3 weeks in CR

At the end of my 3 weeks, I felt sadder about leaving than I thought I would. My host family was amazing and the people and friends I met along the way were truly remarkable. While Atenas is a small town (and about 45mins from SJ), it is a great place to live and study. Our houses were farther from town but that just meant you had to plan time at home, or in the town. One of my favorite things was that not very many people spoke English. As someone who has been to Mexico and Spain, it was such a refreshing experience to walk around and actually really need to use my Spanish.

While everyone is different, I think in an ideal world I would have stayed 4 or 5 weeks. By the end of the 2nd week I felt so at home and had gained enough confidence to speak, which made the 3rd week incredible. I just wish I had another week to enjoy the feeling of being a part of the town and to use my Spanish. I have always planned on studying abroad in college but this experience with Sol totally solidified that desire.
This is a summer I am going to remember for the rest of my life.