Down to Earth- Costa Rica, Saanvi Kunisetty

 Down to Earth- Costa Rica

Saanvi Kunisetty

We recently watched the Costa Rica episode of Down to Earth with Zac Efron in my Spanish class in an effort to get to know the country better. Personally, I felt that the episode really brought awareness to things that many of us are oblivious to, such as the effect we have on wildlife, the necessity of a sustainable lifestyle, and more. In this episode, Zac Efron travels to an area in Costa Rica populated by people who live a sustainable lifestyle. Their main goal is to place importance on home-grown food, and to live near their food. Their houses are right next to gardens, and even forests, filled with exquisite and exotic fruits and vegetables. These types of fruits and vegetables don’t have what’s called a “shelf-life,” so many of us haven’t even heard of them. One of the most important fruits thriving in Costa Rica that some of us might be familiar with are the Caucasus. Its seeds provide something we are all familiar with- chocolate. In addition to all of this, the people who live here try to make sure that everything they use somehow comes from their own environment. Everything from the wood in their houses to the toys in their school comes from local resources. Something interesting to note is that their schools don’t have any tests or homework. The purpose of their school is to make students question why things are certain ways, and really explore whatever they would like to. It’s certainly different from what any of us would expect. But aside from all of this, what really impacted me was hearing about all the injured animals. For example, many monkeys were injured or electrocuted because of the electric lines that have been put up. Cars have caused many animal accidents. The Jaguar Rescue Center is working tirelessly to heal the injured animals.