Mariana :p

I reflected about the values of Costa Ricans because most of the time we are not conscious about or beliefs or behaviors. Also with Connie, we learned more on how foreigns look at Costa Ricans and the different cultural shocks.

-Samanta

Is shocked how we usually think that our medical sytem is not that good but she said that in US she had to pay for everything, we don't appreciate what we have, even if is not the best but at least we have this type of medical source that not all the countries has.

My opinion on it is that we are different from other countries like the US or UK but I don't perceive our closeness to family being a big difference. However, I do think religion here in Costa Rica vs religion in the US and UK is a big difference.

I learnt a lot from the guest speaker, she was so kind and so into the Costa Rican culture, made me realise Costa Rica is much more beautiful than what do we think, since Connie has traveled and lived in many countries but she decided Costa Rica at the end. I think that shows how our country makes a huge impact in people and we Costa Ricans don't notice it until someone like Connie talks about it, this meeting with her made me be more grateful about my country.

Seasons are opposites between Limón and the GAM.

Right now in Talamanca is raining a lot, the rainy season is between April to June and y the GAM is around September to November.

Connie mentioned that she was shocked about that in Costa Rica rains a lot and more in where she is living at the momento (Talamanca) and during the time that she was living in Heredia, didn’t rain as much as there.

-Megan

It was until we talked to Connie that I noticed how privileged is our healthcare. I know that it is not perfect, but compare to the USA, we have to be very thankful.

It was interesting to know how both cultures are similar in some aspects, but it was also interesting to see how different they are in some other aspects. For example the fact that her friend was looking for a Walmart in a place and there was no one and because of that they were shocked, the same happens if a person, that lives in the city, goes to a similar place probably will have almost the same reaction. Also it was interesting to see how Connie appreciates the Costa Rican culture and how she decided to live here instead of in her country even when she has most of her family there.

When reading about the Costa Rican values, I was surprised to see some of them, because I do not identify with some, for example, “Tico Time”, for me time is really important, being on time is really important. But, overall, it was really interesting to read about our values from a foreigner.

About the call with Connie, I really liked having the opportunity to hear her talk about how she views life having been born in the U.S and how life is in that country compared to this one. It was nice to hear her talk about Costa Rica, especially how she sees this country, because is a point of view of a foreigner, not someone born here.

My opinion on Costa Rican values is that Ticos have a really happy and positive culture that accepts life as it is and keep on living life even though there may be hardships, but we also believe in democracy and we don't let other people abuse their power.

Something I learned from Connie is that people from USA don't seem to be used to the friendly nature of us Ticos, but also that because of it, they also tend to notice it more since we are so used to being at least a little friendly to those around us.

Something that I remember in the reading about Costa Rica culture was about gender roles, and how some people think that in many cases men can be immature and the women are the dominant for example in the domestic duties, but I think we can't generalize that because that doesn't happen in all the cases.

The converstion with Connie was very interesting, since in addition to show us her love for Costa Rica, she told us about herself and her life.

Somenting that She mentioned and I felt very pround of it, was that we are so lucky because we don't have an army and we can enjoy that freedom compared to others countries. Also she mentioned about the health care, and how important it is to have an institution that takes care our health because in other coustries they don't have the same access. For this and more, Costa Rica is inccredible and I feel proud to live here.

It is interesting to know what a foreign thinks about our country, sometimes we don't appreciate our place, our sense, our people and talking with her I figured out that many people thinks Costa Rica is a haven place.

Connie reminded us that is never too late to try and learn new things. She also made us think about the beauty of the country.

-David Artavia