Christine: Part of who they are

Today was our second full day in Costa Rica and it was just a busy as the first one. We spent the day in Mollejones, a small town that is about four kilometers away from Pacayitas. We visited a jalapeño farm as well as a passion fruit plantation, Then later we visited the school. We had the opportunity to talk with a group of people who run a tourism group out of Mollejones. It was towards the end of a very long day, and trying to understand everyone's Spanish can get very exhausting, so please bear with me, I think most of my interpretation is correct...

First, they told us about their organization and what they do. When they were finished, we all had the opportunity to ask questions, and I thought that their answers were so interesting. I only wrote down their answers and I forget the specific questions that were asked, but I'll summarize the basic ideas: 

An important theme seemed to be how tourism is really important in their culture. Bringing tourists in to Mollejones helps them to appreciate what they have and the beauty around them, because no everyone has that. It is also a kind of positive reinforcement. The more tourists come to visit, the more motivated the people in the community are to keep Mollejones and Costa Rica clean and beautiful. And then that brings more tourists. You people can see the success that people have in the tourism industry and it inspires them and makes them optimistic about the future. Our guide Alex was able to explain simply, but really well, how the tourism we were experiencing is different from the tourism that is typical of a lot of other places in Costa Rica, especially on the west coast. He said that this kind of tourism in genuine. People are encouraged to not make changes to the way they live their lives, and just to help people to learn about what it really means to be a Costa Rican. An important goal of this type of tourism is to share and preserve the culture of these places. He said that places like Mollejones and other towns in the Turrialba region are inspiring others to expand their ecotourism efforts as a way to conserve and share their culture. 

I think  that everything that this group represents is really inspiring. They are all so passionate about helping their community and conserving the environment, and also the intersection of those two goals and how they can affect each other. Everyone always calls Costa Rica a developing country, and they are developing in many different way, but also in many ways they are much more advanced than the United States could ever be. Costa Ricans, especially local Costa Ricans, have such a deep understanding and connection with the land and their sense of place, that they understand that we are responsible for taking care of it if we want it to continue to be useful to us. I think that's something that a lot of Americans don’t understand, and also something that is difficult to teach, but Costa Ricans, they just know it and it's just part of who they are.