Costa Rica … or rich coast… a name given the country by mistake.

I studied Central America a bit in the fall. Here are a few facts.

-Costa Rica has more teachers/educators than soldiers… and the people like it that way.

-They have never been invaded…
war is constantly around them, and they have never been dragged into it… this is mostly attributed to the fact that they are a poor country and because of their abundant vegetation and mountainous landscape invaders cannot penetrate the country.

Since Costa Rica did not have these precious metals they were left alone by the invaders that raped the land in the surrounding Central American countries. This kept them isolated from the control of Spain and other competing forces. When Central America received its independence… I don’t remember when… it was not a big deal to Costa Ricans… they just went on with their lives as usual. So they have been totally fortunate to be free of the precious metals that others want.

-Name given by mistake... When Spaniards first arrived in the country they thought that it was rich in precious metals because of the apparel of the people they saw… These people were not Costa Ricans, These individuals were in the trade business and Costa Rica was a trade location…

-Less class distinction then other Central American countries... The people in Costa Rica are less divided by class then other Central American Countries… - Because of the landscape even those with more money had to work ‘by the sweat of their brow’ in order to survive. Everyone worked. So a rich man and a poor man shared the joy of labor… one was not above the other.

A guest lecture told a story about how a fellow professor, originally from El Salvador, experienced this… In an expensive hotel he had the same waiter for about a week. By the end of the week the waiter sat with him for a beer. The professor was shocked that a waiter would take such liberties. This freedom expressed by the waiter was unheard of in his home country. The waiter asked what he was doing for the weekend… they were going to the same beach town. While the professor was at dinner in another nice hotel with his family he saw his waiter outside the window on the beach with his whole family. The waiter waved to the man from outside… to him the two were now good friends… he wanted to introduce him to his family that was camping outside the hotel.

-A courtry that really believes in doing the best thing for the people of the country... At one point when an American company… I think it was called American Fruit Company… or something like that… they came into Costa Rica and were exploiting the native laborers… The people protested and demanded better treatment… They pushed communist propaganda… The Fruit Companies response was to crush the rebellion… and from what I can tell the fruit company probably tried to throw their weight around to force this agenda… but instead… INSTEAD!!!! This makes me LOVE this country… instead of crushing the rebellion and continuing to exploit the workers…, which would seem like the most profitable decision… the government listened to the concerns of the people and gave them rights. WOW!!!! WOW!!! What kind of a government takes one for the team… Costa Rica… Wow!!! It is so amazing… I am so impressed…

They care about education.
When this country set up their education system they copied the French model. Their intellectuals studied the philosophers from the Enlightenment… Our own education system was originally inspired by German thought… which means Nietzsche… I have only skimmed his writings… enough to know that they make my chest feel heavy. I am sure he was brilliant… enough to influence the thinking of nations… including our own… changing definitions so that to be peaceful = weakness... power=good... weak... or anything like unto it = bad... the difference... in my opinion is this... When your goal is power... the only reason to obtain education is to gain power... okay... so why do people go to university in America... to get a well paying job... because money equals power... and power equals good...

if power were no motivator... why would you go to university...hmmm.. because you love to learn... it enriches your life... because you believe in education... hmmmm... Just a reminder... Costa Rica is the only country with more educators than soldiers... hmmm... I wonder which culture is more advanced... ours.... or theirs???

I wonder which has more power.... ours... or theirs???? ... I wonder who will eventually crush who... kind of sad... but I would rather be crushed and happy then to be the one doing the crushing... its too bad that electronics cannot be equally traded for bananas.... ok... i will stop... I am being Debby Downer...

Let's recap...

No riches.
No riches = no war... no invasion... little class distinction... equality...

Peace.
People devoted to peace = people devoted to education

Okay… still with me??? This the part where I brag... just a little...

So after studying all of these things and falling in love with the country based solely on the tid-bits of history… after all of this, when the opportunity came up for me to go it was not a question. Now good friend Linda announced a yoga retreat one Sunday in RS… she was only an acquaintance then… after the announcement I sat by her and said, I am going!

I couldn’t think of a better group of women… a better country… a better agenda… do yoga and cleanse my hot bod…, clearing my beautiful mind and enriching my ginourmous soul!

other potential adventures
-river raft-ing
-volcano-ing
-surf-ing
-hang-ing out naked in a tropical paradise... this does not happen enough!
-horse back rid-ing
-dolphin and whale watch-ing

leave-ing Thursday... :)