Sol Education Abroad - Faculty Led Programs

My program was helping as a counselor at a camp for kids called Kidtopia. It was the first year for the camp and it was to help the kids get to explore nature and science and even learn some English through immersion. Not only did we teach them English but they also taught me a lot of Spanish and different cultural differences between the U.S and Costa Rica. The staff that worked with us were very genuine and kind and made our safety their number one priority. They also planned many excursions for us that were another great way to learn the culture. I really learned a lot from this experience about the culture and myself and I tried new things that normally I would never do. It got me out of my comfort zone and I’m so grateful I got the opportunity to experience it.

This experience was truly amazing and one of a kind. I felt like we were completely immersed in the culture of Costa Rica and got to experience fun things. Working with the children was also an amazing time and it was neat to see how differently they do things compared to other children I know. This experience provided opportunities to eat Costa Rican food, stay in a house with a Costa Rican family, meet and teach children, and go on touristy adventures around the country that were truly amazing. We experienced and amazing water rafting experience, zip lining, food tasting and cooking. We even got surprised with a beach trip. This experience was truly on of a kind! Costa Rica is beautiful and even with a mediocre knowledge of the Spanish language communication was possible.

Overall, I think that this trip was really great! I really enjoyed the trip because we not only did things like learn about the culture, visit and learn about the healthcare there, but we also did touristy things to make the trip even better. I also really enjoyed the group that was there: including the professors, the group coordinators, and all of the attending classmates. What I disliked the most was how much forced group activities we had to do. Sometimes I just wanted some space and independence, and more free time to do this would have been very welcome. However, this being my main dislike is minimal. Thank you for creating such a great abroad experience for me.

This trip was great! I love exploring the city of Oaxaca in ways that I would never have had the chance to without this trip. Ena and Priscilla were excellent at planning great activities for us and being translators/tour guides for us, and by the end of the trip, we were all really great friends. I loved being able to tour hospitals and clinics around the city and communicate with the people who live there. It definitely gives me a different perspective of healthcare and makes me feel very fortunate for the resources we have available to us in the US. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone in the future!

Loved the tour guides and all who were involved making this trip happen. they were all so educated about the area, and worked extremely hard to go above and beyond when taking us to new places. I know this was their first time working with a group of nursing students, but i honestly feel like they had done all of this before. I loved getting to share our knowledge of the nursing world with them, and then getting to share their knowledge of the world with us! I really have no complaints besides the minor miscommunications that took place. (which were more so our fault)

This was my second time attending this SOL Education in Costa Rica and it was exceptional. I liked the whole itinerary and opportunities to learn spontaneously. What I really love is that even when there are small changes or a bump in the road the SOL support team are there to help the students move forward and gain an experience from the whole process. It was a great experience and I feel that the combination of the staff and families as well as Posada de Belen staff created a wonderful experience. One suggestion for the next time is to have a little more structure at Posada de Belen allowing our students to train staff or parents about child development. My favorite memory was visiting/meeting the teen mothers at Posada.

I loved my host family and wish that everyone could stay there. They were so welcoming and ready to learn more about my own culture. The best was probably going and not being just a tourist but being a traveler. I loved when we went to the hot springs and stayed at the hotel it was so beautiful. I wish that we could have stayed at the hotel at least another day to have more relaxation time. Overall my experience was great and would totally do it again.

SOL did an amazing job in delivering a program with a focus in Child & Adolescent Development. Eva was very patient and considerate of our requests.
-The experiences with Saul in la Central de Abastos and el "Diablito de los Libros" was one of the highlights. Perhaps in the future our students can take part in the activities that they conduct with the children in el Mercado.
-CANICA was also a perfect fit for our students teaching their activities. It would have been great if there were more kids present, but we understand that attendance is lower in the summer vacation.
-All the tours and cultural experiences where great.
-Monte Alban is a great way to start the program, the tour guide was very detailed and knowledgeable.
-The lecture with the anthropologist was very informative and ideal for our groups interests.
-This time around we were lucky that all our students understood Spanish. It was comforting to see that if needed all activities could be conducted in English.