CIS Abroad Summer Study in Costa Rica

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.

I attended Veritas Universidad which is a small college in san jose. It was a cute school with fantastic teachers -seriously, they were all beyond fantastic, friendly and welcoming. My host stay was more difficult getting adjusted since my host mom knew no English and had a very thick accent that made communicating in Spanish difficult as well. Every place we visited, Manuel Antonio, Puerto Viejo, ECT, was absolutely stunning and beautiful. They were also easily and cheap to travel to on your own! Our program coordinator, Jess, was really helpful and always available if you needed her. She even went out of her way to drive me to the health clinic late at night after a cat bite my hand. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking into going to central or south america.