Costa Rica Internships — Global Skills & Knowledge!

I spent 6 weeks in Costa Rica learning about the culture and people while teaching at an English immersion school. The partnership between Maximo Nivel and the school was incredible! They provided me with the chance to work directly with Costa Rican students and the experience was life changing. My 7th and 8th graders were sweet, and taught me just as much as I taught them. Everyone here in Costa Rica has been welcoming, kind and always willing to help.

Maximo helped our group set up excursions to explore Costa Rica, so I visited Arenal Volcano, explored Tortuga Island, the beaches of Manuel Antonio, and much more! I highly recommed this experience and program for anyone and hope to come back again someday!

I stayed in Costa Rica for 2 weeks and volunteered with Maximo in the special needs project. The special needs project is located at casa esperanza. This was a very rewarding experience due to the fact that I was able to develop a close relationship with the adults. I could tell how much they appreciated having us there. If you are working in this project, I reccommend having some sort of game `plan for the time that you are there so that you can make the most of it. They love playing bingo, so make sure to never skip that as part of your schedule. Some things you can try is cognitive games such as matching, addition, and patterns. Overall great experience! Really enjoyed my time here!

Pura Vida!!!

The special needs project at Casa Esperanza is an incredible experience. The residents really enjoyed our company and we enjoyed theirs. Everyone loves to play bingo, and we spent the first hour or so everyday playing BINGO because it is their favorite activity. In addition to BINGO, they all love to color. We made a matching game with different shapes that they really enjoyed and we also did basic addition with some of them. They were always so excited to us, and sad to see us leave. Overall, the special needs project is a really rewarding opportunity and I would recommend it to everyone! I wish I had longer than two weeks with the residents, but the two weeks that I had with them were two of my favorite weeks in Costa Rica!

Maximo staff were amazing with my young teenage daughter and her friend. They were enthusiastic, helpful, encouraging, organized, accommodating. They made this an unforgettable experience for all of us. Anything we needed was taken care of. The Spanish lessons were the best I have ever taken. We were able to meet so many great ticans and representational volunteers. And the costs were so reasonable.

I spent 15 weeks doing an internship in San Jose through Maximo Nivel.

The internship was at a relatively small NGO in the centre of San Pedro called 'Fundacion Mujer' and I believe I have gained valuable experience during my stay here. Not only will my experience at Fundacion Mujer help me with any future employment but I was able to practice my Spanish on a day-to-day basis. The work was also very rewarding as I worked on a project that aimed to aid the integration of refugees in Costa Rica.

The internship providers, Maximo Nivel, played a big role in making my 15-week-stay stress-free and enjoyable. After each day of my internship, I would return to the Maximo Nivel centre where the kind staff would show genuine interest in my day and provide any necessary help. The help would extend beyond any internship or project enquires as they would also offer advice on how to make the most of my stay by suggesting places to visit during the evenings and weekends.

Maximo Nivel did an excellent job of organising my internship and visiting me several times to ensure everything was going well. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and feel like I grew thanks to the internship and a lot of this came down to the work done at Maximo Nivel.

I spent 4 weeks taking Spanish classes and 4 weeks working with a Nutritionist.

The 4 weeks of classes were great and gave me an amazing opportunity to practice my Spanish. The classes were small, the teachers were experienced and genuinely interested in seeing you improve, and the materials provided were very useful. On top of being experienced, the teachers were very nice and kept classes interesting and fun.

Maximo Nivel was able to match me up with an internship with a Nutritionist, which was a perfect match for me as I am double majoring in Spanish and Dietetics. Being matched with an internship directly within my major was amazing because it advanced my career, and allowed me to practice Spanish within my career of interest, allowing me to improve my knowledge of both my areas of study. It was really hands-on and very enjoyable. I even got to take breaks to workout (for free!) at each of the gyms my boss worked at.

The biggest thing I learned was to keep an open-mind, ask a lot of questions, and never be embarrassed to make mistakes.

I absolutely loved my time with Maximo Nivel in San Jose, Costa Rica. I was placed at a hostel and helped out with general operations and marketing. Although you do not get too much information before you leave, they are very thorough in their orientation once you do arrive. Everything about my internship was amazing-the support I had, the people I worked with, and the overall environment. My host family placement was also fantastic, and almost everyone I talked to had a positive experience with their host family as well. I also found the Spanish classes useful. I had private one-on-one classes, and although I have an advanced level of Spanish, I was able to practice my conversational Spanish. All of the teachers at maximo are truly wonderful and great at what they do. I would recommend the micro-business internship to anyone who is looking to get business experience abroad and who wants to practice their Spanish while also having fun while doing it. If I could, I would definitely do another program with Maximo, and already have plans to come back to Costa Rica.

I was volunteering at one of the nursing homes and the staff there were kind and very appreciative of my help. My favorite part was visiting with the residents and playing games with them. Through this program, I have made friends for life that I hope to continue to visit!

The staff at Maximo are also very friendly and helpful. They were always there to answer any questions that I had and helped me with any concerns. They also went out of their way to make sure that I got what I wanted out if the internship.

Spanish class was amazing! I had private lessons an hour every day and it helped me gain confidence in my speaking abilities. I highly recommend taking advantage of them! I also participated in the tandem program which allowed me to make friends with locals. One night they offered a speed dating tandem for the first time and every volunteer and local showed up. There was hardly room for everyone and I didn't get to meet everyone but it was a great opportunity to meet locals. They also offer free salsa classes and even if you know the basics of salsa, it's worth going to the classes so you can learn how to dance like a professional.

Thank you Maximo Nivel!

This experience was certainly a life changing one for me. Maximo Nivel gave us support the entire time whether it be through Spanish lessons, ideas for places to eat, or setting up weekend trips for us. The most memorable moment that comes to mind for me during my experience would be the catamaran that we went on down in Manuel Antonio. It was set up for us thanks to Maximo staff and we were able to snorkle with exotic fish, eat a delicious dinner, and then ride off in to the sunset while wild dolphins were swimming beneath our boat. It was an incredible night and something I will never forget. Thanks to the Maximo staff in both Manuel Antonio and San Jose for all the help and support they provided us throughout our trip.

My experience in Costa Rica was unbelievable and maximo Nivel and their staff made everything so much easier and enjoyable for us. One story that comes to mind is the first week when we went on a catamaran cruise planned with the help of the maximo staff in Manuel Antonio. It started out as a fun boat ride in the ocean. We snorkled with exotic fish and ended with a cruise off into the sunset as wild dolphins were swimming beneath us. Truly an unforgettable experience.

Interning in Costa Rica was the best few months of my life for several reasons. Obviously I got to travel in country and see some amazing things, but my actual internship at a nursing home in Cartago really made the trip. The staff was so sweet and kind. They went out of their way to make sure I was happy and learning new things every day. It was so hands on and they let me do more than I ever hoped. It's also worth mentioning that when I arrived in CR my Spanish was laughable. By the time I left, I was able to hold conversations with others in Spanish and understand medical terminology in Spanish. If you're looking for easy, this is not the place for you. If you're looking for personal growth, Spanish education, and meaningful friendships to last a lifetime, Maximo is for you.

If you have stumbled upon this review or program, do not ignore it! DO IT. This was the best 6 weeks of my life. I left the US for the first time and learn more about myself, my career and the world than I ever have in my whole life. Maximo makes you feel right at home and you will make friends FOR LIFE here. The lifestyle, the food, the people...everything about Costa Rica is worth it. Go there, Volunteer, study, SPEAK SPANISH AND EAT GOOD FOOD. It is absolutely the most wonderful decision you could make. I interned at a hostel for six weeks and worked for te most lovely sisters ever. Make sure you take advantage of every opportunity out there. You never know what it will bring you! Pura Vida!

My internship was at Fundación Mujer, a nonprofit, micro finance organization in Costa Rica. This interning experience allowed me to practice my Spanish in a professional setting and see what it was like to work in a country abroad. I improved my Spanish, professional skills and understanding of the Costa Rican culture. The staff at Máximo were extremely helpful in making sure I was able to receive the best experience possible and I would highly recommend the program to anyone looking to gain work experience abroad!

Through Maximo Nivel, I was able to work on my Spanish language skills with awesome lessons from instructors. They personalized their lessons on areas that I wanted to improve on and I feel that I am much better at Spanish because of it. I also had the opportunity to teach English to adults, which I really enjoyed doing. All of the staff supported me throughout the whole process, where I felt comfortable asking anyone for questions or help My homestay was also a very memorable and positive experience and am so thankful for everything.