Don’t go back Past Review
By Adriana (Texas A&M University - College Station) - abroad from 05/11/2019 to 07/13/2019 with
Study Abroad Programs in Costa Rica
I’m better at Spanish. I would never choose sol again.
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. |
If you already have a decent background in Spanish odds are you will find the courses to be a joke. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Extremely unorganized. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Middle class in the USA has a very different meaning than in Costa Rica. Beware of the gates that look like prison gates, room with no windows, uncomfortable bed, and walking through your neighborhood hoping not to get robbed at gun point like 2 people in my program. |
| * Food: |
My Mama Tica wasn’t the best cook and I have a sweet tooth but also felt uncomfortable asking for different food. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money so what we ate the quality was pretty low. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Compared to what the other programs offered the social and cultural programming was very poor. The cooking class was a long hike from school just to be at someone’s host home. The dance class was in a strange gym taught by a woman who didn’t seem to care. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt extremely on edge the entire time I was abroad. Being a girl made me uncomfortable and I went home many times crying because of how I was only seen as an object for sex by the local men. I didn’t do anything to provoke them other than walk but they still asked me how much I cost for sex, asked where I was going, would follow us for a block, cat call. Two people in my program were robbed but the directors never addressed that to us, it was only through word of mouth. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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? | No |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | How unsafe I would feel as a woman |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
