My experience has been perfect!

The program is designed to meet the needs of each student. In my first week of classes, I was so happy with Valerie. Valerie is an excellent teacher she allowed me to learn at my own pace and was very patient and helpful with many examples. I have had many, many professors in my many years of school (Ph.D.) Valerie is among the best because of her understanding of people and the different ways of learning. In my second week, even though there were 2 students in the class, the profesora took time to make certain both of us understood each lesson. Merlyn used life stories to make the use of the verbs and new terms relevant to us. The extracurricular activities also gave us more opportunities to practice Spanish. Merlyn has so much energy and makes learning so much fun! If errors were made in homework or in class work, she went out of her way to help in a nonthreatening way. We were required to only speak Spanish in class and this was reinforced by all the staff here. I will have to come back next year to participate with Club A. All of the other activities were wonderful. It was also very nice to meet and talk to the other students in other classes on the activities. I enjoyed the cooking class and the trip to Llanos de la Cortez as well as the walking tour of Liberia. Going in the taxi to the waterfall was very good because the taxi driver and the guide spoke only Spanish with me and taught me many new words. Bethany and all the other staff are so professional and so kind. I never felt I was bothering anyone with my questions. The campus is super clean and everything in each classroom is well organized. My hostmom Dinora is my friend for life! From the very first day, she made me feel at home. The food was SO delicious and plentiful with a lot of variety.Dinorah spoke Spanish with me always and encouraged her family members to do so as well. I hope when I return that I can stay in this wonderful home again!! Overall, from my first encounter with Estelar by email to my last day in class, my experience has been perfect! I love my host family, the staff and the professors.