Global and Local Business

¡Buenos dias!!

We were the Leaders of the Day today, and though it was challenging, we enjoyed every bit of it! The day started off with visiting the local coffee plantation named Aquiares. It is the largest coffee plantation in Costa Rica being over 1,000 acres. It was founded by the Lindo family. In this plantation, they practice hand-picking coffee beans to ensure quality. Our tour guide stated that everything Costa Rica is was because of the coffee plantations. We had the opportunity to try ripe coffee beans, they were red and surprisingly sweet!

Next, we visited Finca la Florita, a local cheese factory run by Carla and her family. She gave us a quick lesson on the different types of grass she feeds her cows and what nutrients they receive. We had a friendly competition between “Cheesecake Factory” and “Lactose Tolerant” and played a variety of games. We matched the different types of grasses to their names, milked cows, made cheese, and played a hot potato quiz. This resulted in the win of Cheesecake Factory! (:( -Lara). Afterwards, we got to try three different cheeses made by Carla. One was fresh for 2 days, then one contained basil and was aged 7 days, and the final one was aged 2 months. Evelyn’s favorite was the cheese that was aged 2 months and Lara’s favorite was the fresh one. By the end of the day, we were able to take the cheese we made home.

What we learned today was the moral choices we have to make when shopping and purchasing goods. We were able to witness what local businesses are and the practices they incorporate. This highlighted the difference between local businesses and large corporations, and their effects on the environment and the community. The night finished off with passing the torch to the leaders of tomorrow and we got to showcase our talents. Evelyn shared her double-jointed thumb and Lara shared her friendship bracelets and brought yarn to teach everyone how to make them.

We are so excited for tomorrow, Pura Vida!

• Lara and Evelyn