I really enjoyed living with a host family. There were very receptive to me and willing to help me learn Spanish.

My favorite part of the program were the cultural activities and the support provided by the program coordinators in the Grupo de Kansas office, Zaida Ugalde and Isa Alcazar.

The other students in my classes were from all over the world, and the Costa Ricans I met were incredible. The people I met were easily my favorite part of the experience.

My favorite part about this program was the people I was able to meet, the staff and everyone at the college were so incredibly welcoming.

My favorite part of the program was meeting and hanging out with international students and ticos. The people I met were amazing, especially my host family. The professors and other students in the program were great and made the experience truly excellent.

Without a doubt, the best part was spending time with the local community and living with my host family. This experience would not have been the same if I had not had an amazing host family that helped me experience the culture.

Being able to take trips with other students was an amazing learning experience.

The intensive language summer program was well taught and I felt that it allowed me to achieve all my language goals. The program also offers a high level of independence for students. For me this meant that I was able to learn how to manage a lot of new cultural and practical situations on my own, which was very rewarding.

I thought being the foreigner was a rewarding change for me because it's an experience that is very humbling and I was able to learn so much.

I thought my personal growth throughout the program was the most rewarding. We traveled most weekends to different parts of Costa Rica, and I tried and did lots of new things throughout the trip! At the end, I find most rewarding how much I've matured and grown as a result.

I found that my personal connections, friends and family, have been the most rewarding. I also really liked my teachers in the classroom. All of them were incredibly smart and helpful. They really wanted the best for you and for you to learn.

You really have to be proactive about finding out about your host family before leaving and learning about what opportunities are available to you while you are there. Contact Isa about volunteering or anything. She is more than willing to help.

If you don't understand something - language, culture, how to eat a certain type of food, anything! - do not be afraid to ask! You will adjust and progress much fast if you ask questions, and people usually love to answer.

It's ok if you have no idea what's going on, you will figure it out eventually.
Participate in every activity that is offered to you to meet the people of Costa Rica. They are all super cool.

Studying and traveling abroad is such a rewarding experience but can be very unpredictable. Be prepared for anything, but also embrace the moment and experience when it doesn't all go as planned.

I learned that I should have budgeted how much spending money to have each week. Some weeks I would spend a ton of money, and other weeks I would be stingy and not spend a dime. I should have figured out a plan for how much to spend. I also learned that the worst thing you can do when going to a different country where English isn't spoken is be afraid or embarrassed about your communication skills. Everyone understands that you're speaking a foreign language, and I met too many people who didn't make as many connections because they were too self-conscious about their ability to communicate and interact with others.