Costa Rica by Layla Carbonell

Week 1: Country Overview

1301310925 — 2024-08-17 21:42:10 UTC

Costa Rica is a Spanish speaking country located in Central America with a population of around 5.23 million people. The capital of Costa Rica is San Jose. It's landscape mostly consists of beaches, volcanoes, and rainforests. In fact, around one fourth of Costa Rica is covered in protected forests. Costa Rica has an average year round temperature of 75-90 degrees which makes it a nice location for travels and vacation.

Week 2: Current Events

1301310925 — 2024-08-18 02:53:54 UTC

In August of 2024 Costa Rica banned a harmful chemical named chlorothalonil due to Isabel Mendez, a biologist and ecologist. Chlorothalonil is a harmful chemical, used since 2019, that is used in many agricultural supplies and used on a variety of vegetables. This chemical would poison nearby water sources, therefore effecting surrounding communities who would use the water as their main water source. This was not a easy case to win but after Isabel Mendez gathered groups and the media, the government had to ban the chemical.

Week 3: Traditions

1301310925 — 2024-08-20 19:32:00 UTC

Traditional Costa Rican clothing all shares the same basics but can vary depending on which part of the country you visit. Woman traditionally wear colorful and long skirts with a ruffled shoulder-less blouse and a black hair ribbon. Men traditionally wear white, black or denim pants and with a white shirt and a red belt. They will sometimes wear a kerchief and a white brimmed hat called a chonet as well. There are also many cultural celebrations such as Juan Santamaria Day celebrated on April 11th, Fiestas Palmares celebrated in January, and Fiestas de los Diablitos celebrated December 30th through January 2nd. All of these significant traditional celebrations are full of colorful costumes, decorations, food, and more.

Week 4: Tourism

1301310925 — 2024-08-30 19:01:33 UTC

Costa Rica is full of beautiful locations for tourists to visit on vacation. There are lots of National Parks such as the Manuel Atonia and the Tortuguero National Park, as well as beautiful beaches along the coast like the Playa Tamarindo and the Santa Teresa beaches. Lots of tourists may also visit the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. Some might plan trips around certain festivals as well. Some travelers might go to Costa Rica to try some traditional foods such as Gallo pinto, Casado, ceviche, or olla de carne. If I were to go to Costa Rica I would try all the traditional foods and I would visit the beaches.

Week 5: Food

1301310925 — 2024-09-06 19:12:40 UTC

Costa Rica's national dish is Gallo Pinto which is made of white rice, black beans, peppers, onions, and other spices. This dish can be made with many other ingredients as well. Gallo Pinto is most traditionally known as a breakfast food however, this dish can be served any time of the day. Costa Rica's national dessert is Tres Leche which just means three milks. This dessert is a sponge cake that is soaked in three different types of milk and then served with either frosting or whipped cream. This countries most popular drink is a sweet cocktail called Guara Sour. If I were to try any of these dishes I would differently try the Gallo Pinto dish and the Tres Leche dessert.

Week 6: Music and Dance

1301310925 — 2024-09-16 22:54:58 UTC

Costa Rica's most famous music style is called Calypso. There are many other popular styles of music in Costa Rica including: salsa, merengue, cumbia. As for Costa Rican dance, their traditional dance is called Punto Guanacaste which is most commonly danced to folk music. Punto Guanacaste is also the official national Costa Rican dance.

Week 7: Sports

1301310925 — 2024-09-20 17:40:24 UTC

Costa Rica is the most famous futbol (soccer) team in the history of Central America. There national team is Federacion Costarricense de Futbol and they play in the Sabana Park in San Jose which is their national stadium. Costa Rica has played in six FIFA World Cup editions and has won 3 CONCACAF championships as well as leaded the Copa Centroamerica tournament. Costa Rica's best player is Joel Campbell who plays for the team Atlético Gonianiense.

Week 8: Highlights

1301310925 — 2024-09-26 19:27:34 UTC

I think Costa Rica is a very intresting country and I'm very glad I have chosen this place to research. Costa Rica is full of tons of bright and colorful cultural celebrations and traditions that make this country special and unique. They also have a bunch of popular sports and delicious foods as well great music and dances. I would love to visit Costa Rica one day and experience the culture of this country. I believe that Costa Rica is very different from the United States. Each of these country's have very different traditions, beliefs, languages, food, etc. I feel that living in both of these countries would be a very different experience. Some of my favorite things I've learned during this project is the different celebrations and the events thats happen during these holidays as well as the national drinks and foods and the ingredients that go into making them.