Cost Rica: Pura Vida!! Past Review
By Matt M (Criminal Justice and Corrections., Plymouth State University) for
CISabroad (Center for International Studies): San Jose - Semester in Costa Rica
It was definitely worth it. I'm for sure going abroad next year somewhere else. Take advantage of studying abroad while your in college!
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Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Like every university, the homework load depends on the coarse's you take. For me, i have homework nearly every night and lots of it. However, i have a lot of friends here that barely have any. I find the teachers here to be much more caring and passionate about their job as a professor. The classes are an average of 8-20 people, so the teachers connect with you. The grading system is however your universities back home is (Either pass or fail or letter grades). Overall, i like the education system a lot more here, because of the teachers treating us like anyone else. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The only weakness they showed was the airport scenario i previously discussed. Other than that they where perfect. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
They only thing i wish differently would be to have a roommate. All the other students studying abroad here live with at least one other student, some with up to five. The neighborhood is safe, right next to the university. The nightlife is great. There are so many bars around the area...i would just suggest walking home with someone after dark because i have heard of the ticos and ticas getting mugged, however, so far no one out of the exchange students has had a problem. |
| * Food: |
Be prepared to eat a lot of rice and beans! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Every weekend i went on was one of the funnest times of my entire life, enough said. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I haven't had any safety problems while here. Its relatively safe, however, i have heard of ticos and ticas getting robbed in broad day light and at night. Also, two of my friends got their bags stolen on a local bus, not knowingly. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | It really depends on a given week. I live off of two meals a day which my host family provides me to save money. But occasionally on weekends i spend a lot of money on gifts for friends and family back home or myself. I don't really know how much to say i spend. However, everyone gets the idea before coming here that everything is cheaper in Costa Rica...not at all true. Almost everything is more expensive unless you eat at a small Tica restaurant of go to the artisans market where they sell souvenir's or something. One beer is roughly two dollars at the bar as well. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Come over here knowing the exchange rate. Right now 1000 colones is roughly 2 dollars. Know this before you start spending money on stuff thinking its so cheep. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
When i first started Spanish here it personally made my experience worse. Along with one other student in my class, we came here knowing no Spanish whatsoever. Everyone else in my Basico Uno class new enough Spanish to hold a conversation, so my teacher moved on very quickly, leaving the two of us in the dust. I started out poorly on the test's and it was making my dread being here so i decided to withdraw from the class. This made me only worry about my English speaking classes, so i became more comfortable with being in Costa Rica; less stressed if you will. However, this is just my experience...The kids who knew some Spanish didn't share this experience with me all of them started out loving this trip and still do, along with me know. So i recommend knowing at least some Spanish before applying for this abroad system. |
| 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 did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Know some Spanish before coming here and make sure your living with another student at your host house. |
