The Trip is Over

Sadly, it has come to an end. The 10 day experience is over. This has been one of the coolest things I have done. We spent the last three days in Tamarindo where we enjoyed the beach of Costa Rica. We also went zip lining, tubing, and horseback riding on Sunday. I even sang "Friends in Low Place" my last night which was pretty awesome. On Tuesday, it was time to say goodbye. It was very bittersweet because the group really became good friends over the past 10 days. Dr. Lanier you were awesome. Tell "Big" Mike I'm gonna miss him. I'll end my blog by saying this, if you ever have a chance to do something new in life, take the chance. Everyone gets caught up in work and school but we can really learn a lot by understanding other cultures. I will also say, you don't have to check Facebook a million times a day. The best part of the trip was not being able to use our phones. We actually had to talk to each other which made our group closer. Costa Rica was awesome and I would do it again in a heart beat. PURA VIDA!!!!

Day 6

Today started with breakfast at the hotel in San Jose. After breakfast, we started our 30 minute trip to Boston Scientific. After Boston Scientific, we went to biggest the souvenir shop in Costa Rica. They make 70% of the souvenirs for Latin America. We ate lunch their then headed to Samtec. Here I learned that Mike is an engineer. After Samtec, we headed back to the hotel to change and head to downtown San Jose. Here, we saw just how populated San Jose is. Half of Costa Rica lives in San Jose. We walked back to our hotel and rested for the night. Tomorrow we are headed to the resort!!!!

Question of the day:

We saw two companies today both located in free zones.  Discuss some of the pros and cons for Costa Rica in offering these zones to foreign companies and why foreign companies want to locate in these free zones.

The biggest pro for Costa Rica is jobs. More jobs are being added which means more money is put in the economy. Also, a lot of these business's are giving back to Costa Rica by building  playgrounds and donating books. The biggest con is that Costa Rica can't buy the products because ever product made has to go to the U.S. The number 1 reason why companies want to locate in the free zones is the fact that they do not have to pay taxes and labor is usually cheaper in these zones. 

Day Five

Today started off with the bird in our window again. I'm gonna miss that bird waking me up. Everyone was on the bus for 6:30. Miracles do happen. We went eat breakfast at the cafeteria at Earth University. After breakfast, we started our journey to Turrialaba where we had the most amazing view of the mountains. We were told how they make macadamia nuts and how they make their organic sugar. The people gave us a whole box of organic sugar. After our trip, we went eat at a restaurant with another great view of the mountains. They also had some very good pork to eat. After lunch, we headed to Vitech where we learned everything about tripods. They even made the spheres that hold the cameras behind home plate at baseball games. We even got a chance to see the assembly line in the back to see how the tripods are made. Vitech really taught me how Costa Rican business works. After Vitech, we headed to the Catholic Church in Costa Rica. It was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been too. I will post a picture of the story of how the church came about. After the church, we headed back to the hotel. It was a busy day and ended with a bang. Ask Bennett for that story!!!

And now for everyone's time the question!!!

Explain the concepts of supply and demand using specific examples from Vitech and Assukar.

Supply and demand in a simple way is easy. If demand is high and supply is low, the item will be high. If demand is low and supply is high, the item will be low. In the case of Vitech, they made really expensive tripods. Some of the tripods they only make two times a day. This items are really expensive because supply is pretty low with demand being relatively high. With macadamia nuts, they are really expensive. They take about 8 years to make, so supply is really low. With these nuts being so good, demand is high. With this situation,  you will pay a high price for macadamia nuts. On the other hand, beans and rice are really cheap over here because the supply is so high over here.

Day 4

Today started off with a bang. Around 5:30 in the morning, a bird started squawking near our window. This is a perfect way to start your day in Costa Rica. At 7:00, we were on our way to eat breakfast at the cafeteria at Earth University. Once again rice and beans were on the menu, along with some really good homemade yogurt.  After breakfast, we got on the bus to go see were the bananas are planted at the university. It was extremely hot but worth it because of the information we learned. If you buy your bananas at Whole Foods, you are eating Earth University bananas. Next, we went see were the bananas get prepared to be packaged. This to me has been the most interesting part of the trip. The way the bananas were transferred on the "banana bus" to the way the ladies put the stickers on the bananas fascinated me. After we were through with the bananas, we went to see how the students of Earth planted some of there fruits and vegetables and how they make manure into methane gas. Let's just say it was a smelly situation. We went eat lunch at the cafeteria and then hung out by the pool for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we are starting our journey back to San Jose were we will have AC again. I am really glad we were able to come to Earth University because I believe they are doing really good work here and maybe one day make a difference in the world. 

I will now answer the question that the Nichols professor came up with!!! Thank you Nichols!!

As a student or employee  are there any principles or concepts that you take with you from EARTH to benefit your organization or other businesses in the U.S.?  Discuss and give examples.

As a student, I think the biggest thing I could take away from this place is the concept of sustainability. As students, we are the next generation that will have an impact on this earth. Some of the ideas I've learned here like the methane gas and some of the fertilizer tricks may save this planet one day. Costa Rica,I believe, is on the right track when it comes to being carbon neutral and Earth University might be able to take Costa Rica's ideas and spread them across the world. 

As a business leader, some of the ideas taught here are cheaper ways of doing business. Any way to save a dollar in this economy can really help a business survive. Also, I believe universities in America can learn a lot from Earth. Earth University is really a hands on college. They learn by doing. I know we need to test and have ACT scores but doing a little hands on work can only help a student succeed in his or hers given major. I really like Earth Universities academic model and I believe the States could learn a lot from it.

Day three

Today started off with a good breakfast at the bed and breakfast. They made some of the best bread I have ever eaten. We then took the bus to the national park of Costa Rica. We must have walked a good five miles but it was worth it because of some of the animals we saw. After the park, we went eat lunch and then started our journey to Earth Unversity. We stopped at Limon where we were taught some of the history of the country. Also at Limon, I ate some very good birthday cake ice cream. We finally made it to Earth University where we unpacked our things and went eat. We will be here the next two nights with no AC. I am getting kind of use to this no AC thing. Tomorrow we will be spending all day at Earth University which should be a pretty cool experience.

Day 2

Today started off at 5:30 in the morning. We got up and ate a great breakfast at the hotel. We then started our 3 hour bus  drive to to the Caribbean Sea. We stopped  to get some fresh fruit  on the side of the road. It was some of the best fruit I have ever had. Next we got to the sloth sanctuary. We got to see all kinds of sloths which was very interesting. Sloths may be my favorite animals now. After the sloths, we went to eat lunch which was beans and rice and chicken. We then made our way to the bed and breakfast which has no AC. It will be an interesting night to say the least. We went to the Caribbean Sea and ate at a local restaurant. Wish me luck on sleeping here tonight!!!! And for the question, it is important for Costa Rica to protect there wildlife because tourism is really popular in Costa Rica. Having species that are common to this area is important to the economy because some people want to see the species and will pay money to see them. Like the sloths, animals that are popular in this area attract many people. 

Day 1

Well Saturday morning started off nice and early, 4:00 to be exact. We started the morning at Lafayette Regional Airport where the security line moved as slow as molasses. After we got through that, we landed in Houston, had a quick breakfast and we were off to Costa Rica. The flight was a 3 and a half hour flight but it felt like 5 hours. When we landed in Costa Rica, it was a little warm. We checked into Tryp Sabana Hotel and went get lunch. At this point I could have eaten a small horse. I ended up getting a hamburger and fries and an amazing watermelon water. I also got my first colone today which is the Costa Rican currency. We went back to the hotel where Fernendo, our tour guide, explained what we will be doing for the remainder of our trip. Day 1 was exhausting but I am gald to be in Costa Rica to start this trip. I am looking forward to seeing the sloths tomorrow!!!

Getting ready for Costa Rica

It is time to start packing for Costa Rica. As I start thinking about the things I need,the first thing I bought was bug spray. I know a few people who have been to Costa Rica before and they said the bugs can get pretty bad. Also, as a fair complected child, sun tan lotion will be needed. I went to Mexico for my senior trip in 2010 and forgot to put on sunscreen, let's just say it didn't end well. I had to search all around my apartment to find my bathing suit since I do not swim often. I have all the necessities like toothpaste, deorderment, medicine, etc. I have all my shorts and shirts ready to go. I am now just waiting for Saturday to get here. I believe this will be one of the best experiences of my life and I can not wait to get started. From all the things I have heard from different people who have

done this trip, Costa Rica should be pretty exciting!!