Costa Rica--I'm glad I went, but it was pretty terrible in a lot of ways. Past Review
By rachel t (elementary education, University of Tulsa) for
ISA Study Abroad in Heredia, Costa Rica
Yes. It was something I always wanted to do. I would have regretted it forever if I had chickened out. I was miserable for most of the time, though. It was really hard to be away from my husband, and I had nightmares about being back there for months after I got back home. I was a little traumatized, but at the same time I had a lot of great experiences that I can remember for the rest of my life. I would love to go abroad again, but I would never do it alone again.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The courses in English were a joke. The Spanish classes were terrible, like high school level, and at the same time all grammar and no speaking. The class I tried to take with Ticos, I failed. I tried to get out of it, but I wasn't allowed. I asked for help several times and was not given any. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The trips were fun and well organized. The university stuff was terrible. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We were walking distance to school and just about everything. All of the 12 Americans in my program were on the same block. Anything we couldn't walk to there was a bus we could take. My host family was very supportive. It was a difficult experience for me being away from my family, especially my husband, and my host family was very kind. |
| * Food: |
I am a vegetarian, and it wasn't very hard to find food. Many of the Ticos were more accepting of my food choices than a lot of Americans are. You can get a "casado" with egg instead of meat most places. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The weekend field trips were a lot of fun. Arenal was beautiful. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
No one in our program had any safety problems until the last few weeks. One girl got her purse stolen at knife-point and another was shot at in a crazy incident near a hotel where her friend from the US who had come to visit her was staying. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
|
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
My host parents only spoke Spanish. It was hard because I was around my english-speaking classmates all day, and they NEVER wanted to practice Spanish. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you are too shy to seek out Spanish-speaking opportunities in the states, you will be too shy to become fluent in Spanish in another country. I was really hoping that I would be forced to use Spanish enough to really improve my speaking skills, but I wasn't. If you are outgoing enough to practice, you can find opportunities in the US to learn. |
