The Uncommon Caribbean

Aloha! Even though today didn't consist of Ragin' Rapids or a hike through the Rainforest, I still enjoyed my day in Costa Rica. To prove to my wonderful Daddy that I am here learning, this blog will consist of fun facts about Costa Rica and how this country is so unique. Below is my breakfast which is the traditional Costa Rican meal. These are the best fruits (mouth watering) and rice and beans (very delicious). 

After breakfast we went to a meeting room and listened to our first guest speaker, Mrs. Gibson with CINDE. CINDE is a Costa Rica Investment Promotion Agency. The main topic of her presentation is, "Why Invest in Costa Rica?" She gave several reasons such as qualified work force, excellent business climate, and quality infrastructure, but the one that really interested me was the quality of life. The people are the main attraction in Costa Rica! More fun facts from her presentation are: more than 80% of Costa Rica's GDP comes from trade activities, Costa Rica exports 4,562 different products to 147 destination countries, and Costa Rica is one of the biggest exporters of banana’s in the world. 

Our second guest speaker talked about how Costa Rica is a travel destination. In this presentation I learned how Costa Rica is referred to as the "Uncommon Caribbean." Unlike most Caribbean travel destination spots, Costa Rica started developing in the Central Valley and over time made its way to the coast lines. That is why Costa Rica is more developed in the central provinces. Not long ago this country was not considered a destination spot and only gave five different types of tours in the 1970's. The three E's that Costa Rica concentrates on are: Economic Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, and Equity (or social) Sustainability. 

After our second guest speaker we had a fancy lunch. Dr. Lanier really tested me on my dining etiquette skills and I completely failed at remembering to pass the butter (I hope this doesn't reflect my grade). You would think after I took the Dining Etiquette class at UL 5+ times I wouldn't make one mistake. I guess she just made me nervous since I was trying my hardest not to scare her with my laugh again. Hearts of Palm was a vegetable Dr. Lanier recommended us to try and I'm glad she did because I enjoyed its unique taste! After lunch, we listened to two more guest speakers. Our third guest speaker was from Procomer and he gave a presentation on Trade Promotion Management. Trade Promotion Management provides tools to position Costa Ricans goods in the international market through trade fairs, export and buyer missions, and business agendas. Their goal is to facilitate the internationalization of enterprises SMEs (which means small to medium) through the timely supply of information, training and advice for making strategic and operational decisions. Procomber helps companies in the internationalization process by information training, diagnosis, advising, procedures, programs and services, and internationalization. 

Our last, but not least, presenter gave an important presentation of an overall view of Costa Rica. The guest speaker is the Research Coordinator for Estado de la Region. He collects data to determine statistics such as the quality life of Costa Rica. Fun Facts of Central America that I learned from this presentation are: there are a total of seven countries, it has a total population of 41 Million, poverty is 46%, and the GDP in US dollars is 106 billion (7% US). The Costa Rica region is now in the most risky and complex situation in the last 20 years because of challenges. Challenges include: Demographic transition pressures failure development, migration: benefits now but risks for long term, highly vulnerable to climate change, high and persistent social exclusion, weak infrastructural capabilities of states, hybrid political Regimen and Democratic Backwards. 

I hope this blog gave everyone an educational background on Costa Rica...see Dad I am learning!