PURA VIDA

''Costa Rica is known for being a progressive country

that has more TEACHERS than Police officers,

more biological reserves than cities,

& a great dedication to social programs.''

''wherever there is a Costa Rican,

 no matter where he/she is, 

there will always be freedom.''

Costa Rica is famous for it's locals saying which is pura vida. it's something said daily. and i love it!

PURA VIDA: literally means Pura = pure and vida = life, but "Pure life" in Spanish would be "Vida pura" instead, so the real meaning is closer to "plenty of life", "full of life", "this is living!", "going great", "real living","Awesome!" or "cool!"

Education

Main article: Education in Costa Rica

Education is highly regarded in Costa Rica by most of the population. 6% of the country's gross domestic product is dedicated to education,^[4] which has had positive results as 96% of the population is literate. Primary (1st-6th grade) and secondary (7th-11th or 12th) are mandatory for all citizens. Public schools are free, and those who can afford it often opt to send their children to private institutions.^{[citation needed]}

The country has six major public universities: the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (ITCR), the Universidad Nacional (UNA), the Universidad Técnica Nacional, the Universidad para la Paz, and the Universidad de Educacion a Distancia (UNED).

[edit]Art

[edit]Painting and sculpture

During the beginning of the 19th century, wealthy Costa Ricans used to have their portraits painted by famous foreigners, usually European, who went to the country for holidays.^[5] It was not until some of these painters, like Bigot, Henry Etheridge, or Santiago Paramo settled in the country that Costa Ricans were taught techniques for drawing, oil painting, and sculpture.^[5] These teachers directly influenced artists who lived in Costa Rica, such as Jose Maria Figueroa, Faustino Montes de Oca, or Felipe Valentini.

Later, at the end of the 19th century, some local artists started to come out and became the basis of modern Costa Rican painting. Some of these painters are Ezequiel Jimenez, Wenceslao de la Guardia, and Enrique Echandi. Current renowned Costa Rican painters include Gonzalo Morales Sáurez, Rafa Fernandez, and Fernando Carballo, and sculptors such as Ibo Bonilla, Max Jimenez,Jorge Jimenez Deredia, Domingo Ramos and Mario Parra.

info taken from Wikipidia.com

this all makes me so STOKED to get started. never have i been more motivated to do something. really need a job and asap. i actually spent the morning checking how many courses and credits i need to get a degree or my bachelors (for when i return to Canada). and honestly i've never ever done that. this year has already brought a lot of change and the first month isn't even over yet. i can't wait to see where God will take us and what he's going to do with the tools he's given us. im just looking forward to learning how to sculpture and paint from very talented uncle. that itself is a huge blessing to learn from such an amazing and gifted man.