A Genuine Opportunity to Experience A Culture Outside Our Own

CRA provides students a genuine opportunity to experience the daily life of Costa Ricans, or Ticos as they are affectionately known. Travel allows us a glimpse into the lives and environment of communities outside our own, expanding our personal view of the world, and offering an opportunity to reflect on our own daily lives at home.

To make the experience even more meaningful and tangible to young adults, CRA creates activities and opportunities guided by age-appropriate educational objectives. The itinerary is created in collaboration between the teacher and a CRA educational consultant to provide the students the most comprehensive learning experience while in Costa Rica. Our staff includes two life-long teachers, one in Biology and one in Spanish, and a former guide who is an expert on all things in Costa Rica. CRA ensures that the experience has an educational perspective throughout the trip.

While on tour, you will have a bi-lingual Tico naturalist guide who is committed to share their knowledge of the environment and flora and fauna, while integrating history, culture, and Spanish immersion throughout the experience. Costa Ricans are equally proud of their country and their family and want to share it in an authentic and sincere manner. It is not essential that you speak any Spanish at all, but if you do, there will be plenty of daily opportunities to use the language meaningfully and improve your skills. Ticos have a friendly disposition, openly share their culture, and are extremely helpful to students learning Spanish.

The best way to experience a Costa Rican family and daily routine is the home-stay visit, where a couple of students are paired with a Costa Rican family to live for several days. The convivial spirit of a Tico family quickly puts the student at ease to enjoy and fully engage in the experience. Becoming part of the family, students eat all meals with the family, participate in family activities, and work alongside with members of the community on a sustainable and meaningful service project. Also, if you include Spanish learning class, the family provides an immediate way to test what the students have learned in the classroom, allowing the student to always stay in Spanish language mode. The home-stay allows both Costa Ricans and the CRA traveler the exchange of impromptu and natural conversations, an authentic cultural immersion experience. The days spent with the family are usually the highlight of the entire trip for the students.

For the Spanish language specific itinerary, CRA tailors the experience to meet the objectives of the teacher, taking into consideration the language level of the students to create even more opportunities to use Spanish in a meaningful dialogue with Costa Ricans. For beginners, guides are the source of inspiration for the student to use Spanish when the opportunity arises, encouraging the students to use words or a few phrases in specific situations to bolster student confidence to use Spanish. For the intermediate students, eating at restaurants and activities provides a controlled setting to use Spanish. For an advanced group of language learners, most of the activities, guided tours, and service projects can be done entirely in Spanish. At CRA, we have a flexibility to create the most meaningful itinerary for the teachers and the students. Immersion is the fastest and the most meaningful experience when acquiring a language. Costa Rica offers a culture that enhances this experience and makes an indelible mark on a young person’s life. 

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