My experience doing the Costa Rica Study Abroad provided by UCBA was phenomenal. I enjoyed every minute of it, literally. It was definitely one of those things that you get the chance to do once in a lifetime.
Being awarded the full scholarship was such an aid that I will be forever grateful for. Having the trip fully funded by UCBA and UC International helped cover all of my flight, travel, accommodation and daily excursion fees.
Our first day arriving in Costa Rica was mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe that this was something I was actually participating in. We met-up with our “Tican” home-stay families and got settled in immediately because we had to get ourselves ready for classes the following morning.
The school we attended, Intercultura, was a school of many languages taught by instructors from different parts of the U.S. as well as Costa Rica. The school itself was a big pot of multiple ethnic groups of students and faculty studying any language from Spanish to German.
As my first day of Spanish immersion began, I was placed in a class based on my level of Spanish that I accumulated at UCBA. Classes had the ratio of 10:1 or less, making it easier for the students to get that one-on-one interaction with the instructors. Classes were about four hours a day, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. We had three 15-minute breaks between lecture hours.
After classes, I met up with my group for lunch or to discuss our plans for the afternoons.
One of my favorite tours was visiting the capital of Costa Rica, where we walked the streets of downtown San Jose and took part in witnessing the infrastructure of what was considered to be a third world country.
Another one of the favorite visits was the Museo de Oro, which means the Museum of gold in Spanish. This museum had thousands of pieces of golden handmade artifacts that were created during the years of the Aztecs. The museum had full bodied sculptors of Aztec warriors and displays of Aztecs villages.
My second favorite visit was the Teatro Muesum, where musical concerts, operas, and international meetings take place. Every ceiling in the museum is covered with antique paintings made by some of the best artists dating back to the 1800s.
But my all-time two favorites that I’ll definitely never forget were our stay on the island of Tortuguero, where we experienced eco-tourism at its best with the island itself being a historic landmark and national park, depending solely on the ecological well-being of the island; and Monteverde, where we witnessed another tourist attraction constructed from sustainable tourism, which was the combination of their city and park revenue.
Even though the Costa Rica study abroad program was only two weeks, it felt like four. Every day we had homework from the school and from the course we took while there, Latin American Culture and Civilization. It was a very influential class in guiding us through our stay in Central America, in familiarizing ourselves with Costa Rican heritage and language.
Our tour class guide was Professor Angie Woods, leading Spanish instructor at UCBA, and Angel Anorga, another Spanish instructor from UCBA. With Professor Anorga originating from Peru, he was also a big help during our navigations.
Study abroad is an awesome opportunity for any students who want to immerse themselves in another language or culture and learn how to adapt to different living standards and endure the lifestyle of other foreign countries. I encourage all my fellow students to engage in study abroad and obtain life-long lessons that help us become better students and remind us how lucky we are to be U.S. citizens.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025