Costa Rica, Where the Living is Fun and Beautiful Past Review
By Nneka O (Business Administration, University of California - Riverside) for
Study Abroad Programs in Costa Rica
It made me realize that speaking another language is not the easiest thing in the world, especially learning subjects in a language that I haven't mastered yet. I gained so much respect for exchange students at my school who come and learn in English. I never put myself in their shoes before
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. |
I had each class once a week, so the hours were much longer, and for my business class I had a presentation just about every week. But it was manageable |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were very well prepared for everything |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I also lived with another girl from the program. My host family treated my like a family member. They made me feel completely welcome, comfortable, and helped out a lot whenever I had questions about anything. The neighborhood was very safe. It was about a 7 minute walk from the University and I called cabs whenever I wanted to go out at night. |
| * Food: |
the food was delicious. but they also had wendys, mcdonalds, etc |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our group travelled to a lot of tourists sites, as well as a coffee farm, medicinal farm, thins of that nature. My favorite would have to be when we went to a hot springs resort, it was soo relaxing |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They always told us to not go out alone at night, take a taxi home, and don't accept things from people you don't know. Healthcare was fair. Waiting took a long time, but it does here too. And it was kind of pricey |
| 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? | maybe around 50 or so, but my group was really active and lot to do a lot of things. It would be possible to spend less, especially if you walk to school and eat at home. But I've always been a bad saver, so i know my situation doesn't really apply to anyone else |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Take enough money if you plan on going on weekend trips |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 4 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people spoke Spanish. I spoke to my host family and teachers and local classmates in Spanish, so that greatly improved by conversational skills. I do wish I had spoke Spanish more with the other students from the program |
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? | go if you are willing to have fun and be outside your comfort zone, because if you are not, its going to be the longest experience of your life for me, time went back wayyy too fast! I'm missing it so much! |
