The students' individual reports follow.

Environmentalism and Ecology

Farming, export production, cattle ranching and logging have taken a heavy toll on Costa Rica's natural resources. The waste of these resources, which are either discarded or not considered high enough quality for use as export products, further compounds Costa Rica's deforestation problem.(1)

One of the solutions Costa Rica has come up with to tackle deforestation is to grant residency status to individuals who wish to move to Costa Rica, as well as provide a tax break to individuals who invest money in reforestation projects.(2) Another solution has been a so-called "debt for nature" agreement under which private companies provide their cash resources to the United States' National Parks Foundation. The NPF then purchases Costa Rican debt with U.S. dollars at a discounted rate, which is turned into bonds. The Costa Rican government then repays the NPF as long as the American investment is used for conservation programs.(3)

To help alleviate other problems related to deforestation, in the 1970s, the government banned the export of 7,690 tree species. An agreement between the National Biodiversity Institute and Merck, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, provides extra revenue that can be used to provide protection for other endangered plant and animal species. NBI provides Merck with plant and insect species in exchange for any royalties that stem from marketable products made by the pharmaceutical company.(4)

Education

With an impressive 93 percent literacy rate among its citizens, Costa Rica surpasses its neighboring nations in terms of the access to and scope of public education resources that it offers.

This heavy investment in education is part of a legacy that began in the late 19th century. The nation's first President, Jose Maria Castro, a teacher, professed that public education was not only the responsibility of the government, but also fundamental for the proper building of the nation.(5)

In 1869, Costa Rica became one of the first countries in the world to make education both free and mandatory among its citizens. During the next century, literacy rates soared. While in the late 1800s only one out of every ten Costa Rican citizens could read and write, by 1920 nearly 50 percent were literate, and by 1980, this number had increased to nearly 90 percent.(6)

A pressing issue facing the Costa Rican government today is the isolation of the rural areas in terms of higher education facilities. Beyond the sixth grade, public libraries, which are said to be "in desperate need of books for funds,"(7) are the only way rural citizens can continue an education beyond high school.

Politics and history: 1502- 1821

On Sept. 8, 1502, Christopher Columbus dropped anchor off the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, but left 18 days later, disheartened. The "Rich Coast" harbored no gold.(8) The Spanish explored Costa Rica further in 1506.(9) The natives became the property of Spanish grant holders.(10)

The conquest of Costa Rica ended in the late 1500's. About 400,000 natives had been wiped out by smallpox. The land could be claimed without intervention.(11) The first settlements, Cartago and Aranuez, were desolate. The common currency was cocoa beans. The first export was mules, and cocoa and tobacco soon followed.

In 1641, a slave ship wrecked off the coast of nearby Nicaragua. The black slaves aboard and the Costa Rican Indians intermarried and formed a race called Miskito. They allied with British pirates, devastated the cocoa fields, and were ultimately responsible for the collapse of all exports.

Newly arriving Spanish colonists gravitated to the Talamanca area to stock up on slave labor. The Indian Resettlement Policies of 1747 "relocated" hundreds to the Central Valley, where they were perceived as more useful.(12) On Sept. 15, 1821, the Guatamalan captain general proclaimed the independence of the Central American provinces. Costa Rica was informed four weeks later, by mail.(13)

Politics and History: 1822 - 1948

After freeing itself from Spanish rule, in 1825, Costa Rica's voting population elected a congress that drafted the country's first constitution.(14) The constitution protected freedom of thought and granted each state the right to establish its own government, congress, Supreme Court and army. This constitution would be dismantled and re-written several times throughout the fledgling years of the nation.(15)

During Costa Rica's formative years, a new crop, introduced by Cuba in 1808, emerged and helped structure the nation.(16) The crop was coffee, largely neglected by Ticos until iron-fisted dictator Braulio Carrillo promoted its cultivation in the 1830's by establishing programs that gave coffee saplings to peasant farmers and offered incentive for cultivating the bean.(17) The Central Valley offered ideal geo-climatic conditions for coffee, a labor-intensive crop that meant employment for many countrymen, enabling even peons to share the astounding profits.(18)

But with coffee's explosive rise came a deep chasm between the rich and the poor. A coffee elite rose and wrested control of the government, undermining the nation's democracy with coups, election fraud and the like.(19)

To accommodate coffee exportation, railroads were built that required the labor of immigrants. Banana crops emerged along the railroads as a means of making use of nearby land.(20) By the 1930s, exploitation of banana workers became one of many social injustices that sparked subversive movements that eventually erupted into an explosive civil war.(21)

Led by José Figueres, the subversive Opposition group that declared war on the government and triumphed initiated a new era of justice and democracy.(22)

Recent Events

October 1999: Two elderly U.S. citizens were murdered in a remote area of Guanacaste during an apparent robbery attempt.(23)

March 2000: Two college-age American women were murdered near the town of Cahuita, on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.(24)

The streets of San Jose came alive with the country's largest protest in decades as legislation aimed at privatizing Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, Costa Rica's main utility provider, was read in congress.(25)

Police arrested 28 protesters who blocked the main highway between San Jose and Costa Rica's main food-producing region, Cartago. The farmers were protesting limited credit availability and an increase in the amount of imported vegetables allowed into the country under free trade agreements.(26)

June 2000: Costa Rica's nine percent increase in tourism is one of the world's largest gains, according to the World Tourism Organization.(27)

Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (cq) (PUSC), the county's ruling party, decided not to propose legislation that would allow former President Oscar Arias to run for reelection.(28)

July 2000: Rafael Sequeira, President of ICE, resigned July 4 in the wake of the government's failed attempt to privatize the country's utility provider.(29)

August 2000: A tour guide was killed and two American tourists were badly burned when

Volcan Arenal erupted August 23.(30)

Three days after the explosion of Volcan Arenal, a small Sansa airplane traveling from La Fortuna to Tamarindo crashed into the volcano's face, killing the plane's ten occupants.(31)

Geography and Climate

Costa Rica is one of seven countries in Central America. Bordering it to the north is Nicaragua, to the south, Panama, to the east, the Caribbean Sea and to the west the Pacific Ocean. It is approximately 51,000 square kilometers, which is two times the area of Vermont, and it has a population of approximately 3.7 million people (as of July 2000).(32) More than half of its population lives in the metropolis of San Jose, Costa Rica's capital city.(33)

San Jose is more cosmopolitan than any of the other capital cities in its region. Here you will find shopping malls, department stores, fast-food restaurants and internet cafés. It is a popular stopping ground for tourists; however, a rise in theft has become a problem.

Costa Rica's landscape is very diverse with 12 different tropical zones. Unlike the United States, Costa Rica only has two seasons--the dry season and the wet season. The dry season generally runs from late December through April. It is referred to by Ticos as their summer season. The rest of the year is the wet, or winter season.(34

Along the east and west coasts are long stretches of beach. Surfers flock from all over the world to Jaco and Domincal on Costa Rica's Pacific side to surf. Many beaches such as these are developed for tourism, while others are remote, rarely used and may be too dangerous for swimming because of deadly rip currents. Costa Rica is also blessed with tropical reefs, rain forests, active volcanoes and acres of virgin rain forest. Scuba diving, hiking, canopy tours, kayaking, white-water rafting and world-class ocean fishing are some of the adventure activities Costa Rica has to offer.

The Media

Costa Rica has a strong tradition of freedom of expression and democracy. Laws safeguarding press freedom were enacted as early as 1835, and the constitution of 1949 guarantees freedom of expression. However, the Costa Rican media's freedom seems to stem more from the particular political climate than from a legal framework.(35)

Costa Rica's high literacy rate may also explain the relatively high number of media outlets in the country, which has six daily newspapers, more than 100 radio stations, and seven on-air TV stations. These numbers are high considering the small size of the country, which counts about three million inhabitants.

The lack of a strong ideological orientation is a major trait of the Costa Rican media. For some, it is because of the non-confrontational and consensus-seeking nature of Costa Ricans that media leaders have shown respect to officials. As La Nación editor Eduardo Ulibarri notes, "Costa Ricans traditionally strive to be polite, to avoid stringent disagreements."(36)

For others, it is because of the strong influence of the private sector that a tough right-wing, conservative ideology predominates. Many critics have decried the right-wing orientation of the media in Costa Rica.

Moreover, critics say that the main media outlets (Channel 7, La Nación, and Radio Monumental) take all advertising revenues, which makes it hard for competing media to survive. Indeed, La Nación, a giant media conglomerate, is tied to big businesses such as The Costa Rican Brewery Company. While this trend toward the growing influence of the private sector in the media is becoming commonplace in many other countries, such as the United States, it should be noted that pressure on the media might have dramatic consequences in such a small-sized and relatively poor country.

The licensing system is also a major characteristic of Costa Rican journalism practice. The Colegio de Periodistas de Costa Rica is a guild-like institution that was formed in 1969 and has about 800 members. It sees itself as upholding professional standards. All practicing journalists must be licensed of the Colegio de Periodistas de Costa Rica, which also requires all of its members to have a journalism degree. Many view this licensing system as controversial.

Finally, it should be mentioned that Latin America is one of the fastest growing areas in terms of Internet use, access, and production.

Religion and Society

On September 17, 1502, Christopher Columbus landed in Cariary, a town on the Atlantic Coast of Costa Rica now called Puerto Limo(n. Puerto Limo(n was home to many West Indian slaves brought in from Jamaica and the Caribbean to help build factories and work on banana plantations.(37)

Slavery was abolished in 1824 in Costa Rica; however, West Indians and Jamaicans living by the coast were not allowed to move west, away from Puerto Limón, until 1948.

Minorities are found mostly in the Guanacaste Province and Puerto Limón particularly because they were brought to Costa Rica via the Atlantic Ocean.(38)

Although Costa Rica is predominantly a middle class country with a high degree of educated people, a relatively small elitist class exists, made up of extremely wealthy Costa Ricans. On the other end of the spectrum, however, there is extreme poverty in Costa Rica.(39)

Native Costa Ricans, known as "Ticos," are friendly, extremely social, and known for being conservative and not usually open to strange or different ideas. Costa Rican culture and the values of many Ticos emanate from the larger central region cities of San Jose, Cartago, Heredia and Alejuela.

Costa Rica has a history of preferring compromise and peace instead of revolution and violence like its neighbor, Nicaragua, and for this reason, Costa Rica is often referred to as the "Switzerland" of Central America.(40)

Costa Ricans have freedom of religion as long as their forms of worship do not oppose the universal morality or good customs outlined in their constitution.(41) The Roman Catholic and Apostolic religion is the country's official religion. Costa Rica was a part of Nicaragua's Diocese until 1921, when the nation became a separate ecclesiastical province.(42)

Protestant missionaries began coming into Costa Rica and built their first Protestant church in 1848. Although a rivalry still exists between the Protestants and Catholics, Costa Rica has remained a peaceful country, and religion is not a huge issue for most Ticos.

Literature, Music, Arts and Crafts

Literature: The "hunger, exploitation, armed struggles, [and] civilians who flee their home and become refugees in neighboring countries" offer a cause for literature creation, according to Enrique Jaramillo Levi, editor of When New Flowers Bloomed: Short Stories by Women Writers from Costa Rica and Panama. Unfortunately, slow social and economic development do not allow for wide circulation and exposure of the literature. Many of the oppressed people in Central America rarely see the literature written for and about them.(43) But despite the challenges of reaching the oppressed, Costa Rica produces the most and best novels of Central America.(44)

Art: Traditionally, men used ox carts to transport coffee from the fields. Many wives hand-painted the carts to distinguish which cart belonged to which family. Today, ox carts are painted with bright colors and sold to tourists or collectors.(45)

Many painters, drawers, photographers and sculptors have come from Costa Rica. Francisco Amighetti, an engraver and painter, is one of the country's most prolific artists, having produced over 500 pieces of art.(46)

Music: Melico Salazar Zuniga, born in 1887, is one of Costa Rica's most renowned singers of all time. Because he lived one block from the National Theater in San Jose, people say that he was "born under the awnings of the theater." Salazar traveled the world and received his first media recognition at 17, but his career ended shortly after the civil war, when he voiced his support for President Calderon Guardia, who lost. Soon after, Salazar lost all financial support from the government and the support of his fans. He died in poverty. Years after his death, he was recognized as one of Costa Rica's most talented musicians.(47)

Flora and Fauna

Prior to the 20th century, two-thirds of Costa Rica was covered by dense rainforests teeming with wildlife. But as a result of Costa Rica's rapid deforestation rate, the country now ranks among the Central American countries having the smallest percentage of intact original rainforests.(48) Only five percent of densely forested land exists outside of areas protected through conservation efforts, and a mere one percent of Costa Rica's northwest Pacific lowland dry forests remain standing.(49)

Costa Rica's animal population has shrunk with the forests, and today, a disturbingly large number of species native to Costa Rica are endangered.

All of the carnivorous big cats living in the Neotropics, including the puma, jaguar and ocelot, are classified as either threatened or endangered species due to loss of habitat, being hunted for their pelts and for preying on expensive livestock. (50) The odd-looking tapir, with its short legs, horse-like snout, and stocky body was once found all over Costa Rica but now is seen only in wildlife reserves. (51) The rare Giant Anteater, which grows up to 6.5 feet long, is only sporadically found in parts of the country.(52)

More commonly seen in Costa Rica are 830 species of birds, including toucans, macaws, trogons, and tanagers, (53) as well as four kinds of monkeys: red-backed squirrel monkeys, white-throated capuchins, Central American spider monkeys, and mantled Howler monkeys.(54) Caimans, American Crocodile, iguanas, 120 species of frogs, (55) and an assortment of deadly snakes, including the notorious Fer-de-lance, vipers, coral snakes, and enormous boa constrictors, (56) are also native to this part of Central America.

--Reports compiled through the research of class members.

Citations

(1)"Conservation". last updated: 8/29/00. online: 8/30/00 www.cloudforestalive.org/library/whatis.htm

(2)"Conservation". last updated: 8/29/00. online: 8/30/00 www.cloudforestalive.org/library/whatis.htm

(3)Silvia Lara. "Inside Costa Rica." (Interhemispheric Resource Center) 1995.

(4)"Conservation". last updated: 8/29/00. online: 8/30/00 www.cloudforestalive.org/library/whatis.htm

(5)Astrid Fischel. "Politics and Education in Costa Rica." Scholarly Research Paper first presented at the Centre of Latin American Studies, Saint Antony's College, Oxford, England. Found at URL address: http://www.cidi.oas.org/educ40anivFisch.htm. First accessed on 9/1/00.

(6)Tom Barry. "Costa Rica: A Country Guide." (Albuquerque, NM: The Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center) 1989.

(7)"Elementary and High Schools- article published by infocostarica staff. From Web URL http://www.infocostarica.com/education/schools.html. First accessed on 9/13/00. Last updated. 9/11/00.

(8)Harry Pariser, "Adventure Guide to Costa Rica." (Edison, N.J.: Hunter Publishing) 1996. pg. 52

(9)Harvey and Donna Haber, "Insight Guide Costa Rica." (London: Paul Murphy) 1998. pg. 30

(10)Harry Pariser, "Adventure Guide to Costa Rica." (Edison, N.J.: Hunter Publishing) 1996. pg. 53

(11)Rob Rachowieke and John Thompson, "Costa Rica." (Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planer Publications.) 2000 pg. 16

(12)Harvey and Donna Haber, "Insight Guide Costa Rica," (London: Paul Murphy) 1998. pg. 41

(13)Harry Pariser, "Adventure Guide to Costa Rica." (Edison, N.J.: Hunter Publishing) 1996. Pg. 55

(14)Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz and Karen Zubris Biesanz, "The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica," p. 20.

(15)Id. at 20.

(16)Rob Rachowiecki and John Thompson, "Lonely Planet: Costa Rica," 17 - 18.

(17)Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz and Karen Zubris Biesanz, "The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica," p. 20.

(18)Id. at 21.

(19)Id. at 21 - 22.

(20)Id. at 24.

(21)Id. at 28.

(22)Id. at 29.

(23)Costa Rica - United States Consular Information Sheet, http://travel.state.gov/costa_rica.html (August 29, 2000)

(24)Costa Rica - United States Consular Information Sheet, http://travel.state.gov/costa_rica.html (August 29, 2000)

(25)"Serious setback for IT revolution," Latin American Caribbean & Central America Report, 9 May 2000, p. 3

(28)Latin American Caribbean & Central America Report, 28 March 2000, p. 4

(29)"Making the most of natural resources," Latin American Caribbean & Central America Report, 13 June 2000, p. 2

"Serious setback for IT revolution," Latin American Caribbean & Central America Report, 9 May 2000, p. 3

(30)Latin American Caribbean & Central America Report, 13 June 2000, p. 4

(31)"Privatisation," Latin American Caribbean & Central America Report 18 July 2000, p.3

(32)Jeffrey Van Fleet and Christine Pratt, "One dies, two hurt in eruption," Tico Times Online, http://www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm (August 27, 2000)

(33)"Bodies found on Costa Rican volcano at plane crash site," CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/08/27/costarica.crash.03.index.html (August 27, 2000)

(34)http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/costa_rica_0600_bgn

(35)Lara, Silvia. "Inside Costa Rica." (Albuquerque, NM: Resource Press Center) Sept, 1995.

(36)http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cs

(37)Heuvel, J., V. & Dennis, E. (1995). "Changing patterns: Latin America's vital media." (NY: The Freedom Forum Media Study Center at the University of Columbia).

(38)Ibid

(39)Theodore S. Creedman, "Historical Dictionary of Costa Rica," (The Scarecrow Press, 1991).

(40)Arthur S. Banks, Thomas C. Miller, "Political Handbook of the World," (New York: CSA Publications) 1998.

(41)Conversation with Dr. Manuel Vasquez, Associate professor, Religion of Latin America, University of Florida, 8/28/00.

(42)Theodore S. Creedman, "Historical Dictionary of Costa Rica," (The Scarecrow Press, 1991).

(43)www.usembassy.or.cr, Internet site visited 8/28/00, site last updated Aug. 2000, Public Affairs Office, Embassy of the United States in Washington D.C. organized this site.

(44)Philip J. Williams, "The Catholic Church and Politics in Nicaragua and Costa Rica," (Pittsburgh, PA.: University of Pittsburgh Press) 1989.

(45) Enrique Jaramillo Levi, ed. "When New Flowers Bloomed: Short Stories by Women Writers from Costa Rica and Panama." (Pennsylvania: Latin American Review Press) 1991, p. 9.

(46)Levi, p.10

(47) (www.amerisol.com/costarica/mercadito.html)

(48) (www.infocostarica.com/people/melico.html)

(49) (www.infocostarica.com/people/melico.html)

(50)Les Beletsky, "The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide" (San Diego: Natural World Academic Press, 1998), 43.

(51)Id., at 43-44.

(52)Id., at 219.

(53)Id., at 218.

(54)Id., 206.

(55)Id., at 101.

(56)Id., at 202.

(57)Harry Pariser, "Adventure Guide to Costa Rica." (New Jersey: Hunter Publishing ) 1996 34-37.

(57)Id., at 86.