Costa Rica thoughts

On vacation in Costa Rica, and it is a rather intriguing country to visit. Its natural beauty is obvious and the Costa Ricans have done an excellent job (from what I've seen) in preserving much of it, especially given the immense tourism industry it possesses.

Some thoughts on things I've noticed while visiting:

• On first impression in the airport, when arriving, it is absolutely flooded with tourists. I haven't been to Mexico or Hawaii so I can't speak in relative terms but I felt like I was in an American airport like in Florida or something. The crowd consisted mostly of tweens and young families with a few interspersed retirees.
• Poverty exists  and is apparent in some areas, but it doesn't quite have the feel of typical developing nations, nor does it give off the vibe of it putting up a massive luxurious front to hide the rest of the population (more than other places, at least). There does appear to be some money floating around in its economy from the thriving tourism industry. 
• I don't sense a strong resentment nor a will to exploit the tourism industry from the people here. More often than not, it more seems that the locals are proud to show off what their country has to offer, but are also fiercely defensive on preserving it... I appreciate both of those qualities.
• We asked one of our tour guides what has made Costa Rica safe for so long, and he quickly replied that their country has no army! A google search verified that it has been abolished since 1948 after the end of their most recent civil war. Since then, unlike any of its neighbors, there have been no further conflicts in over 50 years. 
• Again on tourism - I think it's astounding that given the foreign money that comes in, the locals still don't expect tips. They are gladly appreciated of course, but unlike many other places I've visited with strong tourism, they haven't taken tips for granted to this point.

And I haven't even talked about what we've explored yet. Until next time!

Blog adjustments in the dead of winter

Just my luck, my last winter in Ottawa is apparently one of the most miserable ones they've had here in years. I talked to a physician today who has lived here her whole life and says this is the worst (combination of cold, snow, cloud) that she can remember.

Despite that, I haven't really been keeping up with this blog. Finishing my research took up a lot of my time for a couple weeks in February, and studying for the big exam has begun.

With that said, I wanted to announce a "shift", I'll be making with what I'll be writing here. I wanted to make it more useful for the people or tumbleweeds who come across these parts. Self-serving blogs are a dime a dozen. The interesting, insightful and engaging blogs are the ones that people want to read. Every now and then, I'll still use this as a sounding board for something I'm going through in the raw moment because hey, it's the internet... but I feel that this blog should also serve some usefulness rather than me using this as a virtual soapbox half the time.

There still won't be a particular topic of focus. I keep myself busy with too many random things (at least for now) to commit to that. You can see on the right side the plethora of random labels I've assigned to blog posts over the years... but the focus will shift... I'm gonna try to see how each most posts can be one or more of the following: a) a post of interest, b) a post of insight or something to think about, or c) a post of utility to you, the reader.