Costa Rica: Homestay & Spanish Immersion

Our experience begins in a San Jose Central Valley area Bed and Breakfast. Here, we learn more about Costa Rica, take a Latin dance class, and visit an organic coffee farm. We participate in some informal Spanish games and lessons, so please come ready to use your Spanish!

After orientation, head off for our homestays in the mountainous interior of the country. While staying in homestays (typically two students per home), we work on sustainable community development and environmental projects. Typical projects include: pouring the foundation for a community center, planting organic school gardens, painting and tiling a community kitchen, constructing a plant nursery, teaching English lessons, or completing a sidewalk around the town square. Most afternoons we break from our projects for opportunities of exchange like soccer games, English and Spanish intercambios, and excursions.

Please see The Homestay Experience for more details on how we select our homestay communities and families.

Time to hit the beach! We travel to the Pacific Coast, famous for its unique combination of rainforest and ocean settings. For two days, we challenge ourselves with surf or stand-up paddle board lessons, taught by professional instructors. The wave conditions on this beach provide the perfect opportunity for all levels to hang ten!

As we say goodbye to our new friends and family, our trip back to the Central Valley gives us time to share our memories before we fly home. During a celebratory dinner and awards ceremony in a vivacious restaurant setting, we reflect upon our time together. Finally, we depart for home.