Puerto Calderas: About 2-1/2 hours east of San José is Puerto Calderas on the Pacific Coast. It is a significant port for import of such goods as iron, vehicles, paper, banana, bagged cement, fertilizers, salt and fruits as well as bulk salt, corn, soy, wheat, malt, rice, fertilizers, sand. On the export side (formally a minor share of total traffic, but now almost 1/2) are fruits, vehicles, banana, bagged cement, and cattle--including but not limited to...
I interviewed both the Director of Port Security and the Assistant Director of the Port regarding my project. These were the first interviews I have had at a workforce level, and so the information was very useful. I got a tour of the operations there and was quite impressed with the modern facilities. This port has been privately owned and operated since 2006. The major financial interest is Colombian.
I have been recording all of my interviews on cassettes. The Institute has provided work-study students to type the transcripts. Yet, I am falling behind as the tapes take about 4 hrs. to transcribe. What to do? Not sure yet, but hope to resolve this week.
Puntarenas. I am told that Puntarenas was once Costa Rica's busiest ports. That's not so anymore since the port facility at Calderas was established. Frommer's Costa Rica guidebook (2007) says of Puntarenas that it "... has yet to shed its image as a rough-and-tumble port town" (p. 256) despite efforts to attract visitors and clean up the beaches. This appears to be an accurate assessment, yet it is relatively close to San José if one yearns for a view of the ocean.
Food. I was told to have a Churchill on the way back. It is a combination of milk, ice cream and fruit. However, I had just eaten a yummy corvina (see below), and had no room. Perhaps next time.
Wow...Oct 1 tomorrow. I'm here 2 months. Where has the time gone??
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
TLC (Tratado Libre de Comercio)/Free Trade Agreement
As I have mentioned in a previous post, October is the referendum on the DR-CAFTA Trade Agreement. Costa Rica is the only country that has not ratified it. The news and the protests are gearing up here for the Sí people vs. the No people. Even a taxi driver will try to pull you into a conversation about the subject. On Sunday, there were demonstrations on street corners and vans riding around town blasting propaganda through microphones. More soon...
9-30-07: Well, the referendum is a week away and the demonstrations more noticable. Paradoxically, while all this is going on, COMEX (The Ministry of Foreign Commerce) is meeting with representatives of the EU (European Union) to develop the AACUE, or a trade agreement between the EU and Central America. I was invited a summary meeting of the state of the negotiations to date in Herradura last week.
9-30-07: Well, the referendum is a week away and the demonstrations more noticable. Paradoxically, while all this is going on, COMEX (The Ministry of Foreign Commerce) is meeting with representatives of the EU (European Union) to develop the AACUE, or a trade agreement between the EU and Central America. I was invited a summary meeting of the state of the negotiations to date in Herradura last week.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Travel
My schedule does not give me much time for tourism; however, to not see some of the country while I'm here would be ridiculous. Right? (yes)
San José: 9-22/23. Decided to check out some museums while here: The Gold Museum--an unbelievable collection of gold dating from the Pre-Columbian era; The Costa Rican Museum of Art, the National Museum, and a museum that displays a collection of coins, etc. dating back many years. In regard to the latter, I was amused to see that some of the coins and bills I still have from by business life here 20 yrs. ago are now museum pieces. While they have no value in exchange, I am sure they will be a nice gift for a young Costa Rican who is starting a coin collection. I also visited a Butterfly Garden--amazing all the varieties that were there. ...lovely.
Manuel Antonio: 9-14/9-16. The 14th was Costa Rican Independence Day. In celebration, there were parades. Additionally, runners carried a torch from the Nicaraguan border to Panama to celebrate the occasion. The "neat" thing was to see the entire event emulated within the elementary schools. Another torch was carried by school children who ran along and passed it from pueblo (town) to pueblo. It was so cute to see the school children (in their school "uniforms") perched along the road, waving the Costa Rican flag.
Manuel Antonio is on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. I decided to go there, rather than Limón (see below for "why"). It is a tourist-attracting place with lovely vistas and the celebrated Manuel Antonio National Park. Unfortunately, the area is showing the signs of too much development, I am told. About a month before I went, I was told that there was a tsunami alert there due to the Peruvian earthquake. People were literally running with their suitcases to the mountains. I was advised to stay higher up--in the mountains, if I decided to go. As it turned out, there was a tremor at 3 am. on Sunday, the day I was to leave...pretty scary.)
The park is definitely a "must see." I managed to take more a few more pictures of monkeys, to include the perezozo ("lazy," in Spanish)--a monkey that lumbers along so slowly, that it takes about 20 minutes for it to move about a yard. Crabs and grasshoppers that are beautifully colored, and iguanas that were not, were prevalent. I was told that a boa constrictor ate a small animal (a rabbit-like-looking rat the size of a small pig--name of which I cannot remember) the week before. It swallowed it whole, as the story goes. Glad I missed that... By the way, check out "Food," updated below.
La Fortuna: 9-1/9-2. I spent two precious days with friends on a trip 2-1/2 hrs. northwest of San José. We visited several volcanoes--the quite impressive Poás and Arenal. I'm told there are 110 volcanoes in Costa Rica. We also bathed in some lovely hot springs near La Fortuna--in the pouring rain, by the way, and visited the Arenal Rain Forest...lovely. I'm finally figuring out how my daughter's digital camera works: Got some some lovely rainforest shots, but the white-faced monkeys would not pose long enough for me to capture a picture of their great "mug." With 5% of the world's biodiversity here, there is much reason to take pictures, although I have not taken many yet.
Next trip? ...don't know yet. On the Caribbean side, Limón has been in the news an active place for dengue- carrying mosquitos due to the heavy rains this year. I was considering tying in a trip to Limón to visit JAPDEVA for an interview (see column on left). However, I'm adverse to taking unecessary risks while here. Better to get the interview in San José? So for further travel, I may consider a trip to Guanacaste Province located on the Pacific side. There it is drier; therefore, it is more of a "no worries" area for mosquito -borne diseases. Iwould also love to go to the Golfito, down toward Panama--we'll see; it's a long trip.
Significant trivia: One-quarter of the world's tree species are here in Costa Rica. Yes, Costa Rica is quite biodiverse.
San José: 9-22/23. Decided to check out some museums while here: The Gold Museum--an unbelievable collection of gold dating from the Pre-Columbian era; The Costa Rican Museum of Art, the National Museum, and a museum that displays a collection of coins, etc. dating back many years. In regard to the latter, I was amused to see that some of the coins and bills I still have from by business life here 20 yrs. ago are now museum pieces. While they have no value in exchange, I am sure they will be a nice gift for a young Costa Rican who is starting a coin collection. I also visited a Butterfly Garden--amazing all the varieties that were there. ...lovely.
Manuel Antonio: 9-14/9-16. The 14th was Costa Rican Independence Day. In celebration, there were parades. Additionally, runners carried a torch from the Nicaraguan border to Panama to celebrate the occasion. The "neat" thing was to see the entire event emulated within the elementary schools. Another torch was carried by school children who ran along and passed it from pueblo (town) to pueblo. It was so cute to see the school children (in their school "uniforms") perched along the road, waving the Costa Rican flag.
Manuel Antonio is on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. I decided to go there, rather than Limón (see below for "why"). It is a tourist-attracting place with lovely vistas and the celebrated Manuel Antonio National Park. Unfortunately, the area is showing the signs of too much development, I am told. About a month before I went, I was told that there was a tsunami alert there due to the Peruvian earthquake. People were literally running with their suitcases to the mountains. I was advised to stay higher up--in the mountains, if I decided to go. As it turned out, there was a tremor at 3 am. on Sunday, the day I was to leave...pretty scary.)
The park is definitely a "must see." I managed to take more a few more pictures of monkeys, to include the perezozo ("lazy," in Spanish)--a monkey that lumbers along so slowly, that it takes about 20 minutes for it to move about a yard. Crabs and grasshoppers that are beautifully colored, and iguanas that were not, were prevalent. I was told that a boa constrictor ate a small animal (a rabbit-like-looking rat the size of a small pig--name of which I cannot remember) the week before. It swallowed it whole, as the story goes. Glad I missed that... By the way, check out "Food," updated below.
La Fortuna: 9-1/9-2. I spent two precious days with friends on a trip 2-1/2 hrs. northwest of San José. We visited several volcanoes--the quite impressive Poás and Arenal. I'm told there are 110 volcanoes in Costa Rica. We also bathed in some lovely hot springs near La Fortuna--in the pouring rain, by the way, and visited the Arenal Rain Forest...lovely. I'm finally figuring out how my daughter's digital camera works: Got some some lovely rainforest shots, but the white-faced monkeys would not pose long enough for me to capture a picture of their great "mug." With 5% of the world's biodiversity here, there is much reason to take pictures, although I have not taken many yet.
Next trip? ...don't know yet. On the Caribbean side, Limón has been in the news an active place for dengue- carrying mosquitos due to the heavy rains this year. I was considering tying in a trip to Limón to visit JAPDEVA for an interview (see column on left). However, I'm adverse to taking unecessary risks while here. Better to get the interview in San José? So for further travel, I may consider a trip to Guanacaste Province located on the Pacific side. There it is drier; therefore, it is more of a "no worries" area for mosquito -borne diseases. Iwould also love to go to the Golfito, down toward Panama--we'll see; it's a long trip.
Significant trivia: One-quarter of the world's tree species are here in Costa Rica. Yes, Costa Rica is quite biodiverse.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Sept. 3 - 7; Sept. 10 - 14
Sept. 3-7, aside from teaching responsibilities, I accomplished 3 high level interviews with the following organizations: INCOP, FUNDES, and PROCOMER. INCOP is the Port Authority for the Pacific; FUNDES mission involves working to develop small to medium-sized businesses internally. PROCOMER continues where FUNDES leaves off to assist companies with their exporting activities. Several themes are emerging specific to my research focus which have implications to logistics, human resource development, and infrastructure development within the country and the region. I'm taping the interviews (in Spanish), and the Institute is assisting me with student workers who are typing transcriptions for me. I don't know what I would do without the Institute. They've been instrumental in opening all the doors for me.
Sept. 12: (highlight): I was invited by a professor in the Economics Dept. to give a guest lecture to his class. I focused on transnational company trends specific to their supply chain "factors of production" choices. I tied in the importance of these trends to Costa Rica's economic development. This was fun to do.
Sept. 12: (highlight): I was invited by a professor in the Economics Dept. to give a guest lecture to his class. I focused on transnational company trends specific to their supply chain "factors of production" choices. I tied in the importance of these trends to Costa Rica's economic development. This was fun to do.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
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.
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.
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