A suburb of the country’s capital is showing how urban planning can be harnessed to benefit both humans and wildlife reflecting on the decision to recognise every bee hummingbird and butterfly as a citizen of Curridabat during his 12-year spell as mayor “Pollinators are the consultants of the natural world supreme reproducers and they don’t charge for it The plan to convert every street into a biocorridor and every neighbourhood into an ecosystem required a relationship with them.” The move to extend citizenship to pollinators trees and native plants in Curridabat has been crucial to the municipality’s transformation from an unremarkable suburb of the Costa Rican capital into a pioneering haven for urban wildlife Now known as “Ciudad Dulce” – Sweet City – Curridabat’s urban planning has been reimagined around its non-human inhabitants Green spaces are treated as infrastructure with accompanying ecosystem services that can be harnessed by local government and offered to residents Geolocation mapping is used to target reforestation projects at elderly residents and children to ensure they benefit from air pollution removal and the cooling effects that the trees provide The widespread planting of native species underscores a network of green spaces and biocorridors across the municipality which are designed to ensure pollinators thrive the Guardian's Age of Extinction site is looking at biodiversity in cities and urban areas around the world shining a spotlight on the under-appreciated world of nature hidden among the highrises and busy roads Around 55% of the world’s population live in urban areas and that number is projected to rise to 68% by 2050 Nature’s role in the wellbeing and happiness of billions of people will be more important than ever While urbanisation is a major driver of biodiversity loss, many conservationists and town planners are trying to make built-up areas more nature-friendly The role of green spaces in urban areas has even been formalised in a draft UN agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss often referred to as the Paris agreement for nature The Covid-19 outbreak has seen cities and towns across the world go into lockdown which has enabled wildlife such as wild boar foxes and even lions to venture into territory previously dominated by humans It has also offered us the chance to notice and appreciate the natural world in cities in an unprecedented way In this special series of reports we'll be looking at how animals and plants adapt to city life what to look out for right now and how we can encourage more wild cities in the future Thank you for your feedback.Edgar Mora Photograph: Courtesy of Edgar Mora“The idea came from a narrative that people in cities are prone to defending nature when it is far away but they are negligent when it comes to protecting nature in their immediate environment,” says Mora who has since become a senior design strategist with the global architecture firm Gensler aligned with the landscape instead of the other way round,” he says The metropolitan area surrounding San José is home to more than 2 million people – about half of the population of Costa Rica – despite covering less than 5% of the country’s area Were it not for the lush volcanic peaks that surround Costa Rica’s central valley it would not be immediately obvious that you were in the heart of one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet Humans dominate and the country’s cloud forests pristine coastline and emblematic sloths can feel a long way from the concrete and traffic “We attract a lot of tourists because of nature and conservation but there is still friction in the city,” says Irene Garcia head of innovation at the mayor’s office in Curridabat “Places like San José do not represent what we sell as a country or what you see in rural areas or the beaches Costa Rica has differentiated itself significantly but our cities are a long way behind.” placing further pressure on ecosystems and rapidly vanishing habitats But many urban planners are trying to change this relationship and the importance of green spaces in towns and cities has been recognised in a draft UN agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss Sweet City is just one of a number of biocorridors around the country that allow the genetic spread of species to maintain their strength. In Central America, this concept has developed since the early 2000s following an agreement to form a biocorridor network to connect jaguars “Grey infrastructure makes the city warm up too much. So the idea to connect green areas is to cool down parts of the city, return the ecosystem services that were there previously but have deteriorated,” says Magalli Castro Álvarez, who oversees Costa Rica’s network of biocorridors with the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) Many Costa Ricans are happy to speak about the policy benefits of schemes such as Sweet City , as their response to the challenges of bringing nature into the city is part of a deeper national sentiment. It is not in this tiny Central American country’s DNA to behave as if humans were somehow set apart from nature. who brought the world together to reach the Paris agreement More than 98% of Costa Rica’s energy comes from renewable sources and it plans to completely decarbonise by 2050 – one of the most ambitious goals on the planet The country has also successfully reversed one of the world’s highest deforestation rates Many Costa Ricans are happy to speak about the benefits of schemes like Sweet City Photograph: Courtesy of Curridabat Municipality“In Costa Rica but then you can travel and on the same day you can see the sun set in the Pacific,” says the country’s president who credits Costa Rica’s tradition of pacifism and respect for nature with its desire to tackle big environmental issues its characteristics allow us to have 6% of the biodiversity of the world in our land The first city in Costa Rica to adopt form-based coding has created a citywide plan to connect urban neighborhoods to nature Sweet City is the next phase of a Charter Award-winning plan of 2014 The majority of Curridabat’s 72,500 citizens live among public spaces dominated by asphalt— inhibiting biodiversity and adding to the stress of dayto-day living Sweet City mitigates that impact through investment in green infrastructure New urbanist interventions like shared streets and public spaces are combined with park improvements which keep adding value to the planet each time they extract nectar and transport pollen,” says Mayor Edgar Mora “As the cities of the world have entered a new century they can transform to host the biodiversity that until now we’ve kept outside” of settled areas The $45 million Sweet City project creates and revitalizes 63 new and existing parks in 21 city neighborhoods Eight corridors link neighborhoods and parks Mixed-use development is planned in infill and old industrial sites The primary goal of the neighborhood plans is to integrate nature into urban places—while also incorporating new urbanist principles like mixed use and pedestrian-friendly streets and corridors which the city calls “inclusive streets,” are being remade for more diverse use a broad range of housing types and price levels can bring people of diverse ages strengthening the personal and civic bonds essential to an authentic community Sweet City’s vision is to break down the traditional antagonism between city and nature enrich the experience of both for all residents The Rural Area Plan (RAP) for Davidson uses a form-based code for aggressive rural land conservation “Africa is certainly not only a continent of small villages in the jungle and savannah Donate to the Congress for the New Urbanism today and you’ll be taking a stand for walkable neighborhoods COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER our lives take place inside our houses,” said Franz González “We’re trying to get people involved out here.” a resident of the Freses neighborhood in the eastern Central Valley canton of Curridabat was decorating a table at the inauguration of a new park featuring an organic garden colorful mural and recycled electrical-wire spools used as stools his neighbors and other visitors were chatting listening to live music and lining up at a San José novelty: The park includes space for a food truck which on inauguration day belonged to the popular Guayabos eatery Go Fish but will rotate among various restaurants in the future 20 event seemed at first glance like a pretty typical a closer look and a chat with the organizers revealed that months of planning innovative visions of city life were all at play in the small space bordered on one side by train tracks and on the other by the Scott Pearl Izumi Reference Center a bike shop which sponsored the lighting and security for the park “We have a larger project, an umbrella of sorts, called Ciudad Dulce (Sweet City) whose goal is to bring conservation into the city,” Curridabat Mayor Edgar Mora explained as a guitarist crooned some Stone Temple Pilots in the background “We want every private garden in Curridabat to be full of color We’re reintroducing native species … and [seeking to attract] tropical bees of the local Curridabat 21st Century Party was re-elected as mayor during Costa Rica’s municipal elections on Feb and is now preparing for his third term in office election-inspired discussion nationwide of more mundane details of municipal life – trash pickup property taxes – it was almost disorienting to hear a mayor say he’s working to “see our city from a bees-eye view.” It’s all part of Curridabat’s ambitious city plan which won the Best City Plan award from the U.S nonprofit Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in 2014 who studied at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government through an Ash Fellowship in 2013-2014 said that implementing the plan and truly placing nature at the center of municipal life will require changes in everything from building materials to public infrastructure but this is a community that’s ready to take on the challenge.” Van Lidth de Jeude explained that they start simple walking around the neighborhood with its residents and hearing their concerns and hopes They then help put together a plan to make it all happen has worked with two Curridabat neighborhoods thus far and is already branching out into more of the canton’s barrios their work with the Neighbors’ Association led directly to the park which was designed and created by the residents themselves Schütte said he welcomes a shift towards services to the community and projects on a neighborhood scale instead of focusing only on large-scale urban development and that the Freses park represents what a community can do for itself by getting a wide variety of organizations involved He noted that the Freses project was almost too successful – at one point the neighborhood association planned a food-truck festival to launch the park but the response on Facebook was so massive (to the tune of 5,000 “may attends”) that they chose to cancel that aspect of the event manageable project that they feel comfortable with Mayor Mora says the key to the change he hopes to see is “trusting in our people.” “We know that in Curridabat people want to get involved but they want to get involved by doing something real,” he said To learn more about the Popular School of Urbanism, visit the A-01 Facebook page. For more on the Freses park, including upcoming events and food-truck plans, visit the neighborhood association’s Facebook page.  has granted pollinators—including bees and butterflies— along with native plants and trees citizenship Nicknamed “Sweet City,” Curridabat has transformed its urban planning Urban development now reflects the connection between humans and wildlife The Mayor’s office made pollination a focal point for the development of Curridabat’s green spaces “The keystone concept in this new vision of urban development [is to consider] pollinators as the most efficient agents of prosperity,” the office states in a release “Pollinators were the key,” Edgar Mora, the former mayor of Curridabat, told The Guardian He has been credited with transforming the city into a haven for wildlife during his 12-year term as mayor “Pollinators are the consultants of the natural world supreme reproducers and they don’t charge for it,” he continued “The plan to convert every street into a bio corridor and every neighborhood into an ecosystem required a relationship with them.” Curridabat’s urban planning initiative stemmed from the need to protect the city’s green spaces “The idea came from a narrative that people in cities are prone to defending nature when it is far away But they are negligent when it comes to protecting nature in their immediate environment,” Mora said aligned with the landscape instead of the other way round,” he added the use of pesticides and the rise of industrial agriculture have greatly impacted pollinator populations Pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, and other insects play an integral role in promoting healthy habitats and ecosystems. In fact, they are largely responsible for the survival of the planet. Bees according to the international conservation nonprofit Earthwatch Institute Three out of every four fruit or seed crops are dependent on pollinators According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations pollinators support the production of 87 percent of the world’s top food crops She has a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and political science Sign up for updates and membership opportunities The brand officially welcomed guests into its new restaurant in Curridabat San José with a ribbon cutting celebration on November 24 offering Costa Rican residents a first taste of its iconic sandwiches Local franchisee ARBLAT owns and operates the restaurant The group plans to open additional Arby’s locations across the country in 2023 and beyond “As we accelerate global growth for the Arby’s brand we are excited to introduce our high-quality fast-crafted meat sandwiches to new guests in Costa Rica,” said Michael Haley President & Managing Director of International for Inspire Brands “Working alongside a strong restaurant developer and operator like ARBLAT an experienced fast food franchise manager group I am excited about the long-term growth potential for Arby’s across the country.” The Arby’s Costa Rica menu boasts nearly 20 meaty sandwiches served warm and featuring a wide variety of proteins Highlights include the Triple Cheese Turkey BLT and Pulled Pork sandwiches both of which are currently only available at Arby’s restaurants in Costa Rica fan-favorite brand and an ideal addition to our portfolio of restaurants,” said Mario Jimenez “Leveraging local consumer preferences and the brand’s culinary expertise we have carefully crafted a menu that reflects Arby’s passion for meats and I am very confident our guests will enjoy the result.” just in front of Colegio de Arquitectos e Ingenieros the new 386 sq meter restaurant will have seating for 98 guests and carryout customers with a freestanding drive-thru ensuring guests can enjoy their favorite Arby’s meal on the go Delivery will also be available on all online food ordering and delivery platforms Arby’s now operates more than 150 locations across seven countries outside the U.S., with plans for further growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Southeast Mexico in the coming months © 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University Developing countries are experiencing urbanization at a much faster rate than cities in North America and funds for planning efforts are generally scarce On the outskirts of the Costa Rican capital San José Mayor Édgar Mora Altamirano and the local government have become unusually engaged in citybuilding and creating community The result is a forward-thinking initiative to harness sprawl and revitalize lackluster architecture in a growing community that desperately needs it Demonstrating how paramount quality leadership is to proactive change the mayor of Curridabat has recognized how important it is to think in the long-term and to involve the community in the redesign process In addition to hosting public workshops geared toward generating ideas for future growth the design team has collaborated with and educated the local planning department so that the renovations can be maintained and expanded upon in the years to come Its initial growth largely due to coffee plantations in the 18th and 19th centuries Curridabat gained municipal independence in 1930 and has since abandoned any signs of colonial architecture within its four main districts the “Law of the Indies” street grid is still evident in its central district and has provided a valuable lesson in the restructuring of the surrounding three the reimagining of Curridabat has focused primarily on increasing walkability and usability while decreasing the congestion that has resulted from aimless suburban growth In order to respect the prevalence of private spaces that function as both homes and businesses in Costa Rica many multi-use designs will be implemented that will allow for a flexibility of uses “With exceptional graphic clarity,” Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk believes “it reinforces neighborhood structure and transect components with specific local interventions,” a form for crating dense walkable urbanism out of an auto-dominant design which she hails as “prototypical.” Once underutilized and thought of as inconvenient eyesores natural ravines running through the town have been reworked into parks and other public spaces in proposals Several major roads will be transformed into safer corridors or boulevards with expanded sidewalks and bicycle paths (ciclovías) connecting all neighborhoods This will be in keeping with Costa Rica’s reputation for being environmentally friendly while at the same time attending to its rapidly evolving urban needs Curridabat will be the first municipality to officially implement Form-Based Code and regulations According to urban architect Cristóbal Valdez the Curridabat plan “could be setting the pace for a Latin-American adoption of the CNU Charter Principles.” In these stunning renderings from the University of Notre Dame you will likely recognize the City of Chicago seen through the lens of a possible year 2109 Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and Planning Director Charles Graves put their weight behind the creation of a form-based code to inspire the revitalization of their urban neighborhoods Despite being one of America’s leading food-producing states parts of Arkansas suffer from abnormally high hunger rates with nearly 25% of children deemed “food insecure” compared to the national average of 14.5% 09-07-2023DESIGN Gensler spent three years researching how to mitigate extreme heat in vulnerable communities BY Elissaveta M. Brandon Gensler’s community impact specialist and the project’s research manager put it: “How can we design a design process to create solutions for the built environment that would combat extreme heat?” The answer Gensler came up with—an adaptable shading structure that can be configured to fit different kinds of public spaces—is by no means a silver bullet that will help cool cities everywhere in the world But it is worth dwelling on the process that informed it which could (and should) become a blueprint for any designer or urban planner working with local communities After receiving three internal research grants to more deeply explore the question but it found that answering Stone’s original prompt—which puts an emphasis on the process not the output—was too broad and complex to come from only one team it was circulated across Gensler’s broader network of designers and researchers who then tapped into their own networks in search of community partners who may want to participate One of those communities was in the Costa Rican city of Curridabat, which has been suffering the consequences of climate change for years sustainability specialist at Gensler’s Costa Rica office and regional resilience leader for Latin America explains that Curridabat already had a strong climate action plan and had been measuring things like its heat vulnerability index urban heat island effects and flood risk across the municipality But the team didn’t simply rely on those datapoints to inform the design process—they actually asked residents where they felt the hottest the heat maps and residents’ responses didn’t always match the community chose the final three locations based on their own experiences of the city: right outside a human development center the team developed a brief for a shading structure which they turned into an internal competition to design what it would look like More than 80 people participated across Gensler’s Latin American offices The winning design ticked all the boxes: it was modular and could therefore be accommodated to fit all tree locations; it was easy enough for the community to build it (and feel a sense of ownership in the process); and it could be made with pretty much any locally found materials—in this case bamboo it could also provide more than just shade: residents could use the canvas as a projection screen To measure the impact the structure will have on the community and how they experience heat the team is planning to install humidity and temperature trackers on all three structures then will monitor them over the next three months They’re also hoping to install CCTV-like cameras to understand who is using the structures (children but as project manager Ana Thomas notes: “When you ask people but we need the right information about how they really feel.” the findings will not only inform future iterations but also serve as validation for the community “The one good thing that I have seen in terms of what really works is knowledge sharing,” says Stone The final deadline for Fast Company’s Brands That Matter Awards is Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. Elissaveta is a design writer based in Brooklyn. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Wired, CityLab, Conde Nast Traveler, and many others More Fast Company & Inc © 2025 Mansueto Ventures Fastcompany.com adheres to NewsGuard’s nine standards of credibility and transparency. Learn More that is the question.” These words are among the most famous in the English language In honor of the Western world’s most famous playwright the inimitable Globe Theatre will visit Costa Rica for a one-night performance at Teatro Espressivo on Saturday night Among the most revered stage companies in the world the Globe will present “Hamlet,” one of Shakespeare’s most beloved and enduring plays Because The Globe’s touring company is attempting to perform in every single country on Earth “I doubt that any production has ever played to a bigger range of venues,” said executive producer Tom Bird in a printed interview provided by the company sixteenth-century Middle Temple Hall with its amazing hammerbeam roof and we’ll be rounding off at Hamlet’s own Elsinore Castle before returning to the Globe we’re playing plush red-velvet auditoria; the über-modern National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing; Ancient Greek and Roman amphitheatres; Djemaa el-Fna and a beautiful theatre built into the rainforests of St The Globe Theatre is a faithful replica of the original Globe the large cylindrical playhouse in which Shakespeare first produced his plays The Globe is now making its way through Latin America with a recent stop in Honduras and a performance this Saturday at Teatro Espressivo in Curridabat “Hamlet” is the story of a Danish prince whose father has died Suddenly his father’s ghost appears and claims that the death was actually a murder and that Hamlet should take revenge against his stepfather until he finally decides to take action – but is it too late The Globe’s English-language production is faithful to the script but tinkers with the scenery we’re combining Elizabethan shapes and silhouettes with more modern elements – looking a bit like the clothes of a touring company from the 1930s,” said Dominic Dromgoole we’ve developed various methods for small-scale very no-frills touring around the UK and abroad We’ve learned to be very flexible and playful we aren’t even taking a truck to carry a booth stage The luggage is the set – a tower of suitcases.” the Globe is among the most famous troupes and venues on the planet and the rarity of the opportunity to see these actors onstage cannot be overstated And for folks who aren’t keen on Elizabethan poetry just remember: there’s plenty of sword fighting to go around “Hamlet” plays Aug. 23 at Teatro Espressivo, Curridabat. 7:30 p.m. 20,000-30,000 ($40-60). Info: Teatro Espressivo website The Costa Rican government this week issued a decree creating a new type of park within the framework of the Environment Ministry Urban Natural Parks have the objective of conserving ecosystems and benefiting the physical and mental health of people living in Costa Rica’s cities The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) will manage the newly formed National Urban Natural Parks Program Its first steps will be conducting technical studies and leading conversations with communities and private landowners to explore the creation of new protected areas “This new management category will allow conservation strategies to be focused on the specific needs of spaces threatened by unplanned urban growth It is part of the efforts to correct the country’s historical debt to environmental protection in cities,” said President Carlos Alvarado at a ceremony at La Colina de Curridabat Ecological Park just 1.75% of the premontane humid forest that once existed in the Central Valley survives today Due to the Central Valley’s pleasant climate and altitude that ecosystem has been razed for agriculture and human settlements Urban Natural Parks address what the government calls a “historic debt” by protecting patches of forest that still remain in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) “Urban ecosystems are fundamental to having healthy cities and people,” said the Minister of Environment and Energy “Within the National Decarbonization Plan Costa Rica committed to having 4,500 hectares of green areas for the well-being of citizens “Our country needs to remember that the areas that we now see urbanized and gray were living ecosystems until a few decades ago we can rescue the survivors and regenerate many areas which will bring health and economic benefits to the citizenry.” Some 60% of Costa Rica’s population lives in the GAM which constitutes only 4% of the national territory The National Urban Natural Parks Program is part of Costa Rica’s decarbonization goals which aim for a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 The Center of Territorial Intelligence in Biodiversity (CITBIO) is building a knowledge base on urban landscape performance that sets a model for communities in this era of climate change well-designed buildings that are easy to construct They include a cultural and economic outreach building by the main road and an operational building for environmental research The structures are set in a two-acre landscape of paths The Center uses a system of rainwater collection found that its agricultural lands and production as well as natural corridors for wildlife and biodiversity the city has responded with regulatory and strategic plans codes and other tools for the restoration of “green opportunities.” The Center is the research arm for that response The facility pioneered the development of urban Biodiversity Indicators which set urban design priorities and emerged as a private-public “green business” with social impact It provides the municipality a way to test new policies and codes and develop future resilient cities “The community is the starting point of social transformation its organized role is essential to guarantee the development of projects with tangible impact,” notes Curridabat Mayor Alicia Borja The architectural design incorporates the climate conditions and topography to minimize the ecological impact while achieving climatic comfort for people who visit or work on the project and the facilities are accessible to the community The center has published data-rich information that is digestible to the public It is a replicable prototype of how to study climate change in local communities around the world The CITBIO is the prototype of an urban climate change platform It satisfies the local demand of public space and training for ecological restoration and biodiversity strategies and it has national and international replicability Center of Territorial Intelligence in Biodiversity View the discussion thread. Geiner Gómez, a 42-year-old agent with the Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ) died this Wednesday in Tirrases de Curridabat while participating in an undercover operation It’s believed these criminals mistakenly identified the agents as a rival gang in the region The officers came under attack while driving in a dark One officer tragically lost his life at the scene while another was urgently taken to Calderón Guardia Hospital for treatment confirmed that two individuals on a motorcycle—a 17-year-old shooter and his 22-year-old companion the driver—were responsible for the ambush Both were quickly detained thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Judicial Police and the Public Force The culprits attacked the agents with a small-caliber weapon along with the motorcycle and a tennis shoe from one of the perpetrators The prevailing theory suggests that the assailants under the impression that the agents were from a rival faction Attorney General Carlo Díaz reflected on a recent Security Council meeting emphasizing it was filled with “good intentions Given the complex challenges the nation faces, Díaz reassured that both his office and the OIJ are committed to working relentlessly with the resources they have at hand. He lamented the rising tide of violence in Costa Rica and given the past targeting of security personnel Díaz did not dismiss the possibility of prosecutors becoming future targets “There needs to be a renewed focus and investment in security such incidents will persist and even increase,” warned Díaz OIJ director Randall Zúñiga also voiced his concerns regarding the nation’s ongoing situation we risk the downfall of our beautiful country,” stated Zúñiga He ended his statement with a plea to the Legislative Assembly and the government: “Beyond speeches Thousands of people will temporarily be without water Wednesday while work is done at the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) facilities in Tres Ríos and will affect primarily the province of San José the Tres Ríos plant will be out of operation due to the replacement of three main valves and other operational maneuvers,” AyA said on Facebook “This will allow us to have better control and operation of the aqueduct.” AyA recommends that the public “take appropriate action,” but to story only enough water to accommodate basic needs during the outage has been living in China for the past five years and says she’s still not ready to come back to Costa Rica Aguilar went to study art and stayed for the fast-paced rhythm She says that as soon as she arrived in China she noticed how efficient everything is there “You can purchase things just using your cell phone without taking cards or cash with you And the technological field keeps growing more each day,” Aguilar said She also likes how well the economy is doing and how her salary easily matches most of her expenses Aguilar grew up in Curridabat and practiced cello since she was 7 years old Her parents always wanted Aguilar and her siblings to take classes and learn new skills Aguilar then started taking acting lessons in ninth grade and quickly realized it was the best part of her week she decided to pursue a career in the performing arts Aguilar got her degree at the Universidad Nacional and took Chinese as an elective She took her learning seriously and her teacher recommended some Mandarin scholarships Aguilar then traveled to China for the first time on a nine-month scholarship Aguilar enjoyed the culture shock and took a bus to Hunan’s capital and started asking about scholarships at local universities Aguilar finally got a spot at Hunan Normal University’s art, film, and television master’s program. She says to get a scholarship like hers, all you have to do is follow the steps and go through a few interviews. Aguilar added that the information you need about available scholarships is on the Casa Amarilla website Aguilar graduated from her master’s program this year and she’s full of hopes of future trips around Asia What did you enjoy most about your master’s program in China like going to classes and that type of stuff it was a fact that at some point I was able to interact with my classmates and teachers fluently I had to record all my classes and go to my dorm to listen to them a couple of times Once I was finally able to understand what was going on in classes and around me in general being able to exchange feelings and thought with my classmates was certainly interesting Just being able to call it your home and visit all these beautiful places is great Not only for their big events and celebrations but also daily life in China Small things like being able to talk to someone while taking the subway or while buying something at the market Before getting your scholarship to study abroad did you ever have a clear goal when traveling I did some traveling before this China experience Now that I have traveled to several places around Asia I am absolutely sure that I want to keep traveling so I had a lot of free time to visit places What I would do was just save as much money as possible and then make long trips to other cities I really hope I can continue traveling because I think this lifestyle is a like medicine Traveling is one of those things that the more you do it It opens your mind and changes you for the best Was there a life-changing place that you visited in Asia This is the place where I got to meet a lot of new people from different backgrounds and countries You become more empathic and comprehensive and over the top with my emotions and feelings about this experience that I think every place I have visited in Asia has changed me in some way In every place that you visit you can smell All of these small details are what make you change while traveling from one place to another I was having too many problems with my passport and just settling in I was feeling alone and got sick in a hotel I had to make a big effort to take myself to the hospital because I was feeling awful That does not have anything to do with a particular place but the whole experience of getting here is what I can call life-changing What are the main differences between Ticos and Chinese when you know that you have to get something done you do it as soon and as efficiently as possible That’s really the only way to keep up with how this country works you could be a woman taking the subway at midnight You could be walking down the street with any type of clothes and no one would scream vulgar phrases about your body What are some places in Asia that you’d recommend to every traveler I knew that place was going to be exceptional but once I got there it exceeded all my expectations I have lost count of how many temples I have visited but they still amaze me every time I visit them Most of the elephants that live there have been rescued from circuses or places where people pay to ride them the leader of the National Taxi Drivers Forum said the group ended the protest after reaching an agreement with the head of the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) Ureña said taxi industry leaders will meet again with Jiménez on Aug 16 to hear ARESEP’s response to their petition to block the Uber app in Costa Rica Thousands of taxi drivers attempted to block highways and other major routes across Costa Rica Tuesday morning to demand the government crack down on ride-hailing service Uber Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata at around noon reported that police had arrested some 78 taxi drivers and seized 33 cars Drivers will be charged for obstructing traffic and causing disorder on public roads Arrests occurred mainly east of the capital and also near the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela province traffic in front of the airport was flowing normally Some of those arrested will also face charges for assaulting police officers and resisting arrest, the Public Security Ministry reported National Police Director Juan José Andrade reported that a group of taxi drivers who resisted arrest in San Pedro caused injuries to three police officers One of them had to be sent to a hospital after losing three teeth during a clash with protesters Andrade estimated that the first hours of the protests would cost police some ₡80 million ($145,000) in resources and damage to police cars Other groups of taxi drivers clashed with police at the beginning of Florencio del Castillo Highway in Curridabat where the Public Security Ministry had placed various squads of anti-riot officers https://www.facebook.com/149642631716218/photos/a.233477639999383.78052.149642631716218/1439600219387113/?type=3&theater A report from the Traffic Police at noon said officers fined 119 taxi drivers along various roads for obstructing passage The report also stated that the main traffic problems were caused by groups of taxis driving at very low speeds and occupying all lanes of various major routes Traffic Police reports indicate that the biggest traffic jams at midmorning were along Route 1 between San José and Alajuela along the Florencio del Castillo highway and Ochomogo in Cartago and on the Caldera road along the beach in Puntarenas President Luis Guillermo Solís is monitoring the situation with Minister Gustavo Mata and other government officials https://www.facebook.com/149642631716218/videos/vb.149642631716218/1439642766049525/?type=3&theater