Long-term international development work is a unique experience. It’s quite different than just moving to a new city in your own culture to start a job. Not only do you know no one, but you also don’t know the culture and how they work. Can they work as a team? Can they not? Are they effici[...]
Archive for the ‘Costa Rica’ Category
Back to San Jose, Back to Excitement
Some might say that cities such as San Jose, Límon and Jaco in Costa Rica are ugly. Reasons for this ugliness might include poor air quality, a plethora of prostitutes searching for wealthy gringos (or vice versa), thieves on every corner, traffic jams, or the large amount of drug dealers. I guess [...]
The Centries: Handing Out Awards to Central America
While you read this, I should be on a plane back to the States. As this Latin American production wraps up, I’d like to present the Centries, which honor the highlights of my Central American experience (the marketing department’s working on the name). Best special effects: The Friday me[...]
If I Won the Lottery Tomorrow: Why Everyone Should Volunteer
I think it should be mandatory for every university degree to include a volunteer component, whether locally or internationally. Why? I have recently returned to my home in Canada after eight months of working at a Costa Rican microfinance organization. Most of my friends have university degrees and[...]
Ode to Costa Rica
In my last post, I don’t think I was very convincing of living la vida idealist, naming all the possible health problems I could get and how I have lots of time in this slower pace of life to sit and think about them. So with this space, I’m going to do the opposite and [...][...]
Living the High Life (and not even knowing it)
I don’t know why I hate the idea of me being rich. Maybe its because I don’t like people who flaunt money, or because I’m jealous I never will be rich, or because I’m a good-old America-hating socialist. Whatever it is, that label was put upon me recently. It made me really u[...]
Profits vs. People
Costa Rica is arguably the most “developed” country in Central America. But at what cost has this “development” been attained? Is it really an accomplishment to be able to say, ¨We cater to the interests of gringos better than anyone else?¨ Or would it be more noble to pass[...]
