Costa Rica Study Abroad Launched My Travel Passion Past Review
By Kaitlin J (Microbiological Sciences and Immunology., Texas State University-San Marcos) for
Study Abroad Programs in Costa Rica
I gained quite an appreciation for where I come from because of the study abroad trip. My minor in school still remains as Spanish. This trip catapulted my desire to travel, I have already planned another trip to South America for the next year.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
In Heredia we had the most amazing teacher. I was able to really broaden my working knowledge of the Spanish language because of her. The grading system and workload were both very manageable. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our program director was wonderful, she was native to the country and provided us with so much information about the culture and diversities. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our neighborhood seemed to be quite safe. It was very far away from school, in the email we received about our family it said we lived within a 5-10 minute walk to school, the walk was easily 30-40 minutes. We did not need to buy any information to settle in, everything was provided. Our host family treated us as guests, they served our meals separately and we rarely interacted with them because they were never there. |
| * Food: |
The food we received was all excellent, we never had any problems with what was served, the food was always delicious. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
All of the weekend excursions are what made the trip worth while. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
In our program we had a girl who thought he may have received a concussion which turned out to be nothing but the expense of her doctors visit made it so that we could not have a formal going away party. I never had to personally receive healthcare. I didn't have to receive any vaccines before going to Costa Rica. |
| 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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Since this was an immersion program we used Spanish on a daily basis to talk to locals and navigate the city. We tried to mostly speak Spanish with everyone and only English when it was necessary. |
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 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? | A student must be open minded to be able to gain anything from this experience. |
