Living the life in Costa Rica! PURA VIDA!!! Past Review
By anayssa p (education and spanish, Washington State University - Pullman campus) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: San Jose, Costa Rica
Studying abroad opened up a new chapter in my life. It helped me better understand who i was as a person, gave me a better understanding on world views, and i am now eager to travel the world!
Review Photos
Personal Information
| 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 host university classes were much easier and funner to be in than my home classes. I liked that the classes were smaller there was more one on one contact with the professors and the workload was less than my home workload. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
She was great help during the time we were here. I really enjoyed having her and getting to know her a little better, she was a great help and very organized. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I didnt need to buy any house items because my host mom had everything i needed of the basics. The only thing i brought were personal heigine items. I arranged my housing through CEA i filled out a survey. I only lived with a host mom and two other roomates from the states. I couldn't have asked for a better host mom she was amazing, i felt right at home with her. |
| * Food: |
i ate alot of food! it is very good overall i definetly gained a few pounds because they eat alot of bread and alot of rice beans and meat in costa rica but its delicious! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I got to see alot of the volcanoes, including one that had a little bit of lava comming down at night which was amazing, also got to visit many beaches and got a good tan, we also went to watch a tango show. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
for the most part this country is safe, just dont put yourself at risk. I did get my backpack stolen on the bus comming home from a beach, but that was because i fell asleep and had my backpack on top. someone was obviously watching me so there are alot of thefts. I was lucky and did not get sick at all during my stay however the bug bites were pretty bad. The pharmacies have everything you need and its relatively cheep to get medicine. I got a vaccine to prevent diseases transported from mosquitoes. |
| 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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
the international students all spoke english, my host mom only spoke spanish, and yes i used spanish in every day conversation while interacting with locals |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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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? | i recommend this program to any student who wants to experience a new culture, country, and meet amazing people from the states and other parts of the world. Any one can benefit from the program with a positive mind and they must be open minded and willing to try new things. |
