AFS Intercultural Programs: Study Abroad in Costa Rica
Location
Costa Rica: San Jose
Description
Costa Rica is one of the most popular destinations for AFS-USA Exchange Students, and with good reason. The country is home to proud, friendly, and peaceful citizens known as ticos (men) and ticas (women). They are usually conservative but they enjoy sharing their life and social activities with new people. The people of Costa Rica are known as Ticos. Most Costa Ricans have a European heritage with some indigenous mixture, and there is a small indigenous minority. Ticos have a strong self-image, they are very nationalistic and proud of their country, but not in an aggressive way. They expect people to act humble and value, as they do, democracy, peace and political freedom. Costa Rica is about the size of Slovakia or the Dominican Republic. It is located on the Central American isthmus, bordering Panama on the southeast and Nicaragua on the north. Its western coastline is on the Pacific Ocean; the Caribbean Sea is on the east. The country is lined on both coasts with beautiful beaches. AFS host family placements are located throughout Costa Rica.
Highlights
Year and Semester High School programs:
Improve your Spanish by spending a year or semester in Costa Rica living with a host family and attending a high school in your host community. You will attend a public school that requires a uniform and is divided into trimesters. A great way to make friends is to join after school activities, such as supports or music. Keep in mind that your host family and school could be anywhere in Costa Rica.
Gap Semester Community Service:
As a community service volunteer in Costa Rica, you might work on an organic farm, assist park rangers at a National Reserve, help out at a botanical garden, or care for animals at the zoo. You may also work in community development projects in rural areas. Most participants return to their host families daily, however, some projects require that the students live on site for extended periods, but return to their host families regularly. AFS participants are placed with volunteer host families located throughout Costa Rica.
Summer Community Service:
Spend exactly four weeks in Costa Rica doing community service. The first week you will be staying with a host family in the city Liberia. While in Liberia you will be partaking in a school improvement project. The following week you will be working and sleeping in Manuel Antonio National park. The third week you will travel to Perez Zeledon where you will stay with a host family and do another community service project. The project is not yet known. The final week will be in La Flor de Paraiso where you will do community service at the cultural center and/or on a farm farming. It is a great way to learn about sustainability.
Summer Language Study:
Want to improve your Spanish? Spend 6 weeks in a language immersion class in Costa Rica and you will see an improvement! You will arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica's capital, and continue your journey to Cartago. In Cartago you will have Spanish class 3 hours a day and 5 days a week (60 hours). AFS suggests you bring an English-Spanish dictionary with you, the rest AFS will supply. To finish off your program you will participate in a 5 day bus tour of Costa Rica. The bus tour stops at an active volcano with hot springs and the famous Costa Rican beaches
Summer Homstay:
Spend 6 weeks living with a Costa Rican host family and attending a school in your host community. You will be expected to wear a uniform, which you will have to buy yourself (about USD 100). Your 6 weeks will be packed of new things, such as friends, food, and music. It will be an experience you will never forget.