At this point you are almost finishing with the course homework!
For this task I want you to give your personal opinion about Costa Ricans and the perception foreigners have, in a small paragraph. So, read the article from the link below and then post your comment.
http://www.ticotimes.net/2017/02/12/costa-rica-lovers-affectionate-language-daily-life
http://www.ticotimes.net/2017/09/04/where-does-brete-come-from
Due date: March 2nd
Language says a lot about a culture and Costa Rica’s “costarriqueñismos” say alot. The literal meaning of a world probably doesn’t make sense, but here it is so normal. Based on the articles, you can deduce that those people find those words confusing and meaningless, also interesting and like to say them. “Costa Rica is not a country that tends to take itself too seriously” may be something usual on foreigner’s thoughts, we are always joking around and trying to make life funnier because it is our way to overcome our problems. But, you can be sure that they like this country thanks to that and many other things.
ResponderBorrarI think that foreigners see Costa Rica not only as a tourist destination for its biodiversity, beautiful landscapes and sense of adventure, but also as a place to stay for the long term. But, why? I believe that the answer lies with Costa Ricans and the way we live day by day. Most Costa Ricans are characterized by having a great mood, it does not matter if you look very serious, angry, or sad, within us always comes this desire to find the good and funny side of things. I think that when a foreigner witnesses him, even in the simplest conversation, he/she feels comfortable in our lands. There are somethings that also help foreigners see Costa Rica as a great place to live, they are "costarriqueñismos", for most of the foreigners it is difficult to understand their meaning, but once they do, they begin to feel they are part of them and they use them. Anyway, I think that foreigners see Costa Rica as a place where, regardless of what is happening to each Costa Rican, they all say: “¡Somos potencia mundial, papá!” And that is why we are a factor that motivates them to come to our country.
ResponderBorrarOur culture is characterized to be happy and I think that one thing to contribute to this characteristic is that we laugh or we make “chota” about everything. I think that the foreigners perceive that we are happy always because we try not to be affected by the bad situations we go through. The Costa Rican has learned to laugh about yourself and I think that this is a good practice to cope the routine about our lives. The “costarriqueñismos” are part of this culture, we invent or say word or phrases because hear funny and without realizing it we make it part of our vocabulay.
ResponderBorrarIf I had to choose a phrase in the first link, I would select " language for true love are funny and homely" and I could say that this is a good perspective about what Costa Rica represents in terms of love. I consider that, this is coming from the way in which Costa Ricans take relationships with more confidence. A couple is not looking for a love pair, this tends to be more like a friendly relationship, of course seen by outside, it could be not well taken, because in other places the excess of confidence will be seen not so properly. In other hand, in general terms, I can mention that like in each culture, there are different words, all is about getting used to the place we are. Maybe Costa Ricans have a little vague way to refer things or not kind of formal treatment, but is not like seen in a bad way.
ResponderBorrarThe people in Costa Rica is very happy, and is characterized because always have a good humor sense. the foreigners came to Costa rica because of the beatiful places to visit like beaches, mountains, rivers and beatiful landscapes but many of the foreigners came to Costa Rica to have fun whit the people that are very happy and some of the foreigners want to learn about some stranger words that are only in Costa Rica, the words called "costarriqueñismos" are one of the things that represent us as a country and the foreigners enjoy a lot to know the meaning of some differet words
ResponderBorrarMy personal opinion about Costa Ricans has always been very diverse, because I believe you can't generalize what you think about someone to a whole group, so I've always had mixed feelings. In one hand I think most Costa Ricans are good people at heart and do what they believe is best for them and for the people surrounding them. I think we're helpful and very friendly as well. On the other hand, I strongly believe there are a lot of issues that Costa Ricans need to address and one of them is respect and tolerance towards everybody, as well as trying to be a little more understanding of someone's situation rather than criticizing right away. As in the perception that foreigners have about us, I feel like they sense that we're friendly and lovely people, that are willing to help anyone that needs it. It's a shame that because of this year's presidential elections we're now being considered internationally as not tolerant and not educated individuals, but hopefully we can turn that around!
ResponderBorrarAlthough all the mistakes that Costa Rican people have in topics as politics, corruption, lazyness and the like, Costa Rican culture has a special and spicy way of being and living. For example, as the articles said, the way of taking life situations. We are ''charlatenes'' and that's what make us different from other cultures and also atractive, because of our charisma. But I think that we have to have some balance with this way of living and being because as a third world country we have a lot of things to inprove!
ResponderBorrarIt's funny to see their point of view about Costa Rica because they can see things we don't see. It's interesting how they see us, for many people we are happy and energetic, other people see us like a crazy country because we make up words and we use different words because we feel that it helps us to express our feelings better. We are expressive people, maybe for this reason we feel the words are not enough to express how we feel and we need to emphasize more changing the word. Maybe, seeing their point of view, makes us appreciate our culture and costumes.
ResponderBorrarI have always though that in Costa Rica we do not take things too seriously and the fact that it has been perceived for a person who is not Costarrican is surprising. In Costa Rica people can laugh about you for everything you do, no matter if it is a good or bad thing. I feel that we are like that because we like to make problems look more little and easier than they are, maybe that's why the world see us like the happiest country. Besides, in general terms we are nice people that enjoy sharing love and happiness and I think that this is a thing that foreings enjoy when they visit us.
ResponderBorrar