Costa Rican Umbrellas

Costa Rican umbrellas are these huge leaves people pick when they get caught in the rain without a man-made umbrella.

The second picture shows Kaz and Luis Eladio being DJs at a party at a local bar. There is no DJ- anyone can just pick songs or plug in their own iPod and play whatever they want.

I think Monteverde must be one of the most adaptable places on earth. The “zone” as they call it has short-term visitors constantly moving through, and each visitor has some effect on the place. Tourists come for just a few days, of course, but they have at least an economic impact on the community. Volunteers at the school stay for just a week or two while interns stay for at least two months. Groups of American university students come for 5 weeks to an entire semester, and this year, many attended Quaker meeting every week and became very involved with the community due to the nature of their academic programs and the projects they completed. For example, some of the university students spent lots of time hanging out with, learning from, and interviewing local residents- farmers, garbage collectors, children, local scientists, etc.
The locals tell me they are keenly aware of the constant turnover of people in Monteverde. Some admit they are unlikely to invest themselves in people who will be leaving after a short stay. At the same time, others have told me how grateful the community is for the energy and perspective temporary visitors bring, and that yes, their community has changed dramatically over the past ten years partly due to influences from the outside. I expect the locals have become expert at making friends quickly as well as being able to quickly process and mourn the loss of new friends when they leave the zone.
Everyone wants to know when we will be coming back. At this point, I cannot say. Our plan was to be here for a semester and we have obligations back home, but we certainly have been bitten by the Monteverde bug as it were, and would welcome the chance to return for a longer period of time. Stay tuned.