<p>To start off, I'm sure there's been plenty of threads about this, but searching "studying abroad" gave me almost every thread in the forum lol. I'm also not sure if this is the right forum to ask parents questions, so if the mods could kindly redirect my thread if it is in the wrong place, that would be wonderful. </p>
<p>So, I am going to Costa Rica this summer to study abroad. I am going to learn Spanish and ecosustainability (it's 11 credits and 7 weeks). I honestly have no idea what to expect. I haven't left the country (except for Canada and northern Mexico) since I was about four years old, so I don't really remember international travel. My dad has never left the country (except for Canada) and my mum is from Europe, but hasn't traveled abroad in fifteen years. None of us have ever been to Central America, that's for sure, so I have no idea what to expect. </p>
<p>I am doing a home stay, living with a family that speaks no English, while going to school 4 days a week. Then we go and live with people who are teaching other people how to live sustainably. I'm also nervous because I am a vegetarian, so I'm not sure if there's a lot of vegetarian cuisine down there lol. </p>
<p>I am also the first in my family to go to college, let alone study abroad, so I haven't a clue what it's like to study in another country. I don't know what it's like to go to a country where no one speaks English. I myself am Hispanic, but I speak relatively little Spanish (I have been studying Spanish for 5 years but I am a very hesitant Spanish speaker). </p>
<p>I guess I just want some advice or some things that I should definitely know before I 100% commit to studying abroad. I don't even know what questions to ask you guys because I, again, have no idea what it's like to go to another country. </p>
<p>Sorry for the long ramble, I'm just very nervous and have only the CC community to turn to right now :D. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Congratulations on being the first to go to college, and on taking advantage of the wonderful opportunity to study abroad. I think you made a great choice in Costa Rica for your first foray into international travel, since it is heavily traveled by Americans and Canadians and you’ll have access to English speakers if you really need them (airports, in an emergency, etc). As for your specific concerns, your inquiries should be directed to your specific abroad program. Often, students go through your college or university, in which case there should be a study abroad coordinator to meet with. Some students go through programs at other universities, as well, but there should still be a coordinator or administrator with whom to chat. </p>
<p>Good luck. Oh - most definitely tell your program administrator/coordinator that you are vegetarian. There should be many options for you, but you don’t want to offend a particularly carnivorous host family :)</p>
<p>Just so happens to be an editorial in the NYTimes today about Costa Rica. (last page of front section…). It sounds sooo wonderful, I want to move there!</p>
<p>Suggestion: do lots of research about the country, learn the territory, create day trip ideas, plan special excursions. Read about it: study the country via art, film, music, food, special holidays, and history.</p>
<p>calgirl, I plan on talking to the coordinator (he is the dean of my college and I have a class with him this semester), but I was just looking for some experiences from parents of just what to expect :). And thanks for the suggestion of telling them about being a vegetarian- I’m a bit shy so I’m going to have to force myself to do that lol. </p>
<p>lima, thanks I’ll try to look for that on their website. It’s a small group (only about 7 students) so I’m not sure how planning day trips would work out. I know we go to school 4 days a week for 4 weeks before going to the special camps. The weekends are for tourism attractions that are pretty much already set for us (I believe). I have tried learning a bit so far, such as the fact that Costa Rica uses the formal version of verbs much more than familiar, which is reversed in most Spanish-speaking countries, so I hope not offend people if I slip lol. I will look into the other aspects of the culture as well :). </p>
<p>Spend as much time as you can between now and summer refining your Spanish! And when you get to Costa Rica speak Spanish exclusively – even among your “small” group, and certainly to your host family.</p>
<p>Do what any good guest would do. Smile and be helpful. Keep your living area neat, help out when possible and be friendly. Your host may not let you do much around the place but you can at least keep your bedroom and clean up any of your messes in the bathroom. No matter what country that will be appreciated.</p>
<p>Also bring a latin American Spanish dictionary and a small notebook to draw pictures in order to get your idea across.</p>
<p>It may help to go to Tripadvisor and go to the forum on Costa Rica. There you can ask questions and people will try to help you. It is a travel forum but you can get all sorts of information from some of their threads. </p>
<p>Relax and have a great time. If you want, I can come and carry your bag!</p>
<p>Vegetarian Hispanic foods? What is black beans and rice? Just be sure to tell your home stay cooks that you want the beans cooked with out a sausage or meat. Por Favor. Elotes are vegetarian …aren’t they? Falafil is vegetarian and plentiful everywhere.</p>
<p>fogcity, I plan on it :). I luckily am in a residential college that heavily emphasizes world languages (we even have to be proficient before we can get a degree), so I am fortunate to have plenty of Spanish speakers in my dorm with me. </p>
<p>Onward, thanks for your advice. The notebook is a really good idea and I would have never thought of that! Nor have I heard of tripadvisor, but I’m going to check it out. </p>
<p>Theresa, my family doesn’t eat Hispanic food of any sort lol so I don’t know what the cuisine is like. I can adapt by picking around meat if I have to, but it’s not ideal. I’m not going to be extremely picky about it as I am supposed to be completely surrounding myself with the culture. I am the only vegetarian in my family and my fiance’s family, so I am used to just kind of picking around the meat lol. </p>
<p>The one thing I’d want to make sure you’re comfortable with is the extreme heat and humidity there during the summer. Costa Rica is more a place you want to head to during the winter.</p>
<p>^ I have thought about this hmom5, thank you :). According to weather.com, San Jose (where we’ll be for half the time) has monthly averages for May-July is the upper 70s, low 80s. I had not thought about the fact that we are going during the rainy season. I will have to remember that…</p>
<p>Hi, are you a girl? Is it absolutely necessary for you to stay with a family? As a mother of 2 girls, I wouldn’t be a fan of having them stay with families(people) I have never met. What if you don’t like them? I am also going to throw this out there…Why study in Costa Rica? What school is there? Why not Barcelona in Spain?</p>
<p>Yes, I am a female. Yes, it is necessary to stay with a family (it is the only way we can go). I tend to get along with everyone, even if I don’t like people (I have been shuffled between family members- some that I didn’t know before I arrived- my whole life, so I am good at adapting to situations). For example, I am a pretty liberal Wiccan and lived peacefully with an ultra-conservative Catholic uncle who daily told me that I was going to hell because I was a heathen. I just grin and bear it, and I only stay with the family for a total of 20 days at the most (4-5 days a week for 4 weeks). </p>
<p>The families are the same ones that hosted families last year for the same program. Plus, every home has two students from the program there (so I won’t be housed alone).</p>
<p>Costa Rica for a variety of reasons. For one, it is one of only three programs where I can get credit for my major (the other two being in Mali and Israel). For two, it is the cheapest program at my university, and money is a big thing. Three, I absolutely adore the topic being studied and I have wanted to go to Costa Rica since I first began studying Spanish (there and Peru, but the Peru program is a whole semester). </p>
<p>I have been to Spain and I am going back next summer (2011) because my mum is from Spain. Spain just does not have the same appeal to me as Costa Rica.</p>
<p>Oh one question that I completely forgot to ask in my original post: does anyone know the best international phone services? My cell phone carrier charges about $2.50 a minute for international calls, so I know there are better deals out there. Any advice would be much appreciated :D</p>
<p>Costa Rica is a lovely place. Be sure you get any and all shots/meds you might be required to have/take to go there. I believe malaria meds will be required. They were for my S when we went there w/his uni. Also, it will not stay light as late as you are accustomed to here in the US.</p>
<p>One piece of advice I heard years ago for vegetarian students studying abroad: While not everyone gets the concept of vegetarianism, everyone does understand that occasionally there are foods that don’t agree with you. “That dish looks lovely, but unfortunately chicken/beef/other meat just doesn’t agree with me.” can be really useful.</p>
<p>Check the altitude where you will be. If you are in the mountains, it may not be particularly hot or humid. But pack plenty of good sunblock.</p>
<p>Thanks happymom, I will have to learn that phrase in Spanish now… lol. </p>
<p>I am just outside of San Jose for half of the trip, and then I have the choice of going up in the mountains or a camp near the coast. I haven’t decided which one yet :).</p>
<p>You can buy skype minutes for your phone for next to nothing! It is kind of hit and miss, some days it sounds just like at&t, other days you can barely make out what the other person is saying, but for something like 2$ for 100 minutes it is worth trying. D did it while living in China.
I love Costa Rica and am sure you will have a wonderful, enriching time there. One of my favorite memories is of an election night, with everyone out in the streets supporting their side like at a college football game. If only we had that kind of enthusiasm.</p>
<p>Do not worry about staying with a family. My daughter did and she was so glad she did. She learned more Spanish and more cultural details. Her cousin stayed in a dorm when he did study abroad and didn’t ever really meet the locals. It is a great experience! By the way, my daughter was a vegetarian before she went to Argentina, now she is sort of modified. She said when she told people there that she didn’t want meat, they would tell her, " no meat, only pork (or chicken). Apparently, to them chicken and pork aren’t meat. I don’t know about Costa Rica, but she was able to find many pasta dishes as well as pizza. Make sure you come back and give us an update.</p>
<p>^ I will Onward :). I have been a vegetarian for about 1/3 of my life now, so I’m not sure if I’ll be “modified” lol. And I am glad to be staying with a family… it just seems so much more like an immersion experience than simply living in a dorm.</p>