Customer Reviews

Cultureshock! Costa Rica (Cultureshock Costa Rica: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

great book! easy to read and definitely prepared me to study abroad in costa rica. When there, i felt like i was better prepared for the situations that came up because i'd learned about them from this book. Such as, carry your own toilet paper and how to work the showers! it was great knowing so much about the culture before i lived there!

I have not been to Costa Rica yet, will be going this Saturday and living there until June 2012. I bought the book in preparations of what I might expect and did a pretty thorough job of skim-reading it, when I bought it some 5 weeks ago. It did give me some good pointers, but frankly, I got more information from online sources simply by Googling. Items like a list of banks that will accept US bank cards, transfer fees being low, locations of known usable ATM machines, how to find out if a pharmacy in Costa Rica will or does carry something you need, over the counter or how to get a prescription.
I think because Costa Rica is known for being so laid back, friendly and receptive to American's and others, that it might not seem necessary to be more detailed, however, compared to the Culture Shock book on France that I read over 10 years ago, when considering a move to France with a spouse, this is sorely lacking in details that were helpful to me.

I think I'm in a shrining portion of the population, who still like books, but I want a survivors guide that includes a good road map, locations of things travelers need, more key Tico phrases for survival.

I wish the writer luck in her writing. I'm sure its hard to put the 'right thing' in there for anybody.

the culture shock series is not the end all and be all but if you want just a little bit more of the local flavor and 'why do they do that' i've found the series to be excellent. this, like many others in the series i've read has given me a new appreciation of local life/culture. In this book especially useful was learning that Tican's never want to say no nor admit they don't know the answer to a question and how to deal w/ this. Specific suggestions were offered of how best to ask (and NOT to ask) questions to get the USEFUL information out of the locals. if you are going just to be a tourist and to look at the wildlife/plants then skip it, if you wan to learn more, better appreciate your experience in costa rica I'd suggest this is a must read. And.. don't be afraid of San Jose. The guidebooks i'd read indicated this was a dirty, crime ridden city....what I found was a very interesting piece of Tican culture and I long to go back and spend some time there to learn more.

I have read several books on life in Costa Rica and this is one of the best. It is helpful for both the tourist and a resident. I can highly recommend this book.

After waiting nearly a month for this book to arrive the seller notified me that Amazon never sent them the order and they do not have thi book in stock (used) My first bad experience ordering from Amazon.