Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica: Heavy on the Biology, Not on Culture. Past Review
By Erik V (Biology, General., Carleton College) for
Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS): San Jose - Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet
My cultural awareness was only lightly impacted, but my excitement for biology increased ten-fold.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 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 |
The professors were excellent. We learned a lot and were challenged academically, but it was not overwhelming. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Rice and beans for every meal, but Salsa Lizano made it bearable. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Healthcare in Costa Rica is just as good as that in the United States, and access was not a problem. On my program one guy broke his nose and one girl got stomach parasites and both experiences no problems with healthcare. Safety in San Jose is a bit of an issue. We took public buses during the day to get to and from class, but at night we only took taxis. Taking a few precautions like these can make your stay in San Jose a lot more safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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? | At the field research stations the only places to buy things are at the small gift shops, if there are even gift shops, so I spent less than $10 a week on snacks and postcards. However, in San Jose we went out to lunch in between Spanish classes and went out to bars at night and ended up spending a lot of money; probably around $75 a week. Midterm break was also very expensive. I went to a hostel in Panama (which is a LOT cheaper than Costa Rica) and spent over $300 in one week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | With at least $500 and frugal spending you should be fine. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 204 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
The majority of the program was in English, but there was a three week homestay in the middle with intensive Spanish classes seven hours a day, four days a week. These three weeks improved my Spanish language skills much more than I thought they would. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you want to see amazing nature, this program is for you. |
