My experience in Costa Rica was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I made friends that I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life, saw amazing views and learned so much not just about the Costa Rica culture, but also myself. Studying abroad allows you to find things out about yourself that you didn’t know were possible because it pushes you to be uncomfortable and push through it. I will always recommend the experience to others and encourage people to step outside their comfort zone. From my time in Costa Rica I learned life lessons that I will take with me forever. For instance, a phrase my host family often stated was “it is what it is,” and this phrase resonates with me strongly and the lifestyle I try to live. My host mom does not know much English, however this phrase was known and repeated often. Since hearing it so frequently in Costa Rica, I have also implemented it into my daily lifestyle at the forefront of my mind.

I'll just go in order of the 5 categories of academics, support, fun, housing, and safety.

Academics - I found this study abroad because I was interested in the program for health professionals. As it turns out, you can only choose session 1 or session 2 if you do that specific program, but if you want to do both sessions, apply to the double session program and then just choose health-related classes. I thought the academics were too easy. For some people, that sounds perfect, for some people, that sounds boring. It just depends on what type of person you are.

Support - The program staff were wonderful. All of our questions were answered, they learned everyone's names, and really wanted to provide us with the best experience possible.

Fun - I'm not a party person, so when I rate the social scene as a 5, I'm not including that. (Although I have friends that had lots of fun going to bars and parties while there.) What I am including is the people on the trip, the local places to go, and the offerings on campus. I absolutely loved the weekly dance classes that are offered at no additional price. For fun local places, I explored book stores, weekend markets, and cafes. I definitely recommend Feria Verde that's open every weekend. You can find good food, gifts/souvenirs, and art.

Housing - Genuinely the best part of my trip. I love my Tico family so much. I had a wonderful room and support system, and ate some amazing food. I know that other people in the program didn't have as much of a great experience as I did with my family, but you can also always talk with the program staff if you ever have any concerns/needs.

Safety - If you follow the recommendations of the program staff, you will be safe and comfortable. Avoid walking around at night at all, but if you have to, do it in a group. It's pretty basic things like that to be aware of, and everything will be good. I just put a 4 because unsafe situations did occur with other people in the group, so it is important to be aware.

Studying abroad for the first time (with the prioritization of safety) gave me opportunities to learn through my mistakes and laugh it off in the end. I flew off my raft while descending the temperamental Pacuare River. I laughed it off, and I even voluntarily got out of the raft again to go swimming! I went out to enjoy the nightlife with friends even though plenty of homework was waiting for me when I got home, and the work got done. I lost my prescription glasses on the beach on the very first weekend, and I'm never getting them back. Good thing I had another pair. All of these make for great stories that I've enjoyed sharing with my friends and family, because I would want nothing less than to give them at least a small piece of the amazing fun and adventure I experienced in my time abroad. My peers from my program, my host family, and my site directors were all wonderful people I could rely on as a support system. The truth is, what you take back from your trip abroad should reflect exactly what you put into it, and for that reason, I am very glad that I made the most of it all.

Studying abroad in Costa Rica with CIS was incredible. I had the most eye opening expereince and highly recommend this program. The on-site staff were extremely helpful and caring. My host family was welcoming and supportive. This made it easier to be away from home.Transportation was acessible and easy to use.The weekend excursions were amazing. I visitied beaches, waterfalls, and animal sanctuaries. On top of all that, the food was delicious. CIS did everything to ensure I had the best time. I am forever grateful for this trip.

Costa Rica was truly the experience of a lifetime for me. I made some of the most amazing friends and got to learn from such incredible professors at Veritas. As someone who is an environmental science major, this country spoke so near and dear to my heart as they are very environmentally oriented overall and really are striving to keep their forests thriving. I had the sweetest host mom, an absolutely amazing site director, great university staff and I made some of the greatest friends on my trip, not to mention the vast number of breathtaking places I got to visit during my summer in Costa Rica. I have such an appreciation for the spanish language, the Costa Rican culture and the world! Pura Vida!

CIS Abroad helped me in many ways in choosing the right program for me. The advisors and alumni network were great resources when picking a place to study. I lived with a host family which was an amazing way to learn and be a part of the culture, and it also helped me with my Spanish as well. Also, CIS Abroad is one of the most affordable programs to study abroad, and it includes more than most. Post-program, I now know a lot more about traveling safely and more about a latin culture.

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.