Why Am I Here?

The article American Students Abroad Can't Be 'Global Citizens,' by Talya Zemach-Bersin seems to be an exaggerated view of the differences an American can feel outside of the US. Living with an exiled family in a developing country, not having to do one's own laundry in his or her own house. . . In reality, though, it's actually that staggering. What I found most surprising about that article was the mention of a study abroad program as being something for consumers to buy, not something for students to experience. As much as I hate that, and it's not completely true, in Costa Rica, I have most definitely felt this. Tourism is Costa Rica's economic driver, and even as biologists we utilize that. For example, in order to get to certain national parks or places to study coral reefs and the environment, we have to hire the local boaters. We waltz into town, basically tourists just ogling at the run-down buildings and stray dogs in the street, and have hard-working people chauffeur us place to place. How much do they earn a day? Do they ever get a day off, or can they afford one? Tourism is a 7-day-a-week thing. It's strange that tourists come to these places on vacation, to relax, yet there are people here who are working extremely hard just to get by. There is so much wealth surrounded by so much poverty. Is 'third-world' tourism helping these places, or exploiting them, perpetuating the poverty gap? Is tourism just?

I can't answer these questions, but that's ok. For now I will keep in mind the words of Aberjhani, "In a rich moonlit garden, flowers open beneath the eyes of entire nations terrified to acknowledge the simplicity of the beauty of peace.”