Best Experience of My Life

I can't think of anywhere else I would have rather studied than Puntarenas. I went to Costa Rica knowing minimal Spanish, and having never been too far out of the Northeast US. Puntarenas is unlike anything we have in the United States. It's small size (you can easily walk through the entire town) and laid back atmosphere was so different than the pace of life that I am used to.
I really liked the way USAC structured their Spanish classes. Because hardly anyone in the town spoke English, it was incredibly important to fit in as much Spanish language instruction as possible. I took 14 credits of Spanish during the one semester that I was there. They basically split the semester into multiple different classes, so that for the first few weeks you are in intro to Spanish, then in the middle you switch to Intermediate, etc. The staff was also phenomenal!
Students are also given the opportunity to volunteer at the nearby marine park. I figured they would have me mopping floors, or other meaningless tasks, but when I got their for my first day I was able to apply medicine to an injured sea turtle's shell and help with a pelican's amputated wing. It was a completely unexpected and awesome aspect of the program.
Finally, USAC is super cheap! It cost me less in tuition to go to Costa Rica then it would have cost me to go to my own state school for the semester. Cost of living is pretty cheap too, so you don't have to spend a small fortune every time you go out.