economics is on my mind

[photo: view from my room!]

Ethics tells us that it is a duty to work; economics tells us that full employment is highly unlikely. Ethics tells us that we should ship our surplus grain overseas to share it with those in need; economics tells us that food gifts depress prices, thereby discouraging the farmers of the countries to which the gifts are sent. Ethics says that we should care for those who are unable to care for themselves; economics says that social welfare programs are inflationary… (139)

--Howard Richards “Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, and Christian Economics”

I have always wanted to be good at economics however these classes have never been easy for me. Through the hours of aplia homework and working with my econ TAs and teachers, I am fortunate to have a little context on this important issue (although I wish it were more!!) – I know it’s important and I know it’s relevant, but the logistics give me a headache.

One of our main assignments in my core seminar class is to write a “position paper.” We all chose from many different topics – Latin American history, women in Latin America, sustainable development, religion in LA, Christian responses to non-violence, etc. etc. I chose the topic “The Bible and Economic Systems” and little did I know that this topic would take over my thinking for the following 5 weeks.

While the book I was given comes from the liberation theology perspective, I am trying to balance my research with some other readings about ethics, religion, and economic systems. and while I am reading these books I am asking so many questions…

What is the role of the state? What is the state supposed to provide for its citizens? Is comparative advantage just? How can an economy promote justice when we are all self-interested? What is economic justice? Is a better economic system the answer for ending poverty and injustice? What do we do about profits?—we need these, but they also seem to be the problem for so much inequity in the world…is there such thing as true economic partnership between countries? (or is partnership too friendly of a word because we are only self-interested?) What is diplomacy?

The needs of our times, both in practical socio-economic matters and in terms of theory, call for a more generous definition of our science. We need a new economic vision that does not limit itself to observing and explaining market behavior or to theoretical speculations about how to best satisfy a society composed of bloodless Economic Men. What we need, instead, is a science that treats people as holistic individuals with a structure of basic needs and an inborn potential to grow towards higher levels of being and more fulfilled lives. Injecting life into the mechanistic core of economics is a challenging and desperately needed task; it is the challenge of humanizing economics (98)

Mark Lutz and Kenneth Lux “The Economic Problem: Yesterday and Tomorrow”

These quotes are taken from a book I am reading: Through the Eye of a Needle: Readings on Stewardship and Justice, compiled by the Dept. of Economics & Business at Calvin College. I like the above idea of seeing economic activity from a more holistic perspective – there is more to it than markets, trade agreements, comparative advantage, supply/demand curves: there is this basic human aspect of work and contribution to society (and so much more than that, but i'm probably getting ahead of myself here...)

how it all works, I don’t know…but i have 10-15 pages to work [some] of that out ;)

the caribbean side of costa rica

[¡que linda!]

["el mono" aka monkey...he was rather unfriendly unfortunately]

This past weekend, I went on a trip with fellow LASPers to the Limón Province. On the way, we stopped at a pineapple farm and a coffee and banana plantation. It was really interesting to watch a little bit of the process of banana farming and we learned about a lot of sad agricultural and social consequences of this huge industry (and I am sure more is to come…)

The reason that we traveled to the Limon Province was to experience a different part of Costa Rica, one that is marked by great diversity, specifically with a large Afro-Caribbean population. Costa Rica is like the US in a way – different provinces (like states) feel completely different. We have a paper assignment regarding poverty, discrimination, and racism and we were required to interview people in San Jose and Limon. While this was a little awkward, it was also really interesting to hear their perspectives and I enjoyed speaking with those who were willing to share their thoughts :)

I also got to swim in the Caribbean for the first time which was wonderful (and the fact that it is still January makes it that much better ;)), meet monkeys and even spot a sloth! What was also special was the feeling of “coming home” to my Tica family on Sunday afternoon …making coffee for my parents and enjoying dinner with my sister and her boyfriend at 9:30pm. I also had a really interesting conversation with my sister’s boyfriend about the law system in Costa Rica. He is studying to be a lawyer and for my Spanish class I need to pick a topic to give a presentation. It was fascinating to hear differences in the court systems here and I look forward to learning more as the time gets closer…it is also exciting when many words such as “jurisprudence” are similar in Spanish “jurisprudencia” (unfortunately I had to think for a few minutes back to my Con Law class about what jurisprudence is exactly, but hey, at least we have the right vocabulary ;))

adios for now!

[rachel and i at the pineapple fields]

pelo quemado

that´s what i told my family the other night: i have pelo quemado ..which means burnt hair. naturally, i cracked up at myself immediately. this is just one example of many of what it has been like for me to live in a spanish-speaking home.

communication is something that i have always really enjoyed..getting to know people and learning about them, and having people want to get to know me. having a language barrier has often times been really frustrating, but also exhilirating. the feeling of successfully saying a sentence using a few different tenses or talking about some important matters such as poverty and injustice (instead of kitchen and sports vocabulary that you learned in 8th grade) makes me so happy and excited. on the other hand, only being able to have limited conversations with my sisters and family because i simply dont have the vocabulary for more complex topics is frustrating and sometimes disappointing. however, this is teaching me a lot, and i am grateful for the opportunity to learn, experience, and laugh at the process of language learning...and all of the funny things that happen along the way :) ..and sometimes some of the more intense topics have similar vocabulary (like racism is racismo and discrimination is discriminacion .. it cant get too much easier than that, right?)

this weekend we are going to the Limon Province for a sort of field trip experience and will be talking a lot about race, poverty, and inequality. part of the assignment is to interview people and we had to start this yesterday in the city of san jose. while it was uncomfortable to just walk up to someone and ask them (in my broken spanish) what they thought about these issues, it was neat to hear different perspectives, and i am excited to hear more in Limon this weekend.

i am writing from an internet cafe because right now i dont have internet at my house, so i am sorry if i am slow to respond to emails and facebook...but i send much love to everyone!

snippets of life [here]

this weekend i went to a place in the mountains and saw two unique places:

agua dulce -- this is a special drink in Costa Rica (and probably other places in the Americas) and it is made from sugar cane. we went to an "agua dulce plant" (if you will) and i saw where they make the sugar molds that you

buy and proceed to cook the sugar to make a hot agua dulce drink. unfortunately they weren't actually operating the machinery, but i got to see the different tools they use to make this special concoction from sugar cane!

finca -- (farm -- see above) it's hard to know what was more beautiful to me: the farm or the hospitality of the farmer. this farm was right next door to the agua dulce place and it is managed by my mami's cousin. as you can see, it is absolutely gorgeous and i saw all kinds of fruits and vegetables i have never heard of before...and i saw what a yucca plant looks like from above the ground (i love yucca now!). i met a friendly cow named luna, ate home-made cheese, annnnd i got to ride a horse around the farm! everywhere i turned it was "have you tried this?" "look at this!" "do you like it?" "do you have this in the States?" and i could see how much joy this man had as he showed me the fruits of all of his hard labor. what stood out to me the most as i think back on this day was that he and his family were not expecting us, but they gave up their whole afternoon to show us around, fed us a delicious mid-afternoon lunch, and wanted me to see, taste, feel, and eat the many rich foods, scenery, and beauty they had on their farm -- i have not experienced this kind of hospitality before and it was truly moving.

me and the horse...funny story alongside this: the farmer didn't have a name for this horse and asked me to name her. normally this wouldn't be a difficult task, but i don't know spanish pet names! oh well...i named her cafecita. and then i met their little dog (probably about 2 lbs) and he asked me to name her!! so i named her henrietta, but they said that was too long so i said "well, i will need to think some more.." but then my mami was like "what's your dog's name again?" and i said "Tanya" and she suggested that name for their little dog....so there is now another sweet dog named Tanya in the beautiful hills of Costa Rica :)

poco a poco

how does one actually write a blog while they are studying abroad? i could write about so many things, what i do, see, think, live...i wish i could write about it all.

i think my slogan for this semester is "poco a poco" which means little by little. God is so good and is showing me that little by little i am getting better at spanish, knowing my way around san jose, and feeling more comfortable in this new place.

should i write about my dinner tonight at "hamburger factory" where just my mami and papi sat with me eating hamburgers and laughing hysterically at jokes (that i actually understood!)? should i write about the Bible study that happens every wednesday in my house..how their expression of worship is so different from my own, but how i enjoy being with people who are shouting and crying and worshiping God with such powerful emotions i have never seen before? should i write about the fact that i am starting to write a paper regarding the Bible and Economic systems ..and checked out some books about poverty, economics, and justice today (i'm excited for this topic!!)?

those are bits and pieces of my life this past week...and they have been full of many blessings. it is a little overwhelming to write about all of the different things i am processing in my mind about government, poverty, economic and social justice, colonialism/neocolonialism, making friends, spending time with my new family...but they are all good things, and i am glad to have this place to think and consider and ponder.

i am filled with gratitude for a wonderful costa rican family, delicious food (and lots of fruits & veggies too!!! yes :)), good conversations, and a calmer heart...and like my mami says every day when i ask her how her day was, "Gracias a Dios" - thanks be to God.

hola de costa rica!

i am HERE - can you believe it? living in latin america, riding the bus into san jose, eating fruits & other foods i have never tried before, and constantly speaking spanish at the most elementary level :)

it has been really hard for me these first few days, but i am taking one moment at a time, and learning my way around and becoming more and more comfortable in my surroundings. i am living with a wonderful host family (mami, papi, and three sisters). they are very kind and hospitable and i have done various activities with each of them thus far (bought fresh bread this morning with papi, hung out with my sister and her friends yesterday afternoon, and went to the market for fruits/vegetables with my other sister and her boyfriend). it is fun to watch family dynamics because it reminds me of certain personalities & habits in my family ;)

i have my own room which looks out to a beautiful field and i go to sleep with cows mooooooing and dogs barking :) i start my classes officially on monday and will be taking a basic seminar class about latin america on tues/thurs and spanish every afternoon for three hours (this is very necessary...my spanish is in need of lots of help ;))

thank you for all of your love and prayers!

abrazos, alys

dog sitting

last summer i did lots of dogsitting, seems like that tradition is continuing with barley boy - a cute & cuddly poodle/cocker mix (they're not sure what he is exactly, but it doesn't matter when you look at that adorable face).

i have too many stories of dogsitting...hurley, arlin, and henri are some of our recent visitors: hurley ate a whole bag full of dog food and i suffered the consequences of his over-indulgence, arlin ate a box of croissants while we were out for 4th of july, and i chased henri through my neighborhood at 10pm because he thought it was a perfect time to get some exercise (forgetting our two walks that day).

gotta love 'em