Costa Rica Research Paper

The flag of Costa Rica was officially adopted on September 29, 1848. The blue and white are the original colors used by the United Provinces of Central America, while the combined red, white and blue are modeled after the colors of the French Tricolore.

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

In Latin America, if the issue of democracy is raised, a reference almost obligatory is Costa Rica. This is located as a country with a democratic tradition of many decades, which provides social and political stability without many points of comparison in the region. This characteristic has implied that Costa Rica appears throughout history as a role model, evidence that is based on the position that it acquires in the various international indexes about democracy and protection of political and civil liberties. However, this condition could be questioned and discussed, since over the past two decades there has been a series of political, economic and social transformations that call into question the myth of being the "paradise" of democracy. In addition, a series of phenomena have emerged that seem to account for transformations that have been brewing for several decades and that are now beginning to generate problems, which prompt reflection about the construction of the notion of democracy in Costa Rica and how that has impacted in a certain

Costa Rican cuisine is known for being flavorful, yet fairly mild, with high reliance on fresh fruit and vegetables. Rice and black beans are a staple of most traditional Costa Rican meals, often served three times a day; gallo pinto, a breakfast dish of rice and beans mixed together with onions and bell peppers, is often considered the Costa Rican national dish.

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

Costa Rica located in Central America with the capital of San Jose and near the pacific ocean, has Panama as well as Nicaragua as their neighboring countries. It also has amazing beaches all around such as Manuel Antonio, Playa Uvita, Tortuguero, Jaco and much more. Popular foods are casado, tres leches, ceviche, and gallo pinto. There are many festivals in Costa Rica one of them is the “Envision Festival” consisting of live concerts, yoga and trapeze, this festival is likely to occur in the month of February where people all around the world go to join. Fiestas de los Diablitos is also a well known festival in Costa Rica, meaning “festivals of the little Devils” is likely to take place in December and in the second half of February in Boruca

Costa Rica is located in central America. Its absolute location is 10 degrees north of the equator and 84 degrees west. The relative location is between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America. Costa Rica is partnered next to Liberia, Quesada, Puntarenas, and San Isidro etc., all these places next to Costa Rica are not far away from each other and are also nice to visit. Costa Rica is surrounded by three bodies of water, and these three bodies of water are the Gulf of Nicoya, Pacific Ocean and The Caribbean

You might even get to pick the pig you'll be eating. Cuy with potatoes is a common street food in the sierra region. Travelers should not order wild game unless they are certain it is farmed rather than hunted. Seafood is often available inland, though it is most plentiful and best on the coast, where shrimp, lobster, and a variety of fish are always on the menu. The coastal region is famous for its ceviche, a cold mixture of fish, conch, and/or shrimp marinated in lime juice and seasonings. The marinade is said to "cook" the fish or seafood. Ceviche is a great treat for lunch or as an appetizer. The potato is the king of Ecuadorean cuisine. It is eaten at almost every meal, and as snacks. You'll find over 200 varieties of potatoes in the Andean region, from tiny spuds no bigger than a peanut to larger varieties as big as a large orange, with colors ranging from yellow to brown to purple to blue. Chile peppers are used heavily, especially chopped and mixed with onion and salt to form salsa de ají, which is offered alongside most meals. Along with broccoli, palm hearts, cassava, and asparagus, you me across malanga (also known as yautía), a starchy yam native to the tropics. Patacones, or fried plantains, are

Costa Rica, a country of Central America, covers an area of 19,730 square miles. The capital is San José. Extending from northwest to southeast, Costa Rica is bounded on the north by Nicaragua, along its 185-mile northeastern coastline by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast by Panama, and along its 630-mile southwestern coastline by the Pacific Ocean.

It’s a bit problematic, in terms of race, in Costa Rica. Some Costa Ricans believe that they are Europeans because they produce coffee like in Europe and they believe that they are white. Another group of Costa Ricans believe that they are a “melting pot” of cultures, not just one.

     Since most of the people in Costa Rica are of the Catholic religion most of the major Costa Rican holidays are related to the church. Easter or Holy week also called Semana Santa, is a huge holiday and if you are in Costa Rica during this holiday, the dates vary annually, you will most likely see colorful parades, bullfights, rodeos, dancing, fireworks, fiestas, and church celebrations. Usually during this week businesses will be closed. Other holidays include March 19th which is St. Joseph’s Day who is the patron saint of San Jose, and September 15th which is Independence Day , a celebration of their independence from Spain in 1821. Another big holiday season is Christmas and the New Year. Most ticos (the name for local Costa Rican’s) take the whole week from Christmas until the New Year off from work so in turn almost all businesses are closed during this holiday season.

Vegetation: Costa Rica is massively diverse in its flora. The most common type of flowering plant it the heliconia, which are large red, yellow or orange flowers.

Costa Rica provided me with a fresh, inspiring, and eye-opening portal into the world of South America. My time in Costa was filled with self-love, self-acceptance and self- appreciation. I experienced so much growth, discomfort, confusion, compassion, generosity, exhaustion, and most abundantly, love. Beautiful workshops; some teaching me about the power of my yoni, others focusing on the knowledge of the self and the core that each individual must return to within their own body and soul. Indian temple and body appreciation dance classes, and every single beautiful artist and individual that graced me with their

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.

The last 15 years in Costa Rica have brought about many changes in the economy. Costa Rica is the only country in Central America to have industry profits out number agriculture as the main source of revenue. Technology and tourism account for the main Gross National Product (GNP) producers respectively. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 2001 was $15.2 billion. The inflation rate for 2001 was 11%. Per capita income in 2001 was $3850 U.S. The currency in Costa Rica is the Costa Rican Colon (CRC) and the U.S. dollar. Total exports to the U.S. in 2001 were $3 billion with imports from the U.S. at $3.2 billion. The current exchange rate with the U.S. dollar is $1 U.S. equals 437 Costa Rican Colons. Costa Rica invested approximately $531 million in the U. S. in 2001 with U.S. investors spending approximately $781 million in/on Costa Rican investments. Tourism in Costa Rica generates approximately $2 billion a year with tourists numbering over 1 million. Hotel chain giants such as Marriott, Hilton, and Four Seasons are generating very nice profits in Costa Rica with each successive year better than the last. Other major investors are Itel (employs 2,000 people at a $300 million dollar processor plant), Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, Unysis, and Acer.