My Thoughts On Costa
Rica
By Mahanya,
progressiveu.org
After 13 hours of
travel, I arrive in
Costa Rica. As I left
the airport, my
excitement flourished. I
sit in the back seat of
a smal car, window down.
My dead lay on my hand,
rested upon the window
sill. Green explosions
encompassing the earth,
whether welcomed or not,
it does not matter.
The tropics engulf. The
nature is closer to
people here. In the U.S.
seldom do people live
off the land but in
Costa Rica the land is
one of their biggest
attributes. The car ride
continues, only entering
further into this world
of greens. The driver is
cautious as he maneuvers
through the rain, the
seldom pedestrians, and
the stray dogs. The rain
only started as we
climbed higher in the
hills, into the rain
forest. The car turns
and as my gaze remains
outward, rain slides
through the opening of
my window, and sprinkles
my face and chest. I
welcome the quick
shower, feeling
refreshed, for I hate
the feeling of coming
off an airplane.
Back at the airport you
could see the hills we
reside on currently. The
fog starts on the lower
hills, but we continue
to climb in the little
car, and the fog begins
to intensify. Thicker
spots limit my vision to
maybe 50 feet an not
much more, other times
maybe a half mile of
vision, then pure fog.
The mystique of fog: it
moves so slowly, hugging
the hills, masking the
trees and all the
creatures that live
within. But the fog
cannot cover everything,
because one can always
see green in Costa Rica.
An everlasting,
prehistoric green. Pure,
untouched green.
The spastic hummingbirds
jet around me. The
panoramic hills are my
view. They are covered
in forest, which is
covered in rain. At
certain times, like
sheets it falls. Or,
Just provides a cool
mist. The unexpected
beauty of rain showers
in Costa Rica. There is
an appeal to rain in
warm weather. Instead of
suggesting a stormy,
boisterous rain, it
implies abundance,
rhythm, mystery,
romance. It is not a
rain to destroy, but yet
one to help life live.
It is a Costa Rican
rain.
It's the seldom
occurrences that make
the biggest differences.
The interest in the
animals and the plants.
The respect for them,
the cohabitation. The
small town feeling. It's
honking as you drive
pass someone, but to say
"Hola!" not "Yo Schmuck!
MOVE." even if you don't
know the person you are
greeting across the
road. It's using "my
friend" (or "amigo") at
the end of a sentence.
It's the interests in
our surroundings and
ourselves. But why?
Could it be just a
facade? A so called mask
for tourists?
Unfortunately I might
never know, unless I
learn more Spanish and
escape these tourism
spots. But you know, It
could be a result of
pure humility, which is
taught when people live
so closely to the earth.
Because when dealing
with the earth, one must
practice respect.
It's the emphasis on
education and the
de-focusing on military
and authority. Has not
having an army been the
cause of
their...compassion? It
has saved their national
funds for educational
needs and other things.
One finds many things to
do with the billions of
dollars that most
countries waste on armed
forces and other
militia. But tourism has
allowed Costa Rica this
peaceful opportunity. Is
this just the beginning
of a non-aggressive
trend? I hope so!
No matter where I travel
to in Costa Rica, I am
still treated with
sincerity. On this trip,
I meet those who I feel
I could be life long
friends with, but our
relationships never last
for more than 2 or 3
days though. And as I
write this, feet in
water, a light rain
starts to fall from the
dark sky, raining on me,
my book, and this small
gecko on the leaf of a
plant a couple feet away
from me. My only problem
now is fending off the
mosquitoes and not
having any light to see
what I'm writing.
As George Orwell said,
the Spaniards have a
miraculous sense of
comradship. I believe
that Costa Ricans are
the same. Also, Orwell
describes Britain in
such a way that oddly
resembles America. But
that should make sense
because America was
derived from the unhappy
British. the separation
of classes, the strong
distinctions between
minorities, all very
similar. But to differ
from England, America is
not run by the old and
odd, rather the leaders
of America are the
two-faced heroes. The
ones that will say what
you want to hear, be who
you want to be, to win
your vote. Which takes
politics as we know it
(or at least how I
ideally pictured it),
and turns it on its
head. It is no longer
honesty, it is
popularity. It is
publicity stunts. It is
money and
advertisements. Its
billions of dollars to
campaign. It is
sabotage, cheap hits,
and "innocent" white
lies. It is hidden
agendas, and it is
dirty.
But how is this
different from other
political histories? The
one thing the world can
share is the dirty
tricks that people of
all races, ages, colors
have done to gain power.
Is it possible to work
towards an honest
politic? I don't know,
probably not because
naturally humans are
greedy. And where there
is power, there is
greed. If only so many
great advancements
didn't come from the
government, because
given the right
circumstances, people
working together can
lead to some beautiful
things.
Costa Rica is one of the
countries that is
advancing at an amazing
rate. Part of the
country still lives as
the majority of the
world, in rural
conditions, not taking
advantage of
technology's
advancements. But a
large part of Costa
Ricans are not happy
with that. They have a
hunger for a "better
living". An example of
this is Hewlett Packards
role in Costa Rica.
About 6,000 people work
for H.P. in Costa Rica.
These are the first of
so many that have
stepped up the standard
of living. They are
moving from coffee
pickers, to shop owners,
to business men and
women, waiters and
waitresses, travel
guides, and
connoisseurs. Now they
say the Nicaraguans are
the ones working on the
fields, as it is with
some of the Mexican
immigrants working the
fields in California.
That alone shows these
people are looking for a
more complex life,
looking for more than
farming.
It is exciting to see
such changes, hopes,
even revolution take
place. I hope this newly
discovered way of life
doesn't spoil the Costa
Ricans' hard work ethics
and humility, like it
has done to most of
Americans. Advancement
in dangerous.
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