Purda Vida Costa Rica Past Review
By Tiffany O (EC-6, Stephen F. Austin State University) for
Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA): Traveling - Cross-Cultural Learning, Costa Rica
I loved learning about Costa Rica and being emerged in the culture. I learned about ESL and what future students might feel in my future classroom.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
A lot of the work had to do with reading articles, discussing the main points, and presenting valuable information. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The professors were very knowledgeable. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I felt completely safe wherever we stayed. There were a lot of bugs! |
| * Food: |
The food was delicious and they were always happy to give different food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I loved going to the beach and laying out with the ocean view. |
| * Safety: |
As long as you listened to the professor and payed attention in the orientation, I felt completely safe and was prepared for what vaccines and medicine I needed ahead of time. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I only knew a few Spanish words but everyone knew English. However, I did learn more vocabulary just by being emerged in the culture. |
| 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?
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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 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? | Bring lots of bug spray :) |
