arathsalazar

Its all connected

(Maybe some divination can lead us through this all.)

Glass ceilings and sticky floors

What resonates with me even more after this experience is how 3rd world countries continuously are given an unfair shake. I’ve known that they are given unfair disadvantages as my parents are from 3rd world countries, but living in one and speaking with other students that had grown up and studied in them really pulledContinue reading “Glass ceilings and sticky floors”

Adios a Costa Rica

This experience as a whole was a very complicated and messy situation. However even with all the ups and downs I thoroughly enjoyed it and would do it again in a heartbeat if given the choice, though a more streamlined process would have been nice. The capstone for the summer experience has been shifted entirely,Continue reading “Adios a Costa Rica”

Experimentando a fin

A map of where we were would be in a way linear by this point. We had set up a new fermentation so our sphere of locations had shifted a bit by now. Our first few weeks would have consisted of our place of residence, the university, and the local supermarkets. Once we had aContinue reading “Experimentando a fin”

We’re off to see…

I wouldn’t say that I have joined a new community, it’s more that I’ve entered a community and in some aspects am overlooking the community. In many aspects it is as though that while I am here I am also an outsider not being able to fully comprehend and empathize within the community. As aContinue reading “We’re off to see…”

CATIE’s reach

Solidarity within cacao farmers here in Costa Rica consists of sharing information that they know regarding their crops. It is also seen as most farms have at least a small connection to CATIE, an agricultural research entity in Costa Rica. CATIE who we have interacted with has been aiming to improve the fermentation process ofContinue reading “CATIE’s reach”

Costa Rica, Caco, and Structural Inequalities

Structural inequalities that keep popping up while here in Costa Rica is the inequalities that are present due to the tourism that is present here in Costa Rica. This can be seen extensively when it comes to the prices of foods and other commodities which more often than not cost more than they would inContinue reading “Costa Rica, Caco, and Structural Inequalities”

Cacao-full

The routine here has been erratic to say the least some days we head to the university for research, other days we spend studying and getting other items completed. However during our calmer days at the university we have been able to learn equipment use for testing that will be conducting soon.

Hola de Costa Rica!

The transition from classes to back to back research preparation has been arduous at best and draining at worst. It has been an experience in having to learn all that I can in a field that I know absolutely nothing about, however even though the learning curve has been enormous it has been such aContinue reading “Hola de Costa Rica!”

Hey! I’m Arath!

I am Arath, a biology and public health dual major with minors in psychology and chemistry. I am from Fort Lauderdale! Over the summer, I will be doing cacao Fermentation research in Costa Rica that is focused on the process of cacao and the metabolism of the process. The expectations I have for my experienceContinue reading “Hey! I’m Arath!”