Puerto+Rico+Christine

= Puerto Rico =

Geography
Map of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean Sea just to the east of the Dominican Republic. In reference, it is about three times the size of Rhode Island at about 9,000 square miles. Puerto RIco is rectangular in shape with mostly mountains and beaches on all sides other than the west. There are some other smaller islands surrounding Puerto Rico to the east and west. About 5.5% of the land is used for farming. The capital, San Juan, is located on the northern coast. The weather is tropical and doesn't change much throughout the year. Though it is prone to hurricanes and has occasional droughts.

Breif History
When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, he called it San Juan Bautista but was soon after names Puerto Rico, "Rich Port," after the gold that was found in a river. Puerto Rico started farming which eventually lead to the use of African slaves. It was a territory of Spain until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1898 which gave it to the United States. It wasn't until 1917 that Puerto Ricans were given US citizenship and wasn't until even later, 1952, that it became a US Commonwealth.

Government/Current Political Situation
Since Puerto Rico is an American Territory, it has the same government as the United States. It is a three-branch government with a bicamerial Congress. The branches of government consist of the Judiciary, Executive, and Legislative branches. The Congress' houses are the Senate and the House of Representatives. President: Barack Obama Governor: Luis Fortuno

Culture
The culture is very unique because it is a mixture of Spainish and American culture. The power swap was the cause of this. Until 1898, Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule then after the Treaty of Paris was under US rule. A big part of the Puerto Rican culture is the language. Since there are two official languages, English and Spanish, the two languages are often mixed in everyday talking. Though some, like the "language purists," condemn such speaking because it is blasphemy to the original languages.

Tourism
To travel around, there are many uses of transportation. There are cars, trains, busses, ferries, and taxis. When you get to where you want to be, there are many things you can do. There are golf courses, old plantations, the rainforest called El Yunque, horseback riding, and many others.

The cuisine, surprisingly, isn't comparable to Mexican food. The expectation is that it would be spicy but it is rare for it to actually be spicy. A type of food that is commonly added in Puerto Rican dishes is a Plantian which is a sort of banana. The Plantain used to be used as a main source of starch. In sit down restraunts, a tourist could very well be charged more than a local so it's best to bring along a local friend is at all possible. Tourist style restraunt commonly charge up to $30 for an entree. Though through all this, most restraunts will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

!!!Vegitarians beware!!! It is very difficult for a vegitarian to find a quality meat-free meal. Lard is used to cook many of the dishes. Restraunts in larger cities are more likely to have vegitarian foods on their menus.

Current Events
On February 4th, a boat set out for Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic. The boat was small, worn out and overloaded. The weather obviously wasn't savory either, but the captain decided to head to Puerto Rico anyway on a 36-hour trip. The storm tore apart the boat not to far from the port that they left. People were screaming for help, as some survivors recall, but there was no one around to hear or help them. Fifty-two bodies were recovered from Samana Bay. Thirteen survived including one of the trip organizers who may be facing criminal charges.

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