Opinions

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Index

To the reader ............................................................................................................................ 3

Culture ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Chinese New Year ................................................................................................................. 4

Japanese culture ................................................................................................................... 2

Latin American and Asian wedding customs .......................................................................... 3

Diwali in India versus Christmas in Costa Rica ........................................................................ 6

Travel tips ................................................................................................................................ 9

Recommendations to your trip .............................................................................................. 9

Interviews .............................................................................................................................. 10

Health .................................................................................................................................... 12

Modern Addictions ............................................................................................................. 12

Internet addiction ............................................................................................................... 14

People .................................................................................................................................... 17

Peace Corps ........................................................................................................................ 17

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To the reader

The magazine "Opinions" contains articles about different cultures and traditions that exist in

some countries like China, Japan and India, and it will cover topics such as weddings,

Christmas customs or similar activities. The magazine has some points to consider traveling;

this information is going to help you to avoid problems at the airport or other transportation, but

also in the place of traveling. Other topics are addictions, in an article talking about some

modern addictions and the other is more focused on internet addiction. Other relevant issues in

this magazine, is the institution of Peace Corps, this institution is very interesting in the world

of volunteering.

The main reason to talk about those issues is that the cultures are very interesting and we do

research on how cultures develop in other countries and the difference to Costa Rica. Another

reason is knowing about addictions, this is attention-grabbing and important to avoid problems

in the case of internet or different technologies.

From this project we learned about consequences of modern addictions, about cultures in the

east of the world, and also the institutions which do volunteer programs to benefit countries

with fewer resources, like Latin American countries. We hope you enjoy the magazine!

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Culture

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the most important of

the traditional Chinese holidays. In China,

it is known as 'Spring Festival, Chinese

New Year is the longest and most

important festivity in the Chinese calendar.

The origin of Chinese New Year is

centuries old and have significance

because of several myths and traditions.

Chinese New Year is celebrated in

countries and territories with significant

Chinese populations, such as China,

including Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore,

Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan,

Mauritius, Philippines, Vietnam, and also in

Chinatowns elsewhere.

Within China, regional customs and

traditions concerning the celebration of the

Chinese New Year vary widely. People will

pour out their money to buy presents,

decoration, material, food, and clothing. It

is also traditional for every family to

thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to

sweep away any ill-fortune and to make

way for good incoming luck. Windows and

doors will be decorated with red color

paper-cuts and couplets with popular

themes of "good fortune" or "happiness",

"wealth", and "longevity".

In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New

Year falls on different dates each year, a

date between January 21 and February 20.

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Practices

Red envelopes

Traditionally, Red envelopes or red

packets( Mandarin: 'hóngbāo' (红包) are

passed out during the Chinese New Year's

celebrations,

from

married

couples or

the elderly to

unmarried juniors. It is

also common for adults or young couples

to give red packets to children. Red

packets almost always contain money,

usually varying from a couple of dollars to

several hundred.

Gift exchange

In addition to red envelopes, small gifts are

also

exchanged between friends or relatives (of

different households). Gifts are usually

brought when visiting friends or relatives at

their homes. Common gifts include fruits

(typically oranges, and never pears), cakes,

biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some

other small gift.

Fireworks

Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder that

were burnt to create small explosions were

once used in ancient China to drive away

evil spirits. In modern times, this method

has eventually evolved into the use of

fireworks during the festive season. Also

Firecrackers are usually burn; these are

known for their deafening explosions that

are thought to scare away evil spirits. The

burning of firecrackers also signifies a

joyful time of year.

Clothing

Clothing mainly featuring the

color red or bright colors is

commonly worn

throughout the

Chinese New Year

because it was once

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believed that red could scare away evil

spirits and bad fortune. In addition, people

typically wear new clothes from head to

toe to symbolize a new beginning in the

New Year. Wearing new clothes also

symbolizes having more than enough

things to use and wear in the New Year.

Red is a color of good luck.

Family portrait

Taking family portrait is an important

ceremony after the relatives are gathered.

The photo is taken at the hall of the house

or taken in front of the house. The most

senior male head of the family sits in the

center

.

References

Wikipedia.(2012) .Año Nuevo chino. Retrieved from

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%B1o_Nuevo_chino

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Japanese culture

Japanese culture is the result of a

historical process of immigration from

different places of Asia. It has a strong

cultural influence from China and a large

period of insolation of the rest of the world.

In this culture, life is influenced by ideas

like honor, obligation and duty; these

characteristics identify it from the

individualistic and liberal widespread

philosophies in occidental countries.

Japanese people are known because of

their hard work, responsibility, seriousness

and honesty in business, special interests

and

effort in education. Also, because of their

personality, they are considered as

reticent, traditional and respectful people

with strange and complicated sense of

humor that many times is difficult to

understand by other cultures.

Talking about education, Japanese people

have high expectations and goals.

Education emphasizes self-criticism and

organization. They think of perseverance

and hard word as the ways that will take

them to lead to success, for this reason

schools are focused in teaching moral

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values and development of personality and

character because they want to set up a

society with values and level of education

that can allowed them to fulfill the

expectations of the traditional Japanese

citizens. One of the most typical values of

Japanese community is respect. A good

example of this is the way they greet each

other, they bow to show respect to the

person. This movement tends to be slower

and marked when it is an elder. The

reason of this is because old people are

venerable. They are people who have

much experience and contribute to create

the society. Another good example is their

language; they use different honorific

words to talk to people according to the

age and the relationship between them.

Socialize with a Japanese person could be

difficult due to they are very reserved and

bashful. Also, distance is very important

when you talk to one person at least must

there be a meter between, and visual

contact can´t be too lengthy. A good way

to socialize with them is “nomikai” that

means to go out to drink. Even though

they are not open people it is possible to

have long and everlasting friendships since

they are very loyal friends.

Through all these characteristics we can

comprehend how different a culture can be,

but at the same time we can realize how

interesting it is and also realized that we

can learn something good from every

culture.

References

Japanese culture (n.d) Retrieved from

http://www.gojapango.com/culture/cultureml

Sobre Japón. (2010). El típico saludo japonés. Retrived from

http://sobre-japon.com/2009/04/30/el-tipico-saludo-japones/

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Latin American and Asian

wedding customs

A wedding is the beginning of a new life

for every couple. In any culture is

something desired and dreamed by

anyone, but in every culture this

transcendent event is celebrated in many

different ways. Especially, there are many

differences between western weddings and

eastern weddings. Korean weddings are a

good example to see the differences

between Latin culture

and Asian culture.

In Korea, the wedding is one of the most

important ceremonies performed according

to rules and traditions. A wedding starts

180 days before with “sanggyeollye” that is

the official greeting to the family and the

couple. In this meeting parents and some

relatives of the couple exchange ideas

about the wedding, this is the first official

step of the wedding after getting the

authorization from every family. Normally,

the man visits the woman‘s house to get

consent and then vice versa. In Latin

America is kind of similar, couples also

visit parents to get authorizing from every

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family, but all the ideas for the wedding

are taking by the couple.

Seventy days before, Korean couples

celebrate “yedan” that is when the woman

sends presents for the man‘s family,

Nowadays, they usually send money,

along with money they also send a set of

dishes, silverware and good quality quilts.

Fifty days before the wedding couples take

photos using different costumes like the

traditional hanbok, wedding dress, suits,

and common clothing. Ten days before,

couples celebrate “Ham” that is when man

sends presents to the woman´s house.

“Ham” contains a marriage proposal that is

written by groom´s father to demostrate his

gratitude to authorize the marriage, and a

blue and red silk. This silk is used to make

the skirt of the “Hanbok”. The blue silk is

wrapped with a red paper and tied with a

blue rope and a red silk is wrapped with

blue paper and tied with a red string. Blue

represents the man and red the woman.

All these mean the harmonious union of

the couple, tie them represent the union of

the hearts to be together.

In Latin weddings, family doesn’t send any

present for families. All presents are for

the couple and they get them the wedding

day. It´s a tradition that man´s family pays

for the wedding dress and woman´s family

pays all the cost of the wedding and party,

but nowadays the whole cost is paid by

the couples and their families.

Traditional weddings in Korea take place

outdoor, they wear traditional costumes

(blue habok for the groom and red hanbok

for the bride), greet each other, engage to

heaven and earth to be a happy couple

and finally drink liquor “Pyojubak”. After the

wedding ceremony, bride performed

“pyebaek”, formal greeting to man parents.

Then the couple drops chestnuts and

jujubes as a symbol of happiness and has

many children.

In Latin celebrations the bride wears a

white dress and the man wears a suit. It is

a tradition that the bride wears something

new as a symbol of the new life,

something blue that represents fidelity,

something old as a symbol continuity,

something borrowed that means friendship

and finally something used as a symbol of

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bride´s personal life .Unlike Korean

ceremonies, Latin ceremonies are

celebrated in a church or in a lounge.

During the ceremony couples interchange

rings as symbol of fidelity and everlasting

love. They also shared “arras” that are

thirteen blessed coins, the groom gives

them to the bride in order to demonstrate

their commitment to share their personal

property. After the ceremony, it is a

custom that the bride throws her bridal

bouquet for single ladies to catch it; this

means that this woman is going to be the

next one to get married.

Taking the facts said before, we can see

how different this ceremony can be in

these two cultures. The simplicity is an

aspect that we can notice in the Latin

American wedding while in the other one

all the ceremony and preparation seems

more complicated . Besides, making a

comparison the traditional aspect has more

influence in the Asian wedding; on the

other hand in the Latin American weddings

this aspect is not that important.

Furthermore, both of them are celebrated

in order to start the union of a happy

couple.

References

Casamientos Online. (2011). Entérate de

las tradiciones latinas para tu boda.

Retrieved from:

http://estilodevida.latam.msn.com/hogar/arti

culo_casamientos.aspx?cp-

documentid=28193829

KoreaHouse.(2009).La boda tradicional

coreana . Retrieved from:

http://koreahouse.forumcommunity.net/?t=2

4468689

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Diwali in India versus

Christmas in Costa Rica

Diwali is celebrated in honor of Amavasya

(the Indian name for the new moon)- the

fifteenth day of seventh month of the

Hindu Calendar, Ashwin (21th October and

18th November). It symbolizes that age-old

culture of India which teaches to vanquish

ignorance that subdues humanity and to

drive away darkness that engulfs the light

of knowledge. Diwali, the festival of lights

even today in this modern world projects

the rich and glorious past of India.

Every year the sound of firecrackers

announces the celebration of this vibrant

festival. Homes are decorated, people

share candies and thousands of lamps are

lit to illuminate the night. Of all the festivals

celebrated in India, Diwali is the most

glamorous and important, and it is enjoyed

by people of every religion.

This tradition is an official holiday in India,

and it is also celebrated in Nepal, Guyana,

Singapore, and Malaysia. The history of

Diwali is related to the Hindu Purana

(Hindu religious texts). Hindus believes

that whenever the power of evil increases

in the world, Vishnu comes down to earth

in a different form to defeat evil.

People celebrate this religious party

because it is related with auspicious

symbols of good luck, and also in order to

make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome.

People send paper boats to the sacred

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rivers; the happiness of next year depends

of how far the boats go.

Christmas in Costa Rica is very common,

like in other countries and the traditions

are very similar. In this country to begin

Christmas when the wind begins to appear,

these winds come from the north and the

climate is very cold. People have a tree or

they to buy one and this tree has

trimmings like plants "Guirnaldas", lights of

different colors, loops and many others.

Another thing very important in the

tradition in Costa Rica is the Christmas

portal, with the shepherds, sheep, streams,

fountains, the manger, José, Virgin María,

the ox and the mule, and the Magi in their

procession to the Portal of Belén.

In this portal Jesus is placed the 24 of

December then they share the dinner with

the family and later open gifts. People in

Costa Rica go to church then the

celebration to thank God for abundance

and for all things, feelings of gratitude and

well-being. A thing very common in

Christmas in all countries is Santa Claus,

the gifts and his reindeers. Many

companies in Costa Rica use Santa Claus

only to sell more and sell the idea that

Christmas is only material purchases.

This tradition is very important to the

Indian people and they do very traditional

things, so this celebration is similar to

Christmas. People celebrate many gods in

India, but it is pagan because Indian

people have too many gods such as

Vishnu (God of maintenance), Shiva (God

of destruction), Indra (king of the Gods),

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Parvati (the Female Creative Energy of the

Universe) and each one has a different

celebration. These celebrations are a time

to think, thank God depend on their

religion and also improve their lives.

References

History & Origin of Diwali. (2012). Diwali

celebration ["Internet sources"]. Retrieved

from:http://www.diwalicelebrations.net/origi

n-history.html

Roca, C. (2012). Diwali, El Festival de las

Luces, Sobre India ["Internet sources"].

Retrieved from:

http://sobreindia.com/2011/10/26/el-festival-

de-las-luces/

Gods of India. (2012). Indian Religion

["Internet sources"]. Retrieved from:

http://www.indianetzone.com/5/gods_india.

htm

Guzmán M., Calderón E. (2012). Navidad

en Costa Rica, Navidad Latina ["Internet

sources"]. Retrieved from:

http://www.navidadlatina.com/costarica/

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Travel tips Recommendations to your

trip

Make sure to take all the necessary

documents before traveling:

identification document (ID card and

passport), visa if necessary, airline

transport, document travel agency

travel program and contact numbers,

and travel insurance.

Find out about the customs and

even laws of other countries, which

in many cases differ substantially

from your country laws.

Take the phone number and

address of the embassy or

consulate of your destination

country to which you are

traveling. For longer stays register

as a transient at the Consulate.

Collect all possible information on

the country or geographical area

Try not to travel on key dates

typical holiday periods. You will

avoid jams (if traveling by car),

crowds in tourist destinations,

wasting time by waiting, Seasonal

price increases.

References

Gente para viajar. (2011) Recomendaciones

generales para viajar. Retrieved from

http://www.genteparaviajar.com/recome

ndacionesparaviajar.html

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Interviews

Job interviews are extremely important in a

person's working life, so you have to take

into account some points, to avoid

problems at the time of getting the job.

1. Before going to your interview,

learn about the company that you are

interested in. There are many sources of

information but the most affordable now is

the Internet. Search for news about the

company and visit their website.

2. Punctuality is essential, always go

to your job interviews with 10 minutes’

notice. You give a serious and responsible

image.

3. The presentation is a relevant point

in this list. Take care of your image and

hygiene. If you are a woman, do not go

neither too makeup, not too sexy, that

would be contrarious to what you want to

reflect. Wear elegant clothes that you feel

comfortable. If you are a man and you

aspire to a high or medium position, it is

essential that wear a suit and tie. For other

positions, the suit is not mandatory but it

reflects good presentation.

4. Everything you wrote in your

resume must be true and verifiable. It is

absurd to try to get jobs for which you

have no experience or knowledge, so for

this is very important not to lie.

5. Take your time to talk, think before

answering phrases and express yourself

calmly. Listen very carefully to the

questions of your partner and if something

is not clear, politely ask them to explain.

6. Not talk too much! You better not

talk too much about your personal life in

the interview. You should mention just

aspects directly related to the position.

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7. Watch your vocabulary, do not use

very formal language or colloquialisms. If

you use multiple languages in your daily

life, try not to mix them.

Another things very important and to

consider in an interview are turn off the

phone, show enthusiasm for the position

and the company, respond sincerely, bring

an extra copy of the curriculum and many

others tips. So, good luck in your next one!

References

Perrin C. (2012). 10 Claves para tu

entrevista de trabajo. SlideShare.com,

["Internet sources"]. Retrieved the

December 4, 2012, from:

http://www.slideshare.net/cristellp/10-

claves-para-tu-entrevista-de-trabajo

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Health Modern Addictions

Addictions used to be defined as a

psychological dependence on psychoactive

substances, such as alcohol, tobacco,

caffeine and cannabis. Nowadays an

addiction is also viewed as a repetitive

need.

Today we have so many things and

services, which make our life more

comfortable called “modern addictions”, for

example internet, gambling, food, porn,

shopping, tanning, plastic surgery, teeth

whitening, exercise and others. People

become addicts because they do not know

how to control a particular situation or

maybe they could have a mental illness,

they can suffer from mental disorders like

anxiety, compulsiveness and depression.

The principal symptom of these problems

is some kind of stress or frustration, when

something is not ok and the person wants

to hit a wall or a person.

For example: a person with problems of

video games has stress when he isn't at

the house with PlayStation or Xbox or the

person with Internet addiction spends all

day surfing the internet. This example is

very common in families when their social

status is very good, because these families

have possibilities to buy a PlayStation,

Xbox or buy the computer with Internet in

the house.

Other problems we can see in society is

the cell phone addiction, it is very

interesting. Why interesting? Simple, these

people need the cell phone to

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communicate with friends and they need to

see Facebook, Twitter, What Sapp and

other; but they have problems with

communication face to face, also problems

with studies by not paying attention. In the

investigation, the doctors found that blood

pressure in people who do not use the cell

phone is low compared to those using.

If you are addicted to any of these you can

help yourself doing any recreational activity

like sports, exercise or something that

makes you feel free and stress out, other

solutions to improve their lives without

addictions: take treatment or therapy, go to

support groups, improve on spiritual life,

always with a limit to avoid addiction.

If we have an addicted friend we have to

make him feel that everything is good, try

to communicate that he or she is not alone,

take him or her for a walk where they can

breathe fresh air where they can think of

goals or devote

time in positive

things.

Remember

everything has

a limit.

References

Hannover, C. (2012). Modern Addictions

["Internet sources"]. Retrieved from:

http://www.taringa.net/posts/info/1372092/_

Adicciones-modernas_-Conocelas.html

Dr. Alvarado, S. (2012). Recuperation

["Internet sources"]. Retrieved from:

http://www.adicciones.org/recuperacion/ind

ex.html

Zabala, R. (2012). Addictions of the

modern life ["Internet sources"]. Retrieved

from: http://suite101.net/article/adicciones-

de-la-vida-moderna-a9602

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Internet addiction

Internet addiction is a

psychological disorder that involves the

devotion and excessive use of it; it is

common that it interferes with the daily life

of the people who suffer of this disease. In

the last years, this addiction has come out

as the main problem is the young society.

According to a research from Stanford

University School of Medicine in Silicon

Valley in 2006 only in USA, one out of

eight people are addicted to the internet.

The internet addiction is such particular

habit that no one knows what the causes

are, but the Encyclopedia of mental

disorders proposes that there are several

factors that can contribute to this habit.

The main theory is related to the

satisfaction that a person may feel just

been in the internet. In other words, there

are some chemical changes that happen in

the body when someone is involved in an

addictive action. Moreover, from the

biological point of view people think that

there must be a combination of genes that

make some people more sensitive to

addictive behaviors, just like in any other

addiction. Besides, from the social point,

the family can be involved in the

developing of the addiction For example: a

person who lives in a conflict family will

use the internet as the best way to escape

from this situation.

How can you recognize a person who has

this dependence? There are many ways to

know when a person is suffering of this

bad. Some of them are: Over use of the

internet, people lose the sense of passage

time and usually ignore basic needs, most

of the time they skip meals, lose time to

sleep. People engaging in this addiction

can present with uncommon

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behavior. They often manifest frustration,

anxiety and depression if they are not

surfing the internet most of the time.

Generally, they have negative

repercussions to this behavior like

arguments, fatigue, different problems at

school or work, lack of accomplishments

and loneliness. Also, people might have a

diminution and negative effect in social

activities and relationships. Another

characteristic is people rearrange their

schedule to spend as much time as

possible on line. It is usual that people

develop physical problems associated with

a bad diet, lack of exercise and if the time

in the computer is really extended they can

even develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Recently, a case in the South Korea, the

nation with the world’s most advanced

internet society, shows how bad this

addiction can be. According to the

government, about 2 million of citizens are

addicted to the internet; this means that

nearly one of ten online users is an addict.

They live immersed in this online world

every waking moment. Due to this, the

government has responded by spending

millions of dollars on recoveries centers

and awareness classes for kids. Also, the

government has restricted some sites for

youngers under 18 years old; it establishes

some curfews that don’t let people under

age play these games. (Mc Curry.J, 2010)

But the real gravity and tragic

consequences of the addiction can be

exemplify with a fatal case that occurred in

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this same nation, a man was sentenced to

two years in prison because he and his

wife left their child to starve to death while

they were spending all their time in a cafe

internet.

Since the internet is everywhere,

nowadays is impossible to have a person

completely far

from the internet due to nowadays

everything depends on it, business,

educational programs and access to all

kind of information. There is little

information about a good treatment, but

the support groups are the best option. In

these meetings a person can learn how to

use the net in moderation. If the case is

that the addiction is related to a biological

aspect so the right medication would be

needed in order to stop the

compulsiveness that addicts feel. Also, a

good option can be a psychological

treatment, it can help patients identify the

source of the problem and look for the way

to eliminate it. Besides, it can be help to

improve social skills and relationships. But,

the best help for an addict is to recognize

that he or she has a problem, understand

that there is something out of the world of

the internet that he or she is missing.

References

Encyclopedia of mental disorders

(n.d).Internet addiction disorder. Retrieved

from http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-

Inv/Internet-addiction-disorder.html

Mc Curry.J. (2010, July 13).Internet

addictions driving South Koreans into

realms of fantasy. The guardian. [On line].

Retrieved from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13

/internet-addiction-south-korea

Página 17

People Peace Corps

The Peace Corps (cuerpo de Paz in

Spanish) is a volunteer program, this

program has three goals:

1. Providing technical assistance

2. Helping people outside the

United States to understand

American culture, also until

they could have an economic

help with rent a room.

3. Helping Americans to

understand the cultures of

other countries and the

possibility to learn Spanish or

another language.

People have to perform volunteer work

and the work is generally related to social

and economic work. People involved in

this volunteer program have a university

degree and they should subscribe to

several months before, also have to be

three months with hard training and after

that time they are two years in the country.

Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have

joined the Peace Corps and have served

in 139 countries, these volunteers work

with governments, schools, non-profit

organizations, non-government

organizations, and entrepreneurs in

education, hunger, business, information

technology, agriculture, and the

environment. These people can say to

leaders an extension of time to stay and

continue helping, because they can live by

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helping, however they do without any

payment.

The principal purpose of this program is to

promote world peace and friendship

through a Peace Corps, which shall make

available to interested countries and areas

or men and women of the United States

qualified for service abroad and willing to

serve, under conditions of hardship if

necessary, to help the peoples of such

countries and areas in meeting their needs

for trained manpower.

Volunteers help in many countries around

the world, currently, Peace Corps

Volunteers are working in 68 countries. In

Latin America we can say that they work in

the Dominican Republic, Eastern

Caribbean, Jamaica, Belize, Costa Rica, El

Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,

Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador,

Guyana, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname.

They have to get used to the customs, as

in food, religion, clothing and many other

special things in each

country.

This people are

very important to

many countries,

because they can

work in different

topics, for example the education.

Volunteers introduce innovative teaching

methodologies, encourage critical thinking

in the classroom, and integrate issues like

health education and environmental

awareness into English, math, science,

and other subjects. Another relevant point

is that volunteers educate in health and

promote awareness issues such as bad

nutrition and safe drinking water. Also

there are people with skills about nutrition;

the 40 percent of volunteers are involved

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in some capacity to support food security

through projects in health and nutrition,

agriculture, and the environment.

This organization generally helps many

people in developing countries and poor

countries. Everyone has to be willing to

help and improve problematic situations in

the country.

References

Peace Corps. (2012). Wikipedia, ["Internet

sources"]. Retrieved the December 4,

2012, from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Corps#In

itiatives

What Do Volunteers Do?. (2012). Peace

Corps, ["Internet sources"]. Retrieved the

December 4, 2012, from:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/learn/whatvol/

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Authors

Tracy Artavia

Student of system engineering

José Mario Chaves

Student of system engineering