Post Tagged with "Costa Rica"

Picture Postcards: Costa Rican lunch

Today’s photo is from Nuria in Costa Rica. It’s a typical Costa Rican lunch dish called casado.

According to Nuria, this is just one variation of casado. She wrote:

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Always evolving: some languages of the world and where they come from

This month’s collaborative post was inspired by a conversation between some of our contributors about languages and how much they ‘borrow’ words from one another. Malay has words from English, Turkish has words from French, English has words from Hindi, Spanish has words from Arabic. Not to mention the massive way in which European languages have influenced each other.

So here’s a look at the history and foreign influences of some of the languages spoken by PocketCultures contributors around the world.

It’s a long article, so if you’re interested in a particular country use these links: India, UK, France, Canada, Turkey, Spain, Argentina, Costa Rica, Portugal, Malaysia.

India: Hindi, English, Tamil, Marathi and many more!

Languages in India are as varied and complex as the country itself. The 2001 census estimated that there were 29 languages spoken by more than a million native speakers, 122 by more than 10,000!

We have 22 ‘official’ regional languages spoken across the country, but no ‘national language’. Hindi is often mistakenly referred to as the ‘national language’, but the constitution lists it as our ‘principal official language’. Where does Hindi come from? Well, it’s a language which evolved from a dialect spoken in northern India during the Mughal period, was influenced by Persian, and is closest to Urdu – the language today identified with Islam!

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Seasons around the world

Our contributors describe the different seasons in their countries and how people prepare for and celebrate them.

Northern California - Planting the garden in spring (by Jason)

Spring in Northern California means that sunny days return after a few months of intermittent winter rain.  Usually towards the end of April or beginning of May we’ll go to the local nursery and buy vegetable plants (“starts”) for our raised garden plot that sits in the middle of our patio.  We’ll buy several kinds of tomatoes, basil, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, cilantro, pole beans, chili peppers, melons and whatever else looks good.

Cucumber plot

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Naming children: traditions in 13 different countries

How are children’s names chosen in your country? Do you follow ancient naming traditions or are modern names more popular? Do you pass names down through family generations or invent new ones?

We’ve had a lot of fun writing this post and the subject of how children are named in our various countries has inspired a lot of discussion within our team of contributors. So, read on to find out how children’s names are chosen in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the USA.

Have something to add? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

There aren’t many clear-cut naming traditions in Argentina nowadays. In the past, first-born babies were named after their parents but now the focus is on distinctiveness. Parents choose names they like or that are fashionable. For example, when Argentinean-born Maxima Zorriegueta married Crown Prince Wilhelm-Alexander of the Netherlands, the name Maxima became very popular.

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Picture Postcards: Flowers around the globe

We’ve had such an amazing number of flower photos contributed this month that we thought we’d finish up with a bit of a global montage (Cue the music!).

Typical flowers at Chirripó in Costa Rica by Nuriacr on Flickr

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A Costa Rican Wedding

Getting married is a very important social event in Costa Rica, as it symbolizes a new stage in life. A tradition still practiced today is the “serenata”, which usually takes place some days before the wedding ceremony. The groom arrives at his girlfriend’s house, by surprise, with his friends and a group of musicians who sing traditional romantic songs while the bride, her family and friends listen to it inside the house for some minutes before going out. In addition, it is customary for the groom to bring some roses for the bride.

The Wedding Bouquet (Photo by Laura Pardo)

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