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My Heart is Still In Costa Rica!
API (Academic Programs International): San Joaquin de Flores - Instituto San Joaquin De Flores
Program Information
The Instituto San Joaquín de Flores affords students in both semester and summer programs the ability to take courses taught by Costa Rican faculty from local universities. Semester students also have the option to enroll in some classes with Costa Rican students at the Universidad Interamericana. All coursewo... More
| Provider: | Academic Programs International (API) |
| Location(s): | San Joaquin de Flores, Costa Rica |
| Year Founded: | 1997 |
| Website | Take me there! |
Review By:
Kaitlin L. (K-12 Spanish Education, ) on September 02, 2010
Overall Rating
Review Photos
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2010-07-05 |
| * End Date: | 2010-08-20 |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was a bit heavy, but it was an intensive language course so that was to be expected. The professors were SO nice, but sometimes class was a little boring. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The resident directors were AWESOME! They were extremely nice and helpful with everything from personal problems to planning trips to other cities. I feel like there might have been a miscommunication between API texas and costa rica. |
| * Housing: |
The house was nice, the food was good, and the family was nice. I didn't have to by anything really. |
| * Food: |
My host family gave me plenty of food but I never got to cook my own and I would have preferred that. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had an amazing time traveling all around Costa Rica. Public transportation is so cheap! It was a great way to learn the culture. I also went on 2 weekend excursions with API that were a lot of fun! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They told us not to walk around after dark, which was a pain, but they were just trying to protect us. I did walk around at night a few times (but with no valuables) and I didn't have any problems. I felt extremely safe at school and at home. I did need the Hep A and typhoid fever vaccines but no one got really sick at all. |
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* Home Institution Advising:
How well did your university prepare and support you for your time abroad? |
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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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I could practice with my host family, the resident directors, and professors. I needed Spanish everyday and everywhere in Costa Rica when I wasn't with my American friends. |
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
| * If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? | Yes |
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would definitely go to San Joaquin. It's a smaller program, so you have small classes and a small town feel. It is close enough to big cities so you can go out and to the malls whenever you want. I would reccommend Costa Rica in general to anyone who likes being adventurous outside. |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | My entire life has been changed because of this trip. I am a different, better, person and I can't wait to go back. I loved the culture and the people. I could see myself living there in the future :) |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intro to Cultural Analasis |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Carlos |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This was really interesting and Carlos was awesome! I wish we could've hand more discussions in class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Advanced Grammar |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Luis |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | It was really informative and I learned a lot of specific grammar details. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |