Costa Rica is a vibrant country with some of the world’s most enticing attractions. It has a rich cultural history and a reputation for being one of the most relaxing places to live in. These are all things that are easy to recognize for a person who lives here. To many outsiders though, it is just another Latin American country.
One thing that I noticed growing up is how we use places like Canada, the U.S. and Europe to set the standard on how the world should be. By this, I mean that other countries are seen as less developed if they do not operate in the same way as us. Additionally, I noticed that countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia are often lumped together as having the same overall characteristics. The reality is, each country has its own way of existing in the world. There are millions of different cultures and ways of living.
Back in early August, as I was preparing for my trip, I got a lot of questions from others about what I thought living in Costa Rica would be like. Will I be able to drink the water? Will I have access to WiFi? Will it be dangerous? Will everything be cheap? Since I was going to a Latin American country, it was automatically assumed that I wouldn’t have certain privileges that I enjoy in the U.S.
