Nicaragua and Bananas

                    The view of Nicaraguans by Costa Ricans seems to be variant between different age groups, my siblings could only say that Nicaraguans are in their classes at school and most of them are poor. My parents, in addition, didn't have much to say about Nicaraguans, besides the Nicaraguans have very cheap food and clothing, and they're all poor. The more I ask my family about Nicaraguans the more they emphasize the sadness they feel about the poverty of the country and the rudeness of the poor people; which is why my tica siblings have never been to Nicaraguan, my parents do not wish to expose them to "that" (tica dad). My family did not say much more than that about impact of Nicaraguans on Costa Rica, besides the influx of immigrants from Nicaraguan that are working on plantations, taking over the schools, and populating the streets... I found all of these to be dramatized and exaggerated, although I believe they do make a great point about how some Costa Ricans view Nicaraguans.
                    From my families responses, I inferred that Costa Ricans mostly believe Nicaraguans to be poor and dirty, and plainly, Costa Ricans have prejudice against Nicaraguans that can be viewed as their sense of national pride. Since Costa Ricans value their hard work on plantations, and they like to support their economy by keeping coffee and fruits pure, I believe that Costa Ricans view it as an invasion of their nation when Nicaraguans come to work and be educated here. Despite my rational that if a country is so proud of what they have, then they should want others to come experience it and learn from it... I also have the belief that the illegal immigrants of Nicaragua should not be allowed to benefit and learn from Costa Rica, because they are not contributing. This may be over thought, prejudice, and ignorant, but I believe that could be what many Costa Ricans believe as well.
                     What interests me the most at this point is the fact that I am sticking to such beliefs, even when I try to think about my own country. Within the U.S.A. we have many illegal immigrants who flock to our country to avoid civil unrest, religious prosecution, to find jobs, etc., all in the search for a better life style or the "American Dream." But, no matter how much I wish to share the romanticized views of the U.S., I am a stickler to my beliefs that if a person does not contribute to our society and accept the U.S.A. as their home, then they should not benefit from the freedoms the U.S.A. offers. I realize that my statements are grand and ignorant, but I do believe that Costa Ricans have the right to dislike illegal immigrants who use the education system and health care system, when the illegal immigrants do not financially contribute to how those systems operate.
                    Besides my comparisons made between Costa Rica and the U.S., I believe that there are many aspects of Nicaragua that can be compared to Costa Rica. Mostly, I noticed that Nicaragua appears much more colonial than Costa Rica; while on our trip it was not explained as to why this was, but I believe that it could be because Nicaragua's colonial history seems to be more recent than Costa Ricas. Nicaragua also seems much poorer than Costa Rica, although that could have been because of our location while in Nicaragua and in Costa Rica; because the homeless choose to gather in the town square where they can benefit from tourists. The main comparison I made between the two countries is that they both focus on the exportation of fruits and they focus on tourism. Since both countries are exotic, very diverse in environments, and full of culture, they both have a good foundation for tourism and I believe they are working to better the tourist locations very well; even though it may take away from some of the traditional culture, they are trying to conserve it as they expand.

                    I was unable to take pictures of just bananas, I did take a picture of my breakfast one morning. I found it very interesting that the hotel staff would cut-up my banana, but after learning about how many cultures view bananas as having sexual innuendos, I appreciated the fact that the staff cut-up my banana. Also, just like in Costa Rica, it is much cheaper to eat fresh food in Nicaragua because venders need to get rid of their produce before it spoils. I believe this is a great thing and that is it very good for a country to eat locally. Just like I have said in past blog posts, I thoroughly believe that the U.S.A. should try harder to produce and buy locally, although it is very hard and very expensive, I think it would better the economy in the long-run.