two tour guides explained many things to us, which gave each and everyone of us, a different insight on how their business works. One thing that we though was really funny is that the security gaurds had guns on them, and Matyas made a funny comment saying ¨Wow, they must really serious about their milk." They were really nice to us, they gave us ice cream, and a stuffed animal, in the shape of a cow.

The second great thing we did was visit the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. I was kind of upset that we couldn´t take photos or video tape it, but it was a great experience that gave me a little thought of a future career. We met with two women that both have important jobs. I cannot recall their names, but I do recall most of the information they gave us.

The first lady talked to us more about economic and social affairs that the Embassy is involved with. We had some questions asking about the projects they are doing to benefit Costa Rica, and it seems like one of their main goals for the country is to ensure a safe envirnoment. I believe that is a really important goal, because Costa is a really "outside-the-box" country, but in a good way. They abolished their military, which shows they have a different mindset, and they don´t believe in any type of violence.

We asked both of the speakers about how their personal beliefs and values, influence their political decisions. They both responded by saying that it´s their job to represent the United States, and they may have their personal views, but they have to do their jobs. This statement related a lot to my thoughts of career, because I want to become a district attorney one day, and I have a lot of thoughts about the death penalty. I feel as though sometimes it will be difficult, because of the career choice, and sometimes I think about my future, and I don´t know where to draw the line. The second lady I related to a lot more, because she is actually being relocated into Afghanistan next month. It´s a dangerous thing, just like becoming a district attorney, so right now I think my biggest question of life is "Where do I draw the line?"

CAFTA, positive or negative?

Danielle, 18

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), an economic arrangement between the United States and countries of Central America, will slowly go into effect within the next 20 years. Depending on your view, it can either be a positive or negative thing for Costa Rica.
There are quite a few benefits that CAFTA will bring for Costa Rica. CAFTA will reduce a $2.3 billion deficit with other countries. Foreign investments may bring jobs. It will reduce trade taxes between the United States and Central American nations. Having CAFTA may allow Costa Rica's economy to grow more. Even though it seems like there are many benefits that CAFTA will bring to Costa Rica there are also a lot of negative effects as well.

Some say there are more risks with CAFTA then benefits. Small businesses may close which will cause many people to become unemployed. People not having jobs will create poverty. People will have a hard time trying to live. Also, cost of things will go up such as rice by 35%, clothes tax by 95%, and health costs. There are many different things that can go wrong from CAFTA.

Depending on your view of CAFTA, it can either have a positive or negative affect on Costa Rica. People can have these ideas on how CAFTA will affect Costa Rica, but they really don't know if their ideas are true until CAFTA is in effect.

What I Learned About CAFTA

Kiera, 16

There are many who believe that CAFTA will affect Costa Rica in a negative way and there are those who believe the contrary. Epsy Campbell, a political figure in Costa Rica, believes that CAFTA is negative, which led her to vote against it. Her reasoning for why CAFTA is not good for the country is because she says it will not help the middle-class and the poor; it will only benefit the wealthy sectors of society.

She claims that CAFTA will hurt the social security system in Costa Rica, and that the cost of telecommunication services will rise as it has in the rest of Latin America. Costa Ricans will not be protected because they will have no help with loans or subsidies. It will weaken their ability to undertake social and infrastructure investments, she says, because Costa Rica will have many more debts that everyone will be required to help pay off. Another reason she doesn’t believe it will benefit Costa Rica is because Mexico has already gone through it with NAFTA and she is unhappy with the results.

Others like Jose Antonio Munoz, approved of CAFTA. They believe that it will help Costa Rica’s economy grow through the years. Supporters believe that it will be great for them to have diverse exports. Other countries will have “greater confidence” in Costa Rica’s willingness to trade. Munoz believes that it will not affect the farmers there that much, because many of them have left. He wants their economy to be great like Brazil and Ecuador.

Jon Huenemann, said that things will change, but Costa Rica will just have to adapt to it, because the world is changing and they have to be up to date with other countries. He believes that the US and Costa Rica will both be in better shape as a result of CAFTA. Sonia Picado agrees. She believes that CAFTA will work out because Costa Rica is creative, and they will make a way through all the negatives.