Study Abroad San Jose, Costa Rica: An Experience of A Lifetime Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The language class that I took (advanced 1) was thoroughly challenging and had a substantial workload to accompany it. The Spanish electives were very interesting but not as challenging as I had hoped, the grading of papers seemed too easy-as in my Spanish professors at my home university would have given me a lower grade for the work that I produced than the Veritas professors.

On-site administration of your program

ISA was really great about staying in contact with students, their facility was a very short walk from my homestay and the university, the staff was very knowledgable and answered any questions quickly and seemed happy to help the students. The program size was over 50 students, which was a bit large. All of my expectations were met and exceeded by ISA and their staff members! They really provided me a peace of mind and acted as a "safety net" in a foreign country.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My host family lived about 10 seconds away from the University, which provided a sense of security when going to the library later at night, for example. The neighborhood was said to be one of the safest of San Jose, yet there were a few house robberies in the area; however, I had no negative experiences with any theft. Everything in my room was provided for me and my family always asked to make sure all of us girls were comfortable in our individual rooms. We were definitely treated as daughters by our host parents---we even took a family vacation one weekend to our host dad's grandparents beach home!

The food provided by my family was very good and good quality, always home cooked--however, because of Costa Rica's year round supply of fresh vegetables I was expecting more of them and less meat. For future students at Veritas University: definitely try La Musa Confusa, right across from the ISA office. Also, Spoon, a chain of cafes makes the most delicious coffee and desserts. Las Leñitas, about a block from the school, also has wonderful dishes, with a giant open flame chicken rotisserie.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We took 3 weekend excursions--la Playa Tamarindo, Volcan Arenal, and Monteverde. We always stayed in amazing resorts, which was really awesome, but then we were surrounded by a bunch of American tourists speaking English, which made it tough to practice Spanish during those weekends. I wish we would have gone to visit a poor section or countryside of CR or done some volunteer work with the program.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Theft was not uncommon in San Jose, a host family was robbed and several laptop computers stolen. I felt safe at night as long as I was with two or more other people, and I felt very safe if I was with at least one male friend. Our host family provided each girl a desk with a lockable drawer--my advice--keep your valuables locked in that drawer!! That way even if someone breaks into your house, your stuff will be safe. A friend of mine got extremely sick in Jaco and we ended up taking her to the health clinic. It was very very different from anything I had experienced before, only one person was allowed to accompany her into the building and only cash could be paid for her prescription. No vaccines were needed specifically for the program.

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

I practiced Spanish with my host parents and the other hosted students in my homestay. I did use Spanish in everyday interactions; most young people were fluent in English and wanted to practice their English with native speakers, which was frustrating. Sometimes I would ask a question to a stranger (for directions, etc.) in Spanish and they would answer in perfect English.

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Americans
• Host Family