LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

With 3 hours of Spanish class Monday through Thursday, you are able to spend a lot of time in classes but also spend a lot of time exploring Costa Rica and applying what you learned in class to the outside world, something that is lost with Spanish classes in the States.

On-site administration of your program

Janiva and Jessenia were our Program directors. They are probably the two most warm, welcoming, and supportive people that I have ever met. They always promote us to talk in Spanish when we are together (other gringos) and they made sure we had the right classes. If we had any problems they were prompt about helping us out. I don't think I would have been able to survive these 4 months without them.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I absolutely LOVED my housing arrangements. I lived with a host family, which really made me learn to speak Spanish a lot. My mama tica didn't speak any english, so you HAVE to learn to communicate with the people you live with. I began as a beginner and I can pretty much say I left at an Advanced level.

Costa Rican food is absolutely delicious, casados are both cheap and delicious no matter where you are. A casado involves rice, beans, a meat, salad, and platanos. Platanos are absolute life, they are pretty much always available as well and I don't know how I am going to live without them.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

If you don't try to involve yourself, then you won't feel integrated. You have to force yourself to be out there. My mama tica always made me feel like I was at home and part of the family. She treated me like a daughter and that helped feel closer to the culture. SOL had many experiences for us to be part of the culture, we had cooking, baking, and dancing classes, we learned about coffee picking and visited a local ballet. We had so many chances to meet ticos and be apart of Costa Rica.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had any issues with my health, i didn't need any specific vaccines before I came either. It was recommended that we not drink the water next to the beach because of its quality, but for the most part the water was always perfect to drink from the tap.

Heredia is a major city but it is smaller than the capitol of Costa Rica, San Jose. During the day there isn't a single problem with safety, I always feel safer in Heredia than in San Jose though. San Jose it is smart to walk around with your bag in front of you and on buses I always kept my bags by my feet. At night, I would recommend never walking, always take a taxi, they are super cheap and always safe. Being a female, I am constantly catcalled as I am walking home even during the day. I ignore them to the best of my ability because it is easier to not give them what they want, which is a reaction. As long as you are aware of your surroundings you will definitely be safe.

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

With SOL, breakfast, lunch, and dinner is provided (something that is not included in other programs like ISA). I never really had to budget for the week. The majority of my expenses went to traveling around Costa Rica. Buses are relatively cheap with the most expensive bus being 6,000 colones or $12 and my cheapest bus (to another location) was around 2,000 colones or $4. It really depends on if you want to travel or not. As a group we spent nights in hostels costing around $10-$15 a night, so really it's a lot of little things that you have to pay for. We were always able to cook in our hostels. I recommend traveling every weekend, Heredia and San Jose are nice but Costa Rica is filled with so many beautiful places, you have to travel.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Even when we were sitting around, our directors would ask us to speak in Spanish even if we had no idea what we were saying. Everyone is always patient and understanding, it is required that you ask questions and even beginners will know things that the advanced kids don't. Never feel deterred from speaking Spanish, it will only help you improve no matter how scary it is.

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• Host Family
• Hostel

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• Americans
• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• The excursions
• The cultural activities
• The new experiences that challenged me

• Nothing, I honestly can say that this has been the best experience of my entire life.

The Avid Adventurer