CIS Abroad - Summer in Costa Rica - Spanish for Health Professionals

I spent 5 weeks taking spanish for health professional courses in Costa Rica this past summer. While I loved that no spanish previously was needed to enroll it did make communication with my host family difficult (whom were amazing but didn’t speak English). The excursions on the weekends were breathtaking and I recommend going on as many as you can. I enjoyed the locations were more of local spots and not your typical tourist spots. Swimming with bioluminescent one night was something that I will remember forever. Overall my experience taught me more about both Spanish and myself than i expected, and I’m forever grateful for my time abroad.

I signed up for this study abroad program to fulfill my love of travel, learning and take relevant classes to my major (occupational therapy). As an avid traveler, I couldn't imagine my college experience without studying abroad, and I am glad I made the leap. CIS helped me work through all the paperwork that needed to be filled out and was quick to answer any questions I had prior to departure. During the program, there were constantly activities to do- at the school, with CIS or just in San Jose. Although there was homework, we still had time to explore our home away from home and get to know the area. The classes were interesting and relevant to my major- all of the classes were primarily with other American students but we were from all over the UA and studying with different programs at the same university. This allowed us to make friends with other students who weren't studying with CISabroad as well. Living in a host home was the most beneficial way to immerse ourselves in learning Spanish. My host mom didn't speak any English so whenever we were at home, we had conversations with her in Spanish. She was patient with us as we were learning and helped correct our grammar which improved my confidence in speaking Spanish. Overall, the experience was phenomenal and I am so glad I chose this program to fulfill my dream of studying abroad.