Manu Crew Past Review
By jonathan c (ENVS, Trinity College) for
The School for Field Studies / SFS: Costa Rica – Ecological Resilience Studies
Absolutely. I met and made friends for life. It's been a whole year since we first saw each other and I miss them terribly. I miss the whole experience and would go back to Costa Rica in a heartbeat.
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. |
We were kept busy but the experience didn't make us resent it. I think that if we had been given more free time we would have done much worse in our studies because we would have been excited to goof off. As it turns out, the limited free time really helped us bond and come to peace with the fact that we were learning all the time. It also didn't hurt that the stuff we learned was awesome. And our professors didn't put on airs and acted like the real people they were. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I didn't see any problems. The staff was excellent and catered to every single one of our needs... and sometimes beyond that too. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
SFS told us of everything we needed to bring. Housing was in log cabins, three to a room. At first I found them cramped but soon warmed up to it. |
| * Food: |
No problems here. Many of the students were vegetarians and that didn't stop anything. The cooks were awesome and very nice people to help out. Food was always delicious and healthy. I had great poops and wiping was a formality. Life was good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Lots of field trips to different biomes across the country. I enjoyed them all, even the ones that were really far away. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Nobody had any bad incidents. A couple bruises and scrapes from playing soccer on an asphalt basketball court, but that was it. |
| 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 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
We spoke a lot of spanish. My problem has always been vocabulary so that definitely helped me. |
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? | Here's to the time of your life. |
