Weather, etc.

When I told people I was going to Costa Rica, the response was usually a perception of sandy beaches. However, I am in the city, so there are no sandy beaches here. San José is about 1160 meters above sea level. Therefore, weather is pretty temperate--about 75 degrees most days and some humidity. It is winter (yes...winter) here. Winter here is rain and lots of it. When I walk to the bus on my way to the University, it is usually sunny. Everyone totes an umbrella, which is a clue of the afternoon rains. By 1:30pm. it is pouring. And... as many cities in this part of the world, streets are congested. The pedestrian does not necessarily have the right of way (or at all!). So one has to watch over one's shoulder when crossing the street. (I've had some pretty close calls, and an occasional taxi driver scream at me to walk on the sidewalk vs. the street. No gestures, however. ...)

Week of Aug 27

~teaching. Hard to believe that September is around the corner and that I've been here almost a month. For my undergraduate students who still remember me, guess what? Yes, they have name cards--seniors with name cards. Of course, they have not had to deal with name cards for 4 years, as you may recall. Those cards really work: The class this past Tuesday was animated; I'm learning their names. I'm enjoying it. This week we covered decision making and the Director of Logistics of Intel was a guest speaker. They chose Costa Rica to build a major corporate center.
Good news!: The School of Business Administration at UCR was rated the best in Costa Rica by La Nación this week.

~Research. I made up my pre-diagnostic research questions this past week. These will help me develop the real questions for the survey I plan to do on my fieldwork (see left column for details). I have two appointments on Monday, September 3.

Week of August 20

Research Projects: There is a great deal of formality regarding approval and support of research at the University. Therefore, I will be submitting my proposal this week. Below is an excerpt from a letter and proposal I plan to submit. For translation summary, see column at left, ...Regarding Research. Reiterating, approximately 70% of my time will be devoted to research.

21/8: My proposal was accepted by the Institute of Economic Science Research, which is the research unit within the University of Costa Rica, and highly esteemed at the country level. I never considered requesting their support as I simply was not knowledgeable. This is good news, indeed. This all happened based on the advice of a Rotary club member. As it turns out, I will be given an office (one-half) day w/computer and phone, secretarial services, a researcher to assist with data compilation, and assistance with setting up interviews. For more information about IICE see http://www.iice.ucr.ac.cr/pagina3.htm

Investigaciones propuestas:

Mi trabajo de investigación se centrará e el tema: Costa Rica: Preparativos necesarios para la seguridad logística y capacitación de los recursos humanos frente al CAFTA-DR: Un Estudio de Casos

Puesto que Costa Rica fue uno de los primeros designados en 1983 para la Iniciativa de la Cuenca del Caribe (la CBI), resulta propicio para hacer mis investigaciones. Mi propuesta es investigar las implicaciones de las pautas de CAFTA-DR en cuanto a la capacitación de recursos humanos e integración de medidas de seguridad, logística y tecnología en la región. Espero conseguir entrevistas con las compañías y agencias siguientes, P/O Nedlloyd, Seaboard Marine, Remarsa, Junta de Administración Portuaria y de Desarrollo Económico de la Vertiente (JAPDEVA), FUNDES, Instituto Costarricense de Puertos del Pacífico (INCOP), Fed Ex Corp., empresas locales: Hewlett Packard, IBM, Teradyne, Sykes, Baxter, Procter & Gamble, e Intel. Así esta labor tendrá la figura de un estudio de casos. He hecho varios estudios longitudinales sobre la Iniciativa de la Cuenca del Caribe y los siguientes tratados relacionados. Por lo tanto, este trabajo de campo en particular constituye una progresión natural de esfuerzos ya realizados.

24/8: Participated in a rural community effort by a Rotary Club. Every Rotary Club has their community project, and this one was a cooperative effort with Fiderpac, a non-governmental organization that provides small business and other financing to rural communities. It was about an hour + drive to San Pedro de Puriscal, a very precious community in the mountains northwest of San José. Additionally, there was a workshop going on for women on the subject of small business development and microfinancing. My Rotary "godfather" was evaluating a survey that was intended to measure customer satisfaction with Fiderpac. I really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in these efforts. I used to do workshops for women with the Small Business Association (SBA) some years ago; this reminded me of those efforts. In this case, however, financing requests could be for other purposes than a business development. Examples include: to purchase cattle, do improvements on a house, and more.

August 15: Mother´s Day (El Día de la Madre)

San José is often quite congested with traffic, but this day was unbelievable for a Weds. I made the mistake of attempting to meet a Fulbright acquaintance downtown. What should have been a 10 minute ride turned out to be a 40 minute ride.

The government decreed recently that Mondays will be the days when holidays are celebrated. It was done (I am told) to attract more tourism over a 3 day weekend. Despite the decree, however, Ticos still celebrated the holiday on its usual day. Of course, they will also celebrate it on Monday, the 20th. As one woman said, "I have no problem accepting as many gifts as people want to give me." (It loses something in translation. It was quite funny.)

August 3 - 14

This was basically a settling-in period for me: e.g., unpacking, trying out the bus route to the University (about 10 minutes and 28 cents, or 145 colones), meeting colleagues, finding groceries, and more. As I've always valued Rotary Club contacts in business and other travels, I had already contacted several club presidents before I left. I cannot express how wonderful and hospitable these folks have been for explaining cultural, food and other issues important to life here.

U.S. brands are definitely visible here...some in more places than others. As example, the Hipermás here is really a Super Walmart and resembles the layout in the U.S. Another acquisition by Walmart is a grocery chain called, Más por Menos (More for Less). One is about a 3-4 km. walk from my apt. Taco Bell, Quiznos, McDonalds--you name it; they are all here.

I team teach once per week in a 3-1-2 hr. class with Professor Gustavo Bado--my email "pen pal" contact before arriving and hospitable colleague in the Department of Business Administration. The course is similar to our MA401 as its focus is Strategic Management. It is a fourth year undergraduate course requirement. There are 35 students in the class. I enjoyed the first session immensely, discovering what I've always believed... . i.e., that we often look for differences between peoples vs. the universals. These students expressed the same hopes and dreams as our MMA students when asked what their expectations were of the course. Another universal: They also enjoy complaining when given the opportunity. Two things (among many) that I found interesting: a) These students do not have a "coop" experience before graduating. (They wish they had.) b) Professors receive the grade point average of each student in the class on their class lists. I don't believe we could do that in our country for reasons of privacy. This is the first time I have taught an area of interest and specialization in Spanish. I am quite excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of me.