Costa Rica with API, worth every penny Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Professors were fantastic. I learned a lot and really gained some great confidence during my classes. Some students weren't as happy with their classes so I may have lucked out, but both of my classes were some of the best of my college experience.

On-site administration of your program

Francy and Esteban were absolutely fantastic. They were always willing to help and made our learning their priority. They taught us a lot in that first weekend in San Jose and were a lot of fun on our excursions. At the institute, Ana was amazing as well. She's hilarious, caring and runs things incredibly well. API was smart to partner with such a well-run school.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My host family was selected by the institute and had hosted students before. They picked me up from the institute our first day there and we instantly started the amazing process of becoming a family. They were truly awesome, one of the best parts of my experience in Costa Rica. My room was spacious and comfortable and I could come and go as I pleased. I felt safe and was only a 5-10 minute walk from the institute. Being in a smaller city, the nightlife was limited, but we had our local bar for fun and larger cities with more options were a short drive away.

Your host family will probably make you feel fat for a while. They pile the food up for you to show their incredible hospitality, but don't feel like you have to eat everything. I started making my own plates after a couple of days and that helped. As for local restaurants in San Joaquin, I highly recommend Loncho's Pizza, it is delcioso.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Our group excursions were great, but traveling each weekend with my group of new friends was even greater. We planned everything and took off for adventures in one of the most beautiful places on earth and it was amazing. I highly recommend Monteverde, Arenal and Dominical, but nearly everywhere we went was an unforgettable experience.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Like I said above, I felt safe. We had a few problems with crime, but overall San Joaquin was safe and comfortable.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I practiced and learned a lot with my host family. They were patient, helpful and always ready to move my grasp of the language forward. Especially helpful was an assignment from my advanced grammar course that required me to sit down with my family and discuss Costa Rican sayings. It was a great way to share culture as I learned sayings from my host culture and compared them to sayings here in the states. It was a great experience and one of many like it. That said, spending so much of my time with the other English-speaking students kept us from practicing our Spanish on the weekends. It was especially alarming on the first weekend when we spent all weekend speaking English only to have to return to Spanish the minute we stepped inside our host family's home. Thankfully we learned from it and spent more time speaking Spanish away from our houses.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family