2. Costa Rica By Izzy Beshouri and Anna Osborne

3. Dressing for ladies and girls Women and ladies in Costa Rica dress more modestly than many women dress in the United States. Natural fibers are more popular than polyester fabrics, and more appropriate when you are in steamy jungle conditions. Girls and young ladies usually wear dresses that are brighter and more colorful for a happy and cheerful look, sometimes they put some color in into their outfit by putting a flower in their hair.

4. Food Most traditional dishes in Costa Rica consist of rice and beans with other ingredients like chicken or fish and different sorts of vegetables, which is why they are really cheap. The most common dish for breakfast is Gallo Pinto which consists of rice mixed with black beans, served with natilla (sour cream), eggs (scrambled) and fried plantain. Costa Ricans usually drink a cup of coffee or fresh fruit juice with it. For lunch, Casados (beans, rice) are served with some sort of meat or fish and a salad, fried plantains, white cheese and corn tortilla. The difference between Gallo Pinto and Casado is that in Casados, rice and the bean are served side by side and not mixed. There is no typical meal for dinner, but another typical main dish in Costa Rica is arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) which can be served with different vegetables from the area like camote, chayote and yuca. Seafood is also common thanks to the country’s proximity to both the Pacific and Caribbean. Gallo Pinto -

5. Attractions Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Area: 25,100 acres Temperature: Ranges from 70ºF to 90ºF Precipitation 120 inches annual average Location: Alajuela Province, 80 miles N of San Jose Date of Creation: 20 January 1984

6. Map Costa Rica’s Map Total Area: 19,730 sq mi (51,100 sq km).

7. Population Costa Rica’s population is 4,516,220 people. Costa Rica was taken over by an estimated 400,000 Indians when Columbus found it and explored it in 1502.

8. Flag The Costa Rican flag has five horizontal stripes. The top and bottom stripe are blue, the middle stripe is red and the stripes above and below the red stripe are white. The red stripe is double the size of the blue and white stripes.

9. Animals Species of the Costa Rican frog, The popular Red-eyed tree frog, the Poison dart frog and the Smokey jungle frog. The monkey industry consists four different species, the white-faced Capuchin, the spider monkey, the squirrel monkey and the howler monkey. Costa Rica Is home to two different types of macaws, The scarlet macaw and the great green Buffon’s macaw. There are four main sea turtle types in Costa Rica; the leather back, the hawksbill, the loggerhead and the green sea turtle.

10. Music The country of Costa Rica has many types of music, some kinds of music that Costa Ricans listen to are, Rock and Roll, Pop, Reggae and Marimba. Costa Rica's culture, with its diverse mix of African, European and native expressions, lends well to varying kinds of musical tastes and trends.

11. Language Costa Rica as you know speaks Spanish but here are some words so you can see more about how they speak. Soda: A basic Costa Rican café Pechanga: Party Guile: A Kid Saludes: Greetings

12. Climate Because Costa Rica is located only about eight degrees north of the equator, the climate is tropical year round. However, this varies depending on elevation and rainfall. The location that receives the most rain is the Caribbean.(Humidity is also higher on the Caribbean side than on the Pacific side).