I realized that I carried certain expectations with me to Costa Rica. I came in thinking that my life would be drastically different and that I would have to give up a comfortable lifestyle for a few months. I was a little bit surprised to discover just how many similarities there were between my life in the U.S. and my life here. For example, the water is safe to drink, and most places have fast internet. Most of the goods cost about the same amount of money as in the U.S. where I live. Costa Rica is ranked as one of the safest countries to travel to due to its low crime rate and family-friendly attractions. Of course, one must still always be aware of their surroundings in unfamiliar places. Finally, many Costa Rican children play video games and watch cartoons just like us. There are still a few differences between my life at home and my life here, but I am still able to enjoy a lot of the same things.
This isn’t to say that Costa Rica is better than other Latin American or Central American countries because it is similar to the U.S. There are plenty of countries that don’t have clean drinking water or WiFi that are still amazing places to visit. There are a multitude of reasons why certain countries don’t have access to things like that. The important thing to remember is to not make assumptions about a place based on where it is located and who lives there. Being able to live within a community has helped me see that the way people live in Costa Rica has a lot of similarities to the way I live in the U.S.
