Costa Rica taught me a lot about myself. Past Review
By Brittany W (BA Foreign Languages (Spanish), George Mason University) for
ISA Study Abroad in San José, Costa Rica
I was not satisfied with the program - i think it was slightly misreading in that the structure of the courses was not explained fully or clearly. If I had known I was going to a "specialty school" (School of Art & Design) I would never have gone considering 1-my major had nothing to do with that and 2- I have no artistic ability whatsoever. Also, It was not clearly described how having classes with "ticos" would work. Having very FEW options, I ended up in some lecture class that involved speaking with a local maybe ONCE or TWICE. Also, due to having classes 95% of the time with other American students , i didnt get to practice or use my language skills AT ALL except for when I was with my host family. If we wanted to meet locals we REALLY REALLY had to try hard and even then since we didn't often see many or interact in school, it was hard to develop any kind of relationship with them. If I had the opportunity to go with ISA again, I think I would check around more in-depth with other programs first. The REASONS I picked ISA were specifically because: I would have class with ticos, live with a host family, and the cost was relatively average. BUT I felt mislead and was overall disappointed with the program specific to Veritas.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
N/a My school did not have anything to do with my program. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host family was AMAZING. I have ZERO complaints about them. They were BEYONG wonderful and I never in anyway felt uncomfortable in their home. I did not need to buy anything out of the ordinary. They treated me as if I were their own daughter. I felt safe at all times. They were also probably the only reason I have almost any chance of having conversations only in Spanish on a daily basis. I DO wish I had someone else live with me - both the daughters were 4 and 6 years younger than me and where EVERY OTHER student had another student living with them, I felt very lonely and isolated due to having to do everything (socially) on my own. |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Jumping off the waterfalls at Montezuma. Snorkeling. The beautiful Caribbean cost of Puerto Viejo. Bike riding at the beaches. Zip lining through the cloud forest. Climbing a volcano in Nicaragua during Semana Santa and our semi-disastrous trip to Bocas del Toro on a long weekend. It was a blast - socially. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Went to the doctor once for allergies and they saw me very quickly. I like that you do not need a prescription for EVERYTHING at the pharmacy - it makes solving issues quicker, cheaper, and easier. I was robbed on two occasions and I know of several others who were as well - but this was due to not listening to the precautions we were given - guarding our valuables and not walking the streets at night. That was our own fault. Safety advice would be to listen to the warnings they are given - they are told how to stay safe because the leaders know what has happened in the past and are able to help future students avoid what has happened to those in the past. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
The program did NOT encourage or improve my language acquisition at all. Where it is for my own part as well I also believe I was VERY mislead with this program. I selected this program based on many things, but MOSTLY choose ISA over others because it said I would be given the opportunity to take classeS with locals. Where this is TRUE, I was UNAWARE that it meant only ONE which required little to no interaction at all. The rest of my classes were with OTHER EXCHANGE STUDENTS ONLY who due to the large variety of language skills, were not always able to communicate with me sufficiently in Spanish, resulting in 75% of the time speaking in English. Almost the ONLY time I spoke Spanish was either during the FEW hours of class during the week or with my host family. TOO MANY PEOPLE SPOKE ENGLISH ALL THE TIME *AND* I was VERY VERY VERY disappointed in having 3 of the 4 classes be with ONLY other exchange students. That allowed for almost NO interaction with locals. |
| 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? | Listen to the precautions and warnings you are given. Make the most of it - you can facebook and email all you want when you get back to the USA. You may never get another chance or experience like this again - take advantage of it. Go out of your way to do things - step out of your comfort zone and TRY NEW THINGS! |
