This trip was a blast! To be short, there were a few health concerns with my housing in some bugs here and there, but other than that they were freaking awesome. The immediate area of the homestays felt pretty safe, but as you go out to places at night, there were some sketchy areas. Barrio Escalantes was a great part of town for bar hopping, but there were some other sketchy areas that you should avoid. All in all, it was a priceless experience that I will cherish forever (cliche I know). My advice to someone going on this trip would be to have an open mind. You are going to be pushed outside of your comfort zone in many different ways, some that you don't expect. Immerse yourself in the culture and the way of life and it will be a unique experience.

I LOVED going to Costa Rica! I especially loved staying with the host family, and couldn't say enough great things about Arcos as a whole. The program was very well coordinated, and I loved each person we interacted with. We got to do a variety of different activities and learned about the culture and local businesses. Brent even came to a cooking class with us and a lecture with a worker at the US Embassy. Overall, it was a diverse trip. The only thing I would recommend is looking into getting an extra day of free time! We had pockets of time during the week, but I wished we had a whole day to go travel somewhere else pretty instead!

This was an amazing experience. I really enjoyed all the activities. Even though most of the activities were tied to talking to business owners, it never felt like a lecture or typical guest speaker talk you usually have back in the United States. It was always very interesting to hear about how each owner ran their business, especially their different approaches to things like being environmentally friendly. Overall, this trip was amazing and I would highly recommend anyone considering going to take the chance and go.

This study abroad program was the absolute most life-altering experience I have had thus far. I will now be a more valuable asset to any future grad schools or employment opportunities due to the soft and hard skills that I have gained from my experiences abroad with Arcos. Arcos has assisted me in demonstrating my ability to work as a strong team player, but also my ability to be an independent, self-sufficient individual. I have learned how to work in a diverse group of individuals despite various barriers that I encountered. I have gained further knowledge and perception into different global topics, which makes me a candidate that is aware of different worldwide struggles and controversies. In addition, I have gained the qualities of adaptability, self-sufficiency, flexibility, confidence, and self-awareness all because of Arcos. As a result of my studying abroad experience with Arcos, I have a higher tolerance for ambiguity in situations. Now I can feel comfortable in situations in which I don’t understand all that is going on and still feel comfortable trying to communicate. I have realized the type of empathetic provider I strive to become and the type of patient care I want to give in the future due to my Spanish in healthcare trip. Aside from what I have learned and gained from myself, we also completed many incredible tourist activities. In Costa Rica, my class and I went to La Fortuna to see the waterfall spent two days in Los Lagos. We had aprivate tourist in the Bogarin nature and saw many different animals native to Costa Rica. We were fortunate enough to have an in depth herbal farm tour and discovered the world of herbs and their cures for different diseases. We went to an EBAIS clinic and were able to shadow all the different areas of medicine such as pharmacists, nurses, dentists, administration, and more. In addition, we went to the Heredia Hospital and listened to a lecture from the head of pediatrics while taking a tour of neonatology, pediatrics, and more. We were able to visit the scenic beaches of Jaco and listened to a lecture on the blue zone areas by Jorge Vindez. In addition to visiting San José and shopping in the city, we spent two days at ULatina and took a class on tropical diseases, sutures and injections. My class and I took a traditional Latin dance class and were able to enjoy a great night-life as well. Overall, this trip was absolutely incredible and I would highly highly recommend Arcos to anyone who is considering going abroad.