Heredia, Costa Rica: Camille

Hello to all! I officially have 2 weeks left of my study abroad time and program here in Costa Rica. I never expected to have this much fun, and in less than 4 months it has become a second home to me. There are 12 of us in the program all together, and everyone is from all across the United States. Everyone I have met, including the people in my program, have helped me grow so much, and I couldn't be any more thankful for this opportunity and experience. Since I have about 2 weeks left in Costa Rica, all my finals are coming up. There is definitely a lot I have to prepare for. However, since all my classes are taught in Spanish, a majority of my exams are oral exams. I also have a lot of projects and presentations that are coming up in the next 2 weeks as well. It is overwhelming at first, but I would definitely say it is a little less stressful then finals at NIU. Another thing that is calming my nerves from doing so many presentations in Spanish is that all my classes are ...

Good afternoon to all! This time I'm going to write about my past weekend trip to the Limon province of Costa Rica. There are 7 provinces in all over Costa Rica. To be exact, I'm going to tell you all about Puerto Viejo. My mom came to visit me for a week here in Costa Rica, and it was so exciting! I didn't think I missed her that much until I finally got to see her at the airport. It was definitely bittersweet and an emotional reunion! My friends and I, including my mom, all decided to go to Puerto Viejo for the weekend. Puerto Viejo is about 4 hours away by bus (with no traffic) which always varies in Costa Rica. We got stuck in traffic on our way there, so our 4 hours ended up being almost 6 to get there. However, when we got there it was definitely breathtaking! It was a small place full of tourists from all around the world. We stayed there for 3 days, and 2 nights. It was beautiful. Puerto Viejo is known for it's incredible beaches and you can even rent a b...

Hello, it's me again! Something that is really exciting about studying abroad is that included in the whole program is a few different excursions throughout Costa Rica. My group and I have been on a few including to Volcan Irazu, Cartago, a tour of the capital San Jose, and Monteverde. However, my favorite one by far has been to La Fortuna. It is a small town about 2-3 hours away in a bus from Heredia, depending on the traffic. Even though it is a small town, it is still filled with a lot of tourists from all around the world. La Fortuna is a place that has an incredible waterfall, yet getting down to the waterfall and back up was a a big challenge. Going down to see the waterfall included about 485 stairs, but it was definitely worth it because of the view. Going back up was even more challenging. My group and I had to take small breaks between each set of stairs. The hotel we stayed at was called Los Lagos and it had around 10-12 different sized natural pools. Basically,...

Greetings everyone! Last week officially marked my half way point of the ISA study abroad program. It's been such an incredible experience so far! I couldn't be any happier, and Costa Rica is defintely a place I consider my second home. I would recommend anyone who is considering Costa Rica to definitely take a shot at it because it will be something that will change your life. Overall, I would recommend studying abroad because it might seem overwhelming at first but as the days pass it is something you won't regret doing. Coming from personal experience, at first I was scared and overwhelmed to be studying abroad. Especially, because it is a place I had never been to, and was worried about getting lost or feeling homesick. I didn't want to leave especially because I am close to my family and pets back home, but in the end you have to take the risk and just go because everything happens for a reason. The classes at ULatina (name of the university) are a lot more ...

Greetings everyone! It has been awhile since I have been able to post! Classes over here in Costa Rica have really picked up and the work load has been time consuming, but it is all worth it with this beautiful view outside of my classroom windows! About a week ago, my classmates and I, who are also in the same program as I (ISA-Heredia) traveled to Panama for four days. We left on an early Saturday morning, and returned late Tuesday evening. Many people don't know this, but when travel to Costa Rica from another country, you enter as a tourist. You then receive a 90 day visa to stay in Costa Rica. However, since this program is longer then 90 days, my classmates and I had to travel to another country for at least 72 hours in order to enter back into Costa Rica, and properly renew/get another 90 day visa. This was one of the main purposes of our trip to Panama, which is the neighboring country to Costa Rica. We took a bus to the border between Costa Rica and Panama, which in ...

Hey everyone! It´s me again. It´s Monday, which means the start of either the school or work week for most people. I just got back from my first weekend trip with other ISA students. We all went to Jaco beach which is about an hour south from the town of Heredia. It was such an incredible place! We all stayed in an Airbnb close to the beach with such an amazing view and access to our own private beach. Transportation and meals were definitely affordable and fit well into my traveling budget. However, my first week as an international student flew by so fast! My experience going through the airport in San Jose was easy, and the only question that was asked by customs was my length of stay here. Stepping out of the airport and finally being in Costa Rica was breathtaking. Right away, I knew that I belonged here and was meant to be here to experience this incredible place. Driving to my host family´s house was quick, and I noticed that the flow of traffic here is a lot different ...