About the program
The Costa Rica study abroad program is one which was created by two secondary Spanish teachers to fill a void that they saw for their students. In collaboration with a college-level study abroad organization located in San José, Costa Rica, they were able to create the ideal, affordable study abroad experience for their students.
On top of a home-stay experience with a host family all to themselves, the students will dive into 60 contact hours of class focusing on grammar, conversational skills and culture. All courses are taught by Costa Rican instructors who understand the American educational system and the interactive needs of the students. Each student will have a transcript from the Universidad Latina in Costa Rica.
When the students are not in class, they will spend their afternoons in cooking classes, dance classes, visits to museums, going to the movies, playing soccer and so much more. On Fridays, students take off for their weekend excursions to various destinations ranging from Puerto Viejo (the Caribbean side) to Arenal (home of a large volcano) to the beautiful beaches on the Caribbean side of the country. While away on these excursions, students will go horseback riding, go white water rafting, hike through the cloud forrest, go on a canopy tour, swim in a natural hot spring, visit a waterfall and many more amazing activities. In addition to these sights, students will also travel to Santa Cruz in the Guanacaste region to experience small town life while making their own tortillas, creating ceramic works of art from scratch, visit a local school and celebrate the country’s largest holiday!
To find out more about studying in Costa Rica for four weeks and coming back to be a leader in your high school Spanish class, please visit the other pages of this blog and/or feel free to contact Sra. Jill Woerner (chaperone & co-designer of the program) at JWoerner@smadison.k12.in.us.
