¡Pura Vida! A Life Changing Experience

Miguel, Jonathan, and the owner of the Highland Fruit Farm

            Throughout my time at Bryant, I have been blessed with many opportunities to further my studies in the field of International Business.  Not only have I been in great classes, but I have also been afforded the opportunity to travel with the school as well.  Most recently, I was in Costa Rica for Marketing 421, a course focused on sustainability and its use in our personal lives as well as in the commercial world. 

            In Costa Rica, we visited some amazing places and met some amazing people.  We had an amazing guide for our trip named Miguel who knew almost everything about Costa Rica’s history, the environment in the areas we visited, and he knew so much about sustainability and all of the places that we went to that he was able to assist them in anything, even guiding one of the boats in our river tour in Tortuguero.  He has many talents and looks and acts way younger than his age by being very enthusiastic, joining us on adventures, and through his conversations with each of us one-on-one.  Without Miguel, this trip would not have been nearly as fun nor as educational.  Another guide that we met was Jonathan Cerdas.  He is a great and motivating person who I connected with a lot during the day that we spent together.  Not only does his passion for sustainability, working hard, and the environment show through everything he does, but he also took the time to talk to us, get to know us, encourage us, and help us throughout the day.  When I was taking a break from the hike on the first day, he sat with me and talked about how I can improve my habits so that simple things like hiking wouldn’t be so difficult for me anymore.  He not only gave me recommendations but also helped me set goals and gave me his contact information so that he can continually check-up on me and continue to help me.  This is far from his role as a tour guide, but he went above and beyond, showing that he truly cares about each one of the people he comes in contact with through his work and other areas in his life.  In fact, all of the other guides and hosts that we met in Costa Rica were very passionate about what they did; it was clear that they loved their lives, work, and the environment, and every day they went to woke up with a smile and continued to follow their passion.  This is why Costa Rica is known as the “happiest place on Earth.”

            Through these people, I learned a lot about sustainability, and more importantly, how I was very unsustainable.  From taking a separate car from my brother when we both are going to the same place to throwing away food that I didn’t want to finish, I still have a lot I need to work on to be more sustainable.  Since going to Costa Rica, I have made numerous changes in my life to start doing my part to create a more sustainable world.  I am starting to recycle more and more, though it tends to be difficult when my roommates use the recycling bin for trash.  I also keep the lights off when they don’t need to be on, which is a new change.  Usually my suitemates and I would leave our lights on all day because it was convenient and didn’t think twice about the energy they used.  Now I find myself turning off all of the lights every time I leave a room, even if it’s a classroom and the class is over.  I have also started to carpool with others more and drive in a manner that saves gas.  Not only does this help me be sustainable, but I find that I also spend a lot less on gas, which is a major plus for me. 

Bathroom at our hotel in Arenal

            In addition, I have been wasting a lot less food since I don’t put so much on my plate anymore.  I also usually reuse dishes instead of getting a new one in order to save water.  I am still working on being sustainable in other aspects, though.  For example, I still use disposable plastic bottles regularly, despite having several reusable ones.  I tend to justify it by reusing the plastic bottle once or twice, but usually I’ll open a new one at least every other day.  There are other times when I open more than one in a day.  It is a habit that I am working on breaking.  In addition, I still waste a lot of water.  I keep water running when I’m brushing my teeth and take needlessly long showers.  This is also a habit that is getting better, but I still need to work towards it.  I am also looking into buying local, as it is a great way to be sustainable in the community.  This will increase significantly when I start buying food and other items for myself rather than eating in a dining hall, but I have started to shop locally a few times already!  The best benefit that I saw from this class, though, is that I convinced my dad to look into the installation of solar panels for electricity, something that I see as a possibility in the near future.  

Learning how to dance

            Through the little actions that I have started to take and the others that I am working on, I realize that I am making an impact.  Even though it is a small impact, I know that other people around the world are doing the same thing.  It takes a group effort to make an impact, and with courses such as this one being offered in schools, there will be an increasing number of people making sustainable changes in their lives, and together we make a difference.  This class has changed my perspective a lot and is something that will benefit me and everyone who was in it for the rest of our lives.

¡Pura Vida!

--Daniel DiNicola