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For those who might not know, I spent last week in [tag]Costa Rica[/tag] on a [tag]mission trip[/tag] with my church. The short version of our team mission was that we went to a remote Indian tribe to help them build a church. In addition, we provided medical care and supplied any needed medications. We brought 15 team members from the states to include a few nurses and one doctor. We met up with a good number of local Costa Ricans, or [tag]Ticos [/tag]as they call themselves, to include a few [tag]pastor[/tag]s, builders, nurses and two more doctors.
I’d like to take this week to write about five things I learned in Costa Rica.
#1: [tag]Money [/tag]!= Happiness
For all you non-computer types, the above statement means, “money does not equal happiness.” I know this sounds generic, and perhaps it is, but I can assure you this, the statement has never before been so true to me.
Upon landing in the country, I immediately realized just how rich the [tag]United States[/tag] really is. I’ve heard it said so many times, but for the first time in my life, the cliche finally became a reality for me. In Costa Rica, the houses were falling apart. Trash covered the street. It paralleled some of America’s worst cities.
Livestock was malnourished and significantly underweight. Cows and dogs roamed the streets similar to how cats do in America. Everything appeared to be dirty…broken…old…
The Ticos clearly didn’t have much according to US standards…yet they are some of the richest people I’ve ever come in contact with.
See, in Costa Rica, a person’s energy is spent in different ways than it is here in the states. For example:
- Everyone is greeted with a hug and a kiss.
- “[tag]Tico Time[/tag]” is a term I became very familiar with. In Costa Rica, there’s really no such thing as “late.” The focus of the people is relationships…people. For example, let’s say a person made a verbal commitment to you of, “yeah, I’ll be there at 4:30.” At 4:00 the person leaves to head towards your house. If the Tico sees 6 of his friends/family members along the way, well, don’t expect to see his at your house any time soon. He will stop and talk with each person rather than blowing them off to be at your house by 4:30. It’s not considered rude or inconsiderate…it’s just their culture.
- I was amazed at how friendly everyone really was. It seemed like everyone was always smiling - no exaggeration! Restaurant employees, bus drivers, tour guides…even the poor people that had no idea where their next meal would come from - all smiling!
I was/is truly inspired. I want to be like this. I want to be happy regardless of my circumstances. I want to make people/relationships my focus…not money, career advancement, and busyness.
I wonder, have any of you had any similar eye-opening experiences?
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I’ve been to Costa Rica as well as Romania. I think in comparison Costa Rica is so much more better off. Their GDP is actually
I think my trip to Romania was much more eye-opening than my vacation/honeymoon/trip in Costa Rica. There were so many more people around us and many of them were not all nice. In Romania we spent about half of our time in the orphanages, many of which the children were developmentally underdeveloped. One of the rooms had children where all they wanted to do was be held. I nearly had the kids choke me because of this (I had on a necklace, you can bet I took it off after that). I later asked my translator/partner that each of us were paired with why she hadn’t been translating for me. It turned out that these kids (who were somewhere about 8 or nine years old) had been speaking jibberish and not a real language.
At least Costa Rica has a system where the family is paramount and kids wouldn’t be left without a relation like the kids in Romania were. On top of that Costa Rica is known as the most educated country in Central America so in many ways Romania is worse off that Costa Rica.
I think everyone should send some time living in another culture. Living in a country where you are the outsider should force you to learn how other people live. It can help you see the strengths and weakness in your own culture.
In 1966 I spent a year in Japan. I was 23. It was a life altering experiences.
I was in the US Army but spent as much time as I could with my Japanese friends and learned as much as could about their culture.
I already mentioned in a previous post the culture shock of traditional co-ed restrooms and public baths. I became much more comfortable with my own body as a result.
I learned how to improve my communication skills. I had to listen very carefully to what someone said, so I would not misinterpret them. I learn to think and speak very clearly so I would not be misinterpreted myself.
I learned the value of spending some time each day some place quiet and peaceful.
I love the Karesansui style gardens. No water and few plants, but they evoke a feeling of water using pebbles and meticulously raked gravel or sand. Rocks chosen for their intriguing shapes and patterns.
I enjoy their simple but elegantly beautiful traditional music. Played with just a lute, a drum and a bamboo flute.
I think the Japanese work much better as part of a team compared to Americans. The Japanese have a saying “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down”.
We Americans tend to be much more independent and I think we will performed better where the job requires individual thinking.
I also saw many things wrong with their culture. Tradition can be a straight jacket.
I have read several accounts of Japanese women not wanting to go back to Japan where they are suppose to bow when entering a room of men.
A young entrepreneur with a better idea will have a much better chance of success in America than in Japan.
I recall the experiences of Juan Mann who arrived in London friendless and in need of a hug. Apparently our litigation fearful society doesn’t like hugs.
My own eye opening experiences aren’t from foreign travel but from having children. Seeing the world through fresh eyes is wonderful and certainly refreshing for someone who was as jaded and cynical as I was. :d
You’ve also reminded me (for the second time) of The Dead Poet’s Society.
[...] yesterday’s post I mentioned how money does NOT equal happiness in Costa [...]
Also money can’t buy you happiness but being miserable is a hell of a lot easier.
I agree 100% with your observation Bill,
Money does not equal happiness.
I remember a picture of the billionaire John D. Rockefeller sitting at a long dining table in his huge mansion. He was eating alone. That is one of the saddest pictures I have ever seen.
Mr. Rockerefeller would have been a lot happier if he traded his mansion for a room full of family and friends.
The pursuit of money is a very different thing than the pursuit of happiness.
We need money to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. We need money to help obtain the things our children will need to have a better life, such as a college education.
I don’t know how happy a parent could truly be if they can’t provide for their family. They may show a smiling face to the outside world. I doubt they are very happy person inside themselves.
I would guess that a person living in poverty can be happy as long as they have some hope of making a better life for their family. If you have lost that hope I would think it would be very hard to have a happy life.
The pursuit of money in America means working long hours. The pursuit of happiness means spend time with family and friends.
Pursuing money to buy material things, like shiny new cars and tvs, can make us happy. That happiness however won’t last as long as a good friendship.
If working long hours to make enough money for your children’s education means spending less time with them, than that’s a very difficult decision choice.
If the choice is working long hours to buy a bigger house for our family but that comes at the expense of not spending time with them, and possibly losing their love, we should forget about the mansion.