How My “Amiga” Lauren Studied Spanish in Costa Rica
Hi, my name is Karen Putter and I am from England. Recently I came back from a backpacking trip through South America with my high school friend Lauren. We started off in Argentina and visited some amazing places, went shopping, and even got to go to a soccer game at one of the most famous stadium called la Bombonera. Two days later we were off to travel across the continent with just two backpacks, a few bucks, and a lot of courage. Yet I was amazed the most in the fact that we didn’t have to struggle when talking to the locals. Surprisingly, we didn’t have to speak a single word of English. You may be wondering how two British girls could travel there without speaking the local language?
Well, the answer was in my friend Lauren. She spoke Spanish almost like a native speaker; with just a little bit of accent. Thanks to her fluent Spanish, we had the chance to experience one of the best trips we have ever taken. She did all the talking when we needed to arrange tours, make a reservation, or ask locals direction or advice. It was quite amazing.
Before we finished our vacation, we headed to Panamá. This was the last city of our journey through Latin America. During the flight, I asked her how she could speak Spanish so well?
Lauren told me about an amazing experience she had in Costa Rica one year ago. She studied Spanish at Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA). At the academy, she studied Spanish through first-hand life experiences that went beyond classrooms and textbooks. Plus, CRLA includes extracurricular activities such as:
- Conservation volunteering projects
- Costa Rican cooking classes
- Latin dance class
- Home stay programs
After we arrived, I took the time to read about all the services they provide at CRLA. Then I realized how important it is to study a language like Spanish if you plan to visit Hispanic countries and truly immerse yourself in the culture.
I found very interesting that people from all over the world that had experienced the same positive outcome as my friend Lauren while studying Spanish at CRLA. Learn about some of those amazing experiences here.
Costa Rican Spanish Academy offers a wide variety of immersive Spanish studies abroad for individuals, groups, and even faculty-led groups of high school or college students. They provide one of the best opportunities in the world for students of all levels to learn Spanish directly from native speakers, while living in a Spanish-speaking country and soaking in its culture.
On top of that, check out what else you can do:
CRLA is dedicated to improving the lives of fellow Costa Ricans, while offering their students further opportunities to expand their language skills and gain valuable work experience, while helping the community or environment. They can put you in contact with a wide variety of Costa Rica volunteer programs throughout the country in different fields.
I you like to learn Spanish abroad while having an amazing living experience with world friends & fun activities, contact CRLA to learn more.