The Gringa experience in Costa Rica Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Workload was considerably less than that of full semester Geneseo courses. The grading system was considerably different as well - I'm pretty sure that everyone in each class got an A. Living with a host family was a more helpful method of improving my spanish.

On-site administration of your program

Norma was helpful, but the classes were not as challenging or applicable to our abroad situation as we wouldve liked. Some students from other schools were not as advanced in Spanish and so some of the classes were dumbed down. There should be an aptitude test to determine your skill before letting anyone go to a study abroad program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My house was 14 blocks from class, and I was one of the few people who was able to walk to the university instead of taking the bus.

My host mother made me some disgusting food for breakfast and lunch - it was obvious she was trying to do something cheap and easy, despite the fact that they were a well off family. She would buy her children take out for lunch and I would get a meat-spread sandwich on white bread that was not reflective of Costa Rican culture by any means

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

One of my fellow classmates had an allergic reaction to aspirin, which she didnt know she was allergic to and they sat her in the directors office, took 10 minutes to call for help, at which point her throat was closing, so we carried her across the street to the university health center, went back to get her things, and the ambulance had just arrived (30 minutes after the initial call). This frightened many of the students because the situation could have been much more severe, had she had a stronger initial reaxtion

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

My host family did not speak any english, and we spoke frequently, which caused me to say a variety of different things I would never have to say in a classroom setting, greatly expanding my vocabulary. My family also noticed the improvement in my speech by the end of the six weeks. They noticed that I was speaking faster and more clearly. Because Costa Rica has many tourists, the hotels and weekend trips did not require us to speak Spanish, which detracted from our practice time. When Ticos recognized that our spanish was slower, or if we struggled for a word, they would immediately start speaking english, whcih was frustrating. However, finding the right buses from Heredia to San Jose and within San Jose required a lot of spanish.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans