Un país de America Central, Costa Rica

Costa Ricans are not materially wealthy; they are, however, rich in happiness. Costa Ricans greet friends robustly with hugs, hand slaps, and jokes. They are willing to help complete strangers, even to their own detriment. They value family, friends, happiness, and the nature of their land. Costa Ricans truly take time to stop and smell the roses.

I am interested in going on this trip because it is a great opportunity to learn and experience a different culture. It will also be a great way to learn and practice my Spanish. During the time that I will be there, my Spanish will develop better, and I will be accustomed to the way of a local. Along this journey, I will also attain a life long friend as long with a second family. This trip will be a great way to experience the culture in Costa Rica. It will be interesting and fun to experience their way of life and customs.

Costa Rica is currently at the population of 4,500,000. The national territory is 31,682 square miles. If you compare that to size of the United States at 3.79 million square miles, its a very small piece of land. The capital is San Jose located in almost the middle of the country. Spanish is the official language, like many of the other surrounding countries. Their currency is called colon which was named after Christopher Columbus. Catholic is

We ate at a restaurant there in which the owner made ox carts. He did all of the woodwork using hydroelectricity with a waterwheel in the back. They were all also hand painted and hand carved pieces. It was very beautiful. We finally got to Turriabla that night. The next day we went to the college and botanical gardens of CATIE. In the botanical gardens we got to try all of the different fruits grown in Costa Rica. They are all very good and different tasting. Even the mangos and pineapples taste so much better there. Now that we are back I dislike the ones here. One example of something we tried there was called the miracle fruit. It made anything you ate afterwards that was sour taste sweet and it actually worked. We toured the coffee plantation there as well as the college campus and had more traditional Costa Rican food in the cafeteria there. Finally, in Turriabla we went to a fruit market and an ice cream shop and practiced our Spanish. We then prepared for our third stop.

I started this journey filled with nervous excitement and anticipation of traveling without my family to a foreign land. On my return trip I thought of what extravagant lifestyles we Americans live. If I had never traveled to Costa Rica I think I would still be taking things for granted and I learned to appreciate what I have. The Costa Ricans had very little, but they made the absolute best of what they did have. They are very different from us, Americans because our happiness comes from material objects. They were pleased with being able to share their knowledge, culture and language with us. As the Costa Ricans say Pura Vida meaning pure

Human habitation can be traced back more than 10,000 years but it appears Costa Rica was sparsely populated and a relative backwater in the pre-Columbian era. There is little sign of major communities and none of the impressive stone architecture that characterized the more advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica to the north and the Andes to the south. When Columbus arrived near Lim¢¢n on September 18, 1502 on his third and last voyage to the Americas, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous inhabitants They lived in several autonomous tribes, all with distinct cultures and customs. Costa Rica 's only major archaeological site is at Guayabo, 30 miles east of San Jos‚‚, where an ancient city, dating back to 1000 B.C. and though to

Costa Rica has a narrow Pacific coastal region that rises abruptly into central highlands. The highlands, forming the rugged backbone of the country, descend much more gradually toward the generally wider Caribbean (Atlantic) Plain. The Pacific coast is generally lowland in character, and, like the Caribbean coast, it is lined with white sandy beaches. The country has made use of its

Their food, homes, and general way of life was something completely new to me. I loved the bright coloration of all the buildings, and how simple they were. All the people I had the chance to meet were extremely friendly, and seemed to be proud of who they were and where they were from. The food was also amazing. I have never been so happy to eat as I was while in Costa Rica. Every meal it seemed like there was something new to try. Rice and beans were a staple of every meal, but I never got tired of eating them. The fruit was fresh and delicious, as was everything else that I got the chance to eat. I didn’t expect the meals to be as good and filling as they were, but man was I wrong. I don’t believe I ever finished a meal without being completely and utterly

Canal, Andes Mountains, and the Gulf of Mexico all affect cultural differences in parts of Latin

Costa Rica’s first major difference compared to its neighbors is that of the size of Costa Rica’s indigenous population. The indigenous population in Costa Rica was much smaller than its neighboring nations. Due to this not many Spaniards wanted to be sent to Costa Rica, because would mean that they themselves would have to participate in the work due to little to no indigenous to act as slaves. The prospect of this was very unappealing for one of the benefits most saw of leaving Spain was the idea that they could have a large amount of power without barely any work. This effected the culture that grew in Costa Rica. Not only did the Spaniards have to work for themselves due to the lack of indigenous, but they also found that they had to pay the small amount of indigenous that were there to work. This is a large difference that Costa Rica’s neighbors, who typically just enslaved the indigenous. This impacted their culture by establishing a wealth

Tired of the long work hours, no breaks, and the mean boss? Well it is time to take a vacation! The soft beaches, warm water, and cool breeze make Costa Rica a great place for vacation. Costa Rica is a refreshing vacation, full of life and activity! A few events Costa Rica can offer are scuba diving, zip lining through the forest, and horseback riding through the mountains. Initially, people first notice the tall swaying trees and the huge rolling mountains. However, the deep blue sea begs for people to come take a swim. The aquatic life in Costa Rica is out of this world, it is beautiful! The high-pitched laughter of people flying down the zip lines is a hard temptation to resist. Feeling the cool breeze and smelling the fresh forest air is

As for Costa Rican food it is not for the weak of heart because it can be heavy in oil. A lot of the dishes have a lot of rice and beans in them which is considered the main staple of the Costa Rican

The official name of Costa Rica is Republica de Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a country located in Central America; between Nicaragua and Panama. The country area is comparative to West Virginia though slightly smaller and borders both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica has a tropical and subtropical climate. Its dry seasons are from December to April, while its rainy seasons are from May to November. Costa Rica's capital is San Jose. There's a lot of great things in Costa Rica that attracts tourism; including Volcanos. There are four volcanos, two of them are active and rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanos, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65. (Costa Rica, Factbook)

It is estimated that Nicaraguans have been migrating to Costa Rica for at least 100 years (“Nicaragua’s”). At the end of the 19th century and during the beginning of the 20th century, Nicaraguans came to Costa Rica to work in banana plantations on the Caribbean coast and the mines in Abangares. In the 50’s, Nicaraguan seasonal migration satisfied labor on cotton plantations and by the mid-70’s, 50,000 Nicaraguans were registered in Costa Rica (“Nicaragua’s”).

Costa Rica is located right above South America bordered by Nicaragua, Panama, the Caribbean Sea, and the South Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica was once a calm place to retire, but once more and more people started retiring with less money, they realized that living in Costa Rica cost less overall. Therefore, with such an increase in foreign business, the business life of Costa Rica also changed.