Why I Chose to Study Abroad in San Ramon, Costa Rica

To start off, I should explain why I am even studying abroad in the first place: 

(Photo Source: https://www.zauca.com/travel-agency-website-design-rs-3800/)

Since high school, I knew study abroad was something I wanted out of my college experience. I have always loved to travel (who doesn't?!?) and wanted include these travels as part of my educational journey. Even going into Summer Start (Western's freshmen orientation day), I made sure to go to the education abroad orientation and learn as much as I can. Studying abroad was always in my lifelong plan. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college, when my roommate at the time was gearing up to spend a year in Spain, that I seriously started looking into my options. 

For my major, Environmental Science, there is one specific graduation requirement where students have to either do an internship, senior project, thesis, or study abroad to earn 5-10 credits (when I started the major it was 10-15 credits). This requirement presented the perfect reason for me to study abroad, I could live in another country and earn credits towards my degree! One thing that I learned about study abroad along the way is that most overseas programs run on semester system, whereas Western runs on a quarter system. This means that for every credit I earn while studying abroad, I will earn 1.5 credits at Western. For my program specifically, I am taking between 15-18 credits, which translates to about 20-24 credits at Western, worth almost two quarters. By studying abroad, I will be on track to graduate in Spring 2020 after just four years. In terms of keeping my education on track, studying abroad is the smartest move for me. 

To be honest, the credits are kind of just an excuse. The main reason for me wanting to study abroad is to not only travel to a different country, but to live like the locals and become a part of another culture. I find that when I travel to another country for vacation, I have an amazing time seeing everything and experiencing the country on a superficial level, but I never really connect with the locals or live the place as they would. When I went to New Zealand as part of an exchange program, I found that even then I had a different experience than when I travel. By living with a host family, I became a part of their community. I'm hoping that by studying abroad and by living with a host family in Costa Rica, I can also feel like a part of their community and culture. 

So now that you know why I am studying abroad in the first place, I'll talk about why I chose to go to Costa Rica:

(Photo Source: https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/is-costa-rica-safe/)

My main criteria for a location was it had to be a Spanish speaking country. I learned Spanish all throughout my schooling and in order to cement the language into my brain, I wanted to live somewhere that only spoke in Spanish. Essentially this left Spain and South America.

Spain, with its location in Europe was a very appealing choice. Its westernized culture and Mediterranean climate makes it seem like an easy place to live abroad; it would be comfortable. For the most part, things would seem very similar to life in the U.S. (in terms of accessibly to the luxuries we are normally used to having). I seriously considered going to Spain. So much so that I analyzed every available program trying to come up with something that would work. In the end, it was too expensive and didn't offer any decent environmental science programs, so I moved on. 

So why Costa Rica? In my mind, Costa Rica was always the best choice. But I still wanted to see what I could do in other countries. The main countries I was looking at included Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean Islands. Brazil was out because they speak Portuguese as opposed to Spanish. Argentina and Chile were beautiful, but I did not see any programs that offered what I was looking for. And for me, the Caribbean Islands felt a little too isolated for an entire semester. 

Costa Rica is the perfect place for me to study abroad. The country has a wide range of environments, from beaches to rain-forests to mountains, which makes it not only the perfect place to study environmental science, but also an incredibly dynamic place to live. From what I have learned, Costa Rica as a whole is very focused on protecting the environment through sustainable practices and environmentally focused tourism and industries. That, combined with the land's rich biodiversity, make the area an incredibly interesting place to study environmental science and policy. Besides being a good place to further my education, Costa Rica is also very beautiful with endless amounts of activities to do and places to explore. Plus, let's not forget about the Tico's laid back attitude and friendly culture! The more I learn about this country, the more excited I was to go!

So I finally chose my country, but what about my program?

(Source: https://www.dickinsonstate.edu/admissions/international-programs/study-abroad/)

For what I was looking for in a study abroad experience (Environmental science classes, homestay, fall semester, Costa Rica, courses offered in English), my options were a little limited. Luckily though, it was suggested that I look at the USAC program. This is a popular choice among students and I can understand why. 

USAC offers study abroad options in three locations in Costa Rica: Heredia, Puntarenas, and San Ramon. I considered both the Puntarenas and San Ramon options (Puntarenas because of its location and San Ramon because of the courses offered). I chose to go to San Ramon because the courses offered fit perfectly with what I am interested in and what I need in order to graduate. San Ramon is also pretty centrally located between the capital of San Jose, the beaches, and many of the national parks. 

This program was appealing to me because of its cost, the courses offered, and the excursions. The cost is pretty comparable to Western's rates and on the low end of most other education abroad programs. For the program, at least in San Ramon, they offer courses in Spanish and culture, health sciences, and life or natural sciences. This location is known for being geared towards students in STEM, which is nice because not a lot of study abroad programs in general offer a variety of science courses. For the extra excursions, there are two built into the program: Jaco Beach and Arenal Volcano. There is also an optional Cuba Field Study or Panama Tour. I am doing the Cuba Field Study and I could not be more excited to go. 

Overall, studying abroad in Costa Rica is a good fit for me and with just over a month until I leave, I am very excited to leave!