clearing up some common misconceptions about Costa Rica

I'm dedicating this entry to clearing up some common misconceptions many people have about Costa Rica. Everything you see on here is from a question I've been asked at one point or another, all from Americans.

It's somewhat understandable. We are hardly taught much about the rest of the world and its history in school. Mainly we learn about our own history and about or own states and government. A few times we may have to do a report on one country outside North America, but it's usually relatively large like China or Australia.

• Costa Rica is very small. Put New Hampshire and Vermont together and youll have Costa Rica, or about the size of West Virginia. 
• Costa Rica is NOT an island! I've gotten asked this many times. It's connected to Nicaragua up north and Panama down south, with the Pacific on the west coast and Caribbean on the east. It does have a large peninsula, the Nicoya Peninsula, on it's Northwestern side. I lived there in Tamarindo. 
• Costa Rica is nothing like Mexico! The culture is very different. The government is different. The people look different since their ethnic backgrounds are different. The same language is spoken, but in a much different dialect. Easier to understand if you ask me. Less rolling of the r's, much clearer and slower than Mexican Spanish. Based on my conversations, Ticos did not generally have a favorable opinion of Mexico. 
• Costa Ricans do not celebrate "dia de los muertos" or "day of the dead" like Mexico. They do celebrate Halloween. 
• The food is not spicy and again, nothing like Mexican food. You will have a very hard time finding anything spicy or heavily seasoned. Cheese is rarely included with any meals. Grilled chicken, beef, and sausage with white rice and black beans are common cuisine served with salad featuring only lettuce  and fried plantain(like banana). 
• Costa Ricans do not drink margaritas or drink tequila. Another Mexican thing. Rum and beer are much more popular. Cacique or "guaro" is a native Costa Rican liquor that's also quite popular. Tastes and looks like vodka except made with sugar cane so much sweeter and less alcohol content. There is only one legal brand that's manufactured by the government to cut down on bootleg distilleries. 

• There are many beautiful women in Costa Rica. That is true. 
• Costa Rica has nothing to do with Puerto Rico! The two countries are commonly confused. People ask me about going to Puerto Rico, I guess because the names are a little similar. 
• The United States does not own Costa Rica. Yes, I have been asked this. 
• Every country has violence and bad parts in big cities, but Costa Rica is not dangerous, especially compared with other Central American countries that have more poverty and civil unrest. I felt very safe everywhere in my travels through the country. There are more parts of Fort Worth and Dallas I would feel unsafe in at night then the entire country of Costa Rica. 
• In almost 3 months of being in Costa Rica, I never once saw people physically fighting. Sure I saw people yell back and forth or insult one another, but fist fights and shootings are MUCH more common here in America. I had only been back for just three days before I saw two people drunk people fighting here in Fort Worth. 
• They do drive dangerously in Costa Rica. Vehicles will pass dangerously close to one another on winding roads. "Alto" does not always means "stop". Stop signs often serve no purpose. The speed limits are slower than ours however. Riders on scooters and motorcycles drive wherever they please, down the middle of the lane, on the shoulder, wherever they can fit by. Drivers will only honk at you to get out of their way and most likely not put on their brakes, unlike in America, where the the pedestrian always has the right of way. 
• Costa Rica is NOT a third world country. While there is poverty in some parts, CR is like a gold mine compared to neighboring countries due to tourism. Most citizens have cell phones and some even run on a recently added 3G network. All cellular towers are owned by the government agency "ICE". Wireless internet is widely available in any developed town. Electronic stores are common. Cell phones are very expensive compared to here. There are no "two year contract price" or free phones with a contract. You pay the full price for the phone. Cable TV and satellite television are also very common.
• CR has a literacy rate of 96% and is ranked is ranked 62 out of 169 in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index.
• Costa Rica is a democracy, one of the world's 22 oldest, and runs on capitalism. The country has a female president. 
• Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover CR and did so in September 18, 1502. He named it Costa Rica or "Rich Coast". 

Well I hoped this helped for some people. If not, oh well, pura vida!