Costa Rica - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture |  | Author: Jane Koutnik
Publisher: Kuperard
Category: Book
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $5.36
as of 9/10/2010 00:04 CDT details
You Save: $4.59 (46%)
New (27) Used (13) from $3.00
Seller: thermite-media
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 116625
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprinted edition
Pages: 168
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.5 x 4.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 1857333241
Dewey Decimal Number: 972.86052
EAN: 9781857333244
ASIN: 1857333241
Publication Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781857333244 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.
Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include
* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken
"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel
"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel
"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer
"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine
"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times
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| Customer Reviews:
 Happiest people of the world January 10, 2010
Erick G. Vega Leiton (Costa Rica)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a nice review about Costaricans (Ticos), we are a kind of peace-and-love people, very Glad to be born in the happiest nation of the world, willing to share our happiness with everybody: gringos, nicas, europeans, panas, etc. We expect foreigners to become costaricans . . . yes after 2 months to stay with us we will tell you ohh now you are a Tico. For sure you have to take a nature "Pura Vida" trip to our Tropical Paradise.
Yes it is true that we have a "mañana sindrome" and let the future to God. But trust me we are not a macho society, we are a mathriarchal society, the wives keep their maiden names, the children belongs to their mothers as in the nature (that is why some american mothers take their children here escaping from USA-macho-laws) and actually our women use to take the iniciative to get their men. We know that our best value is ourselves, we love each other tico. Just be glad, nice and "Pura Vida" . . . ohh and please do not rush.
Interesting, comprehensive and easy to read. March 3, 2010
Elizabeth Savino (Mesa, AZ USA)
Great overview of Costa Rican history and culture. My husband and I both read this book in preparation for our upcoming trip to C.R. and felt it gave us a well rounded overview of the country and it's people.
No Matter Why You Go To Costa Rica...You Must Read This Book February 8, 2008
Laura Kimmick (Henderson, Nevada)
5 out of 17 found this review helpful
I'm glad that I read this book. My family and I are considering living in Costa Rica.
This book will help us understand Costa Rican culture so we can have a positive experience in Costa Rica.
 Cute, but useless March 29, 2010
Frank Ruffa (Bay Area, CA)
Little useful information ... just a cute little book with information you can get from any number of free Internet sources. Invest in a real guide!
 the same broad, shallow advice repeated chapter after chapter June 20, 2010
FixItInTheMix (NYC, US)
As another reviewer said, any information of real value found here, is also posted on the web for free. But what bothered me even more, was that the exact same descriptions of how Ticos are laid-back, how mutually positive social relations trump most everything else, and how their sense of time or urgency is also very casual... is repeated nearly verbatim in every chapter, and in practically every paragraph of every chapter.
I really felt like even the Kindle price was a rip-off, there's a surprising lack of real substance here. The book could have been cut down to 1/2 to 1/4 it's length, and still lost nothing. It's basically an essay, fluffed-out into a "book." Very disappointing, though a few tidbits were interesting. I kept thinking I had somehow accidentally gone backward while reading, because I kept reading the same things over and over, and over again.
The first sections on the history of the country aren't original information either - just summaries of existing history books, covered in a simple time line.
I finished the entire "book" in two subway rides. And, it isn't any kind of reference guide I'd refer to again. The latest version is revised but it wasn't obvious to me (unless I overlooked it) what exactly has been updated. One or more chapters provided a list of web links, but in many places throughout the book, the year 2004 or 2005 was referenced.
So, I think even the revision was superficial and weak, yet again making me feel like I'd been had. Don't know if I can get a refund, but will be trying.
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