My Heart is Still In Costa Rica! Past Review
By Kaitlin L (K-12 Spanish Education, Concordia University - Wisconsin) for
API (Academic Programs International): San Joaquin de Flores - Instituto San Joaquin De Flores
My entire life has been changed because of this trip. I am a different, better, person and I can't wait to go back. I loved the culture and the people. I could see myself living there in the future :)
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was a bit heavy, but it was an intensive language course so that was to be expected. The professors were SO nice, but sometimes class was a little boring. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The resident directors were AWESOME! They were extremely nice and helpful with everything from personal problems to planning trips to other cities. I feel like there might have been a miscommunication between API texas and costa rica. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The house was nice, the food was good, and the family was nice. I didn't have to by anything really. |
| * Food: |
My host family gave me plenty of food but I never got to cook my own and I would have preferred that. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had an amazing time traveling all around Costa Rica. Public transportation is so cheap! It was a great way to learn the culture. I also went on 2 weekend excursions with API that were a lot of fun! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They told us not to walk around after dark, which was a pain, but they were just trying to protect us. I did walk around at night a few times (but with no valuables) and I didn't have any problems. I felt extremely safe at school and at home. I did need the Hep A and typhoid fever vaccines but no one got really sick at all. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I could practice with my host family, the resident directors, and professors. I needed Spanish everyday and everywhere in Costa Rica when I wasn't with my American friends. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would definitely go to San Joaquin. It's a smaller program, so you have small classes and a small town feel. It is close enough to big cities so you can go out and to the malls whenever you want. I would reccommend Costa Rica in general to anyone who likes being adventurous outside. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intro to Cultural Analasis |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Carlos |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This was really interesting and Carlos was awesome! I wish we could've hand more discussions in class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Advanced Grammar |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Luis |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | It was really informative and I learned a lot of specific grammar details. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
