The BlogAbroad.com Team

Studying Abroad in Costa Rica

Students choose to study in Costa Rica for a variety of reasons. It is, after all, famously beautiful, home to thousands of species of animals and plants, and not terribly far away from the continental United States. But Costa Rica is much more than that; indeed, this tropical paradise is about much more than the sum of its parts, and the reasons students choose to study there are as numerous and as varied as the students themselves.

As far as natural habitats and biodiversity go, Costa Rica is hard to beat. It is divided into 12 distinct climatic zones, and it is split in half by a chain of mountains and volcanoes. The range in temperatures is astounding: At the highest point in Costa Rica, atop Cerro Chirrip— (which stands an impressive 12,000-plus feet tall), the temperature remains fairly chilly. In the southern lowlands, however, typically tropical weather prevails.

This wide range in natural geography and climate means that Costa Rica is the perfect environment for a mind-boggling array of species. In fact, though Costa Rica is a relatively small country by land mass, it more than makes up for it in biological diversity: More than 5% of plant and animal species on this planet are found there. As a result, students with an interest in the environmental sciences will have a hard time finding a better place in which to study abroad.

But study abroad opportunities are not limited to the environmental and biological sciences. Costa Rica is also home to San José, a bustling city of nearly 1.5 million that is a center of industry and culture in Central America. In fact, San José was named the 2006 Latin American Capital of Culture, a distinction well-earned by its many museums, historic buildings, excellent restaurants, and vibrant cultural life.

San José boasts a high standard of living, excellent literacy rates, and a democratic and peaceful government that convenes there. And as it is a Spanish-speaking country, many students choose to study there in order to immerse themselves in the language that many experts feel will become just as important for American businessmen and women to be fluent in in the coming years as English is today.

All told, then, Costa Rica is an excellent choice for studying abroad for students with a wide range of interests. As long as you have an open mind and a willingness to embrace the natural world in all its splendor, or a fascination with the economy and lifestyle of an important neighbor to the south, Costa Rica is the perfect place to spend a semester or year abroad.

Studying in Costa Rica with the School for Field Studies

As with most programs like the one Tammy is on, the School for Field Studies offers students the chance to experience a part of a foreign culture that they never would otherwise have the chance to see. Specifically, the SFS's Sustainable Development Studies program in Costa Rica focuses on "working to develop sustainable management models that protect the biodiversity of the country's ecosystems while promoting socio-economic benefit for its people. Students may study such topics as organic agriculture and protected area management strategies, with the importance of conservation evident in the splendor of the surrounding cloud forests, rainforests, volcanoes and beaches. Researchers may wish to collaborate with our faculty on topics pertaining to tropical ecology, sustainable development and resource management" (www.fieldstudies.org).

Tammy has been living in the natural habitat, interacting with the local Ticos, and finding out just how deep her love of the environment and ecology of Costa Rica really is. And because it is accredited by a major American school like Boston University, students can take part in the program with confidence.

Being American

Armed with my United States passport, I travel the globe. I grew up in Idaho, love country songs and the Fourth of July. I am pretty darn proud that I am an American. We have a unique gift being Americans; we are given the luxury to travel. Since I am from the US, countries hand out visas like candy. Come, stay, and spend money is their philosophy. Citizens from many other countries have difficulty getting visas, while as Americans, we can travel just about anywhere with relative ease.

With that said, being an American, it is very important to keep your identity tucked away in your money belt, with your cobalt blue passport. "Why?" you may ask. Well, this last weekend while travelling in the Middle East I realized this quaint little fact. While a lot of Middle Easterners love America and what it stands for, there is a fine line about enjoying what the US stands for and not holding stereotypes against Americans. So what exactly do I mean by all this?

You will save money

I am not rich, far from it actually. However, when you travel to another country, you are perceived as rich by every standard. Why? Well you have more money than many people who call the country home. Most people abroad believe that people in the United States are swimming in money and opportunity.

You will notice shopkeepers ask you, "So where are you from?" and if you say, "Oh, the United States," a little light goes off in the head of the shopkeeper. Money. The price for an item will start sky high, and if you do not know how to bargain, you will end up paying far more than if you would have been abstract with your answer. Where am I from? I do not lie: "I am from here and there, travel around a bit, so how much do you want for this magnet?"

Safety is always a concern

It does not matter where you stand politically, if you say, "I am from the United States" while travelling abroad, people not only think you are rich, but they think they have a good idea about your political standing. The United States is looked at as trying to conquer the world in some eyes. In others it is looked as a great saviour. I find that it is usually perceived as the former rather than the latter. Thus, to avoid debates and being shouted at (I am speaking from experience of course) when asked, "Where are you from?" by a taxi driver, just say, "I am from here and there, oh that is an amazing building over there, what's it called?"

It only takes one person to really dislike what our great country stands for, for you to have a very difficult problem on your hands. No matter how patriotic you are, it is not worth the risk. Feel out the situation first, and then if you feel it is okay to say you are from Texas, Nebraska, or Virginia, go on ahead.

Last week in Nicosia, Cyprus a group of American college students sang "Proud to be an American" at a local karaoke event. Cypriots almost thought of it as a slap in the face. Picture yourself at your favorite local bar in the United States. You just had a drink and all of a sudden you hear someone get up and sing the Chinese National Anthem. You would find it a bit odd, and maybe rude, right?

Yeah, we are pretty darn lucky to be Americans. I will continue to sing my country songs in the shower while travelling around the world, no matter if in France, or the Middle East. When I am in the US this summer I will light fireworks on the Fourth of July and be proud.

But while abroad on this tour when I am asked, "Where are you from?" I will not automatically say, "I am an American."

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Sarah

Sarah has been spending a good portion of her time soaking up as much culture as she possibly can. She has, in the past two weeks, been to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Notting Hill neighborhood, Borough Market (where she had a lamb burger with grilled onions made right in a butcher's shop), and Southwark Cathedral, among many other sites in the city. But it was last week that she had her most unexpected cultural experience, and it was not in a museum:

"Once we were inside the tube stop we found ourselves immersed in a huge crowd of people. The crowd was so thick that we could barely move. It was one of those throngs that had a mind of its own and I began to get the sense that if I lifted my feet off the ground the sheer force of the crowd would carry me through the barrier down to the tube. I began to look around me, and I noticed that this was no ordinary crowd we had happened upon. To my right I saw two men dressed as Elvis, and a little ways in front of me there was a group of people in sheep costumes. On top of this, nearly everybody was carrying some sort of alcoholic beverage, mostly cans of Fosters or Smirnoff Ices. I was beginning to get a little worried that maybe there was some sort of mid-winter Halloween tradition in Britain that nobody had told me about, until I noticed that an inordinate number of these people had the same logo painted on their cheek, and that they sported similar flags and shirts bearing the same logo. Oh. Sports fans. We made our way through the drunken mob of what I later learned were rugby fans down to the tube platform. Thankfully, the majority of the people were headed in the opposite direction from us, so once we were on the tube things were relatively quiet. I was bit shaken, however, as it was the first time IÕd seen a massive crowd like that in London."

Studying abroad is about experiencing the new and stretching your horizons. Sometimes, that even happens amid a drunken crowd in an underground Tube station.

Taylor

Last week, Taylor cut off her long hair and died her new short 'do. This week, we find out she has taken up Japanese archery. Is there anything she can't do? Her time in Tokyo has been an amazing amalgam of unique, exciting experiences she could never have had back home, and the kinds of intimate moments with local Japanese people that will likely stay with her for a very long time indeed.

She writes: "I go out and do a lot on my own now, too. I feel very independent, much more so than I did when I first moved from home, though I'm often with friends. At the same time, I feel responsible to my host family and spend a lot of time playing with my little host sisters or talking with my host mother. It goes both ways."

She also recently experienced her first earthquake: "It felt like I was sitting on a washing machine while it was going. Apparently I've managed to sleep through several others. Japan is the most seismically active country in the world. The school scared us into taking this seriously during orientation, by telling us that major earthquakes run on seventy-five year cycles and the current one is overdue. The last one leveled Tokyo. That's fun, now isn'st it?"

And through all these experiences, Taylor is simply taking it all in stride.

Jeff

Jeff has not only been spending his time in classes, but also getting to know the city and the surrounding areas. He recently traveled to Plzen, a town 90 miles west of Prague and birthplace of the famous Pilsner-style beer. While he was there, he managed to see a synagogue, old buildings from the Communist era, a church, and a theater. He also had a fantastic meal thereÑthough maybe not one of the healthiest dishes one could possibly eat.

As he writes: "There is this awesome dish in CR that is basically a nice size grilled chicken breast fully wrapped in a potato latke. It is unreal and huge. They usually serve it with a small plate of sauerkraut, so they have combined 3 of my favorite foods. Plzen is hands down most famous for being the home of Pilsner beer and we took the tour in the afternoon. It is a half mile walk outside the city center and you walk through old gates from when the factory opened 200 years ago. They show you around the old brewery and the new one and the miles and miles of underground storage they used before good refrigeration."

So: A fried potato pancake and beer? At least he had the chance to walk it off on the way to the brewery. And compared to most college meals, this one could be considered downright healthy!

Tammy's experience in Spanish speaking Costa Rica is everything she always dreamed it would be. This past week, on her AudioBlog, she discussed what her typical day is like. She said that, because she sleeps outside in a hammock, she awakes at 5 a.m. to the sunrise and the birdcalls, and stays there taking it all in until around 5:40. She then likes to go running and share breakfast with her roommates, each of whom takes a turn cooking it for the rest of them. Classes last the entire day, and though there are no real breaks between them, she says her professors are inspiring. There are also daily community events with the local Ticos, including bingo and volleyball.

She has been traveling, too, and recently visited the frighteningly-named Mountain of Death, whose elevation of more than 3,100 meters can prove fatal to lost adventurers who find themselves having to fight the frost that occasionally strikes. But she also had the chance to do something most of us will never get to do: She held a hummingbird in her hand and felt its heart beat against her palm. It sounds like the magic of Costa Rica has become part of Tammy's everyday life there.

Gunnar

Gunnar's most recent AudioBlog is from Cairo. Since he has been there, he's seen the pyramids, taken a camel ride, spoken to a 17-year-old girl at a carpet factory that seemed, to him, more like a child-labor camp, and found himself in the middle of a million-person street celebration following a particularly exciting and important victory in the African World Cup. These are the experiences of a true adventurer. Cairo is a city of 17 million people, and Gunnar has been trying his best to experience as much of it as possible. He has learned about mummification and the rituals of the ancient Egyptians. He has interacted with the local residents of Cairo. And he's not even close to being finished: Next week, he will be reporting from a surprise location somewhere in the Middle East. And knowing Gunnar, none of us should be surprised to hear about his amazing adventures.

Once again, this train isn't called the Express for nothing. It continues moving whether you hop on board or not. So make sure you get in before the doors close. Uh oh, I think I hear the whistle. All aboard!