Despite the possible benefits the language may offer, the recent boom in Mandarin teaching seems to be shortsighted and excessive. Simply put, Mandarin is not the language of the future.

Persistently, high crime eats away at the region’s societies; Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have some of the highest murder rates in the world, and the numbers only get worse with each passing year.

In San Jose, Costa Rica's capital, traditional bullfights provide entertainment and harmless fun.