My favorite part was the night tour in the cloud forest. I had a great time searching for any late night critters crawling or sleeping. The tour guides were so enthusiastic and you can definitely tell they love showing tourists what the cloud forest is made of.

Visiting the hot springs was wonderful! The nature, such as the mountains, trees, birds, and tropical plants that I saw, was beautiful. It felt like I was experiencing a travel brochure (where the pictures are beautiful and it's almost hard to believe that they're true) in real life.

One of my favorite parts of this program was learning about the wildlife in the rainforest we went to, especially the night walk. I saw many beautiful animals, like toucans, wild boars, scorpions, and even a sloth. Costa Rica is very beautiful and culturally and biologically diverse.
Another one of my favorite parts of this program was trying all the delicious fried plantain! I never had so much fried plantain in my life before.

My favorite part of the program was interacting with locals from Costa Rica and guides who provided us with extra knowledge.

I think my favorite part of my study abroad experiencing was being able to go to so many different places. I really felt like I was able to explore parts of Costa Rica that I would not have been able to find without this program.

All the kind individuals who made the trip so fun was my favorite part of this program

One of the best parts of the program was experiencing a new culture and learning about the way of life in Costa Rica. I particularly enjoyed visiting the coffee and chocolate plantation, where we had the opportunity to taste freshly made coffee and chocolate, and see the production process.

The volunteering in Monteverde was short and easy, but it was interesting to learn how our work positively affected the Costa Rican ecosystems within the Cloud Forest. A simple task, such as raking the leaves to push them toward one side of the path, adjusts and assists in the natural irrigation systems.

For me, the most rewarding element is that I left my comfort zone and traveled to another country even though we, as Americans, are fed stories about how unsafe and scary other countries are. I got to see firsthand that other places may not be as bad as our information sources portray.

I found learning about the history of Costa Rica to be the most rewarding. Seeing how similar the US and Costa Rica are, with similar political issues like immigration, a wave of conservatism, and the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, made me realize these issues are global. I can see myself having a longer study abroad experience there, to learn more about the people there.

I also found the group project we did with some of the students from the University of Costa Rica and KU to be very enlightening. Seeing and working with people of a similar background like mine was awesome. And it was cool to see them in person after first meeting on zoom!

An element that made the program very rewarding was exploring different parts of Costa Rica and not just staying in one place.

The most rewarding part of the program was definitely the people I met through it. I felt like by the end of the trip I have made so many new friends and throughout the trip it was nice to have so many people I could rely on.

What I found most rewarding was the opportunity to experience how people from a different culture and country live their daily lives.

Be prepared for lots of rain. Bring panchos, an umbrella, extra socks and shoes. The temperature was mostly in the 70-80s so maybe bring a jacket for those chilly nights. You don’t need to know a lot of Spanish but people are grateful for your effort in learning. Most people we met on the trip spoke English so you can get by pretty well.

Go in with an open mind because whatever you think you know about your destination, might not be entirely accurate. Suspend your preconceived notions and just take in the experience and be in the moment because you're getting to do something pretty cool.

Definitely pack a lot of bug spray, and the heat/ humidity of Costa Rica is not to be trifled with. Buying a small bag of powdered laundry detergent goes a long way if you didn't pack a lot of clothes.

I think one of the key takeaways I got was an interconnectedness of cultures that goes much deeper than the superficial level; I saw connections within cultures that weren't previously established.

This program was focused on developing a global perspective and I think it was able to do just that! A big lesson I learned on this program is try to go with the flow and be opened to new experiences because even though it might not feel familiar jumping into new things can be very rewarding.

Everywhere I went, people were friendly, helpful, and informative. They shared stories about their culture, diet, and language, and we experienced a variety of meals they are known for. Plantains were included in almost every dish.