Costa RicaHanna O’Connor

Where Is It? Bordered to the north by

Nicaragua

Bordered to the south by Panama

The capital is San José

To the east is the Caribbean Sea

To the west is the Pacific Ocean

Costa Rican Flag

The blue stands for the sky, opportunities, idealism and perseverance.

The white stands for peace, wisdom and happiness.

The red stands for the blood spilt by martyrs for independence, as well as the warmth and generosity of the people.

The stripes are in the ratio 1:1:2:1:1.

Popular Sports Some common sports in Costa

Rica include snorkeling, fishing, surfing and soccer.

Many people like to surf because of the many popular surfing areas along the Pacific Ocean

Fishing is also popular because of the many good places to go out for the day. There is salt water and fresh water fishing.

Snorkeling is popular as well since there are quite a few areas to go and many companies that will take you on day trips.

Soccer is also very popular with the natives.

Popular Foods

Costa Ricans usually start their day off with a traditional

bowl of Gallo Pinto.

Fried Yucca and Plantain make great snacks in Costa Rica and are the only vegetables used in Costa Rican cuisine.

A traditional lunchtime food is Casado which is tomato, salad, plantain, cabbage and meat.

Popular Dress (Women) There are many different ways

women dress in Costa Rica There is a traditional dress;

worn usually in folkloric presentations or for holidays. It consists of a long, tiered skirt in bright colors and a white crocheted blouse.

Daily wear usually consists of a skirt that hits just below the knee or long pants and either a casual or dressy shirt. Nothing risky though.

Wearing short shorts and thin-strapped tank tops is frowned upon.

Popular Dress (Men) Traditional clothing for men in

Costa Rica is simple but also elegant. Similar to the women, a traditional Costa Rican costume for men includes a cummerbund which is usually red.

On a regular basis, daily clothing in Costa Rica is more or less the same as you would find in America; t-shirts and pants. One interesting point about clothing in Costa Rica is that even in the warm weather and tropical climate, men rarely walk around wearing shorts but prefer to wear

pants. Costa Ricans (men & women)

usually only wear shorts when going to the beach.

Major Religions

Over 90% of the Costa Rican population is Catholic.

About 15% of the population are Evangelic protestants.

Greetings

Costa Ricans are very polite & quick to shake hands or kiss someone’s cheek

If you are invited to someone’s home you usually bring flowers, chocolates, or something special from your country.

If offered food try to eat it, don’t say no, they don’t like to say no, just say “gracias”

Education 93% literacy rate in people over 10

years old. In 1869, the country became one of the

first in the world to make the education free and necessary.

By 1920 half of the population was literate and by the 70’s  89% were able to read and write.

Since the 70’s the country has put 28% of the national budget into its education system.

Only $20 per year is required for schooling.

The country has four universities (state-funded).

The University of Costa Rica (UCR) is the oldest & largest university and enrolls roughly 35,000 students per year. Most are enrolled on scholarships, but even paying full tuition isn’t hard at all with it being only $200 a semester .

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