Pura Vida

We started our early day off with fresh breakfast at our hotel Karahé. We got to go to Manuel Antonio National Park and walk through a beautiful rainforest as it poured rain on us. Believe me, it’s way better than it sounds. We saw capuchino monkeys, who are known to be the smartest monkeys in this reserve. We saw various bugs, 2 toed sloths, funky spiders, slick lizards, snappy crabs, slimy snakes, and spiky bearded dragons. It was all so amazing. We finished our tour and got to sit out on the beautiful Manuel Antonio beach, and swam for hours. Some of the group went zip lining and the others stayed to relax on the beach. On our way from leaving the beautiful reserve, we encountered two more capuchino monkeys and one let us take cool pictures. He was SO cute. We even got some selfies with him. The rest of the day we had free day and got to relax at the beach and at the hotel pool & have dinner. This trip becomes more and more fun and exciting every day we are here. My Spanish has...

Well it's finally here. That moment we've all been waiting for since class started. Our trip to Manuel Antonio.  I can tell everyone is very excited to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city and in a place where we can relax and kickback before class starts again. I know for many of us it's been a stressful and alien environment, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Being in this new place pushes out of our comfort zone and prepares us for adulthood.  I love this country and the people I have met along the way.  I wish we had more time but home does sound nice. Anyway here in Manuel Antonio, it's a blast.  The beach is beautiful and the scenery even better. I wonder you can order coconuts to drink.  In short it's a paradise.  Sadly it's raining now, but I wish you could see it in person. Can't wait for our excursions tomorrow. Hoping for something awesome, -Josh Gann

Christian Ransom After being in Costa Rica for almost a week I can easily say this has been and will continue to be a great experience. The classes at the Universtiy have been very engaging and useful. We finished out our week at the University with our presentations on Thursday and a quiz on what we’ve learned so far today.  All of my fellow tfd215 students and even kids from other parts of the country, like Michigan and Washington, have come together and made one big family. Today we arrived at the Karahe hotel in Manuel Antonio and visited the beach. We were able to play in the waves of the Pacific Ocean, play volleyball together, and take many photos. So far my time in Costa Rica has been amazing and I hope the next week will be the same or even better.

When I woke up today I heard the voice of a little boy and an other woman who wasn’t my Mama Tica. I went to the kitchen to find that my Mama Tica’s daughter and nephew went t her house to tell her happy birthday. My Mama Tica was able to convince them to say in the house to eat breakfast l. After breakfast we told our Mama Tica happy birthday and walked to school. We went to school at 9:30am to do dance lessons. We went into a room with one air conditioner for two hours. We learned to dance bachata, merengue, and salsa. Learning to dance for two hours was strange, but mostly funny. After the dance lessons all the students went outside and ate their lunches. When 1:00pm struck the horde of students went to their classes. In my clase we presented our first Spanish project about a past vacation. When I presented I wasn’t as prepared as I would’ve wanted to be, but I did my best and took my time. Everyone did a great job, but I would like to appreciate that Sebastian, Kori, Candace, Chris...

Today, we surprisingly didn’t have gallo pinto for breakfast, which is a traditional Costa Rican breakfast that consists of rice and beans mixed together with eggs on the side. Our Mama Tica made us scrambled eggs on a homemade tortilla which was very delicious. My roommates and I ended up having to run to school to make it to our dance lessons on time because our Mama Tica runs on “Tico Time”, which means she is always running late. The dance lessons were very fun and I finally got to learn how to dance salsa. It was really cool to see my friends step out of their comfort zones and try to dance latin dances, which is one of my favorite things to do. During class my partner and I had to present about typical dances from Costa Rica and I feel like it went very well. After school my roommates and I went to the mall across the street from the university to shop. We also ate dinner there with some friends at a pizza place called La Fabrica. It was very tasty! I would say today was a great ...

      Initially arriving to Costa Rica, there was a  smorgasbord of emotions that each and every student was experiencing. The first day may have left some feeling a culture shock, and they may have began to feel homesick. Costa Rica is a very different country, with very different culture. The first couple of days have been rough, but after getting in tune with my Mama Tica, and acclimating to such a new environment, I’m beginning to feel at home.       My Mama Tica, Mama Barboza, has served us strictly Costa Rican meals for us to try. While other have had some American foods at home, I’ve only had comida costarricense. The first night was the famous Gallo Pinto, a dish composed of solely rice and beans. The following night was a special recipe made by our awesome Mama Tica. It was composed of plantain that was stuffed with chicken and chayote with vegetables that was baked in the oven. The outcome was a delicious dinner that tasted like lasagna and ...

It's our 4th full day in Costa Rica, and I can honestly say this has been an incredible experience. Thank we goodness we still have 10 days to go! Just from being here 4 days, I've improved my Spanish on monumental levels. There really is no better way to learn than to be thrown into situations where you have to learn. The first day, especially, I was experiencing shock when I realized the reality that I was absolutely required to speak in Spanish. Immersion programs are kind of like learning to swim by getting thrown in the deep end. I have no better way to describe it. At first I was panicking, I truly didn't think I was capable. To continue this mediocre metaphor- I swallowed a lot of water, and my head went under a lot, but eventually, now, I'm treading water like it's nothing.  I'll admit, its refreshing to talk to my parents on the phone in English every night, but I have to say that it's getting harder and harder to process both languages at ...

Today we had a really early morning and had to be at the bus stop at 7 a.m. to leave for the Irazú volcano, which is not active. It took us about 2 hours to drive there and we stayed for about an hour. We were able to walk around and we took a lot of pictures. Then we drove back to Heredia and had class again from 1-6. Today we worked on past tense verbs and did many activities. During class it started raining so hard outside that it was hard for us to hear each other talking. For dinner, a few of us went to the mall and tried food at McDonalds that they dont have in the U.S. We also just walked around the mall for a little bit and looked in some stores, which ever REALLY nice clothes! Me and my roommates ended up having to walk home in the rain and now we are starting our homework. It was a very long day but it was very eventful!! -Kori Newberry

Hola! Today is June 26th, 2018. Today was the day that we were set to go visit the Irazú volcano, and it was not what I expected. It turns out the volcano is currently not active with lava, which I did not think would be the case. It was so cool looking at the volcano from such a close distance, and it honestly didn’t even feel real. It was picture perfect. On the ride back I took a nap, and then we arrived at the school around 12:30. Since classes started at 1 I got a frappechino from the University’s Cafe to take to class (which I later found out was not allowed in class). Even though you are sitting in a class for 4 hours it goes by really fast. My teacher is amazing, and I am really learning about the grammatical aspect of spanish in ways I’ve never learned before. Most of the class is just doing fun activities like playing card games or “Hot n Cold.” One cool thing about the university is the university dog known as “Oso” or “Chuy” or “Benji” or any other name people c...

Today was our first day at the University. Our host mom made us breakfast before we took our walk to the school. It consisted of fruits, eggs, ham, and toast. We took a tour around the school and it was absolutely beautiful, the cafe, the area to sit by the garden, and etc. Our teacher was very nice and understood we had a hard time adapting to the culture and language and we did a lot of icebreaker games to get used to eachother. I met a lot of new people in the ISA program. After class we had walked over to the mall and shortly made our way back home at around 7 o’clock when it was getting dark. The city is beautiful and I'm glad we had the opportunity to experience a new culture.  - Jade Doan

Today was full of many more experiences than an average teenage kid in Calumet City. Our host mom woke us up to some delicious breakfast. After breakfast, we made our way to our first day of school. Orientation lasted about 2 hours, but after that we enjoyed some frappes at the University cafeteria. During class we took an exam to distinguish levels of Spanish. Once we were placed into our classrooms, we started many activities and games. Today was a simple day at the university, but it sure was very educational. - David Meraz

Taylor Alexander     Being in Costa Rica has been a great experience so far. During my first day here, I have learned a lot about my host family. For example, today I learned that my host dad takes singing classes and enjoys singing. I’ve also learned that when eating rice and beans, the beans go on the right and the rice goes on the left. While in Costa Rica, there’s a lot of walking. There’s a 20 minute walk from our house to the university. During my time in Costa Rica I plan on learning a lot from my host family. In Costa Rica walking can be very dangerous. Driving in Costa Rica is very different from America. While walking you have to be very careful because the cars do not wait for pedestrians. Walking can be fun, because you get to see a lot of things. Costa Rican’s are very friendly. I find it very interesting when I am in the mall and everyone assumes that I am very fluent in Spanish. While I am here I want to learn a lot more Spanish. So far, being in Costa Rica has...

What a wonderful start to what will surely be the trip of a lifetime! My group and I began our first warm morning in Heredia by enjoying our desayuno at the farmers market, or ferreteria . We were greeted by the smell of fresh fruit and vegetables, handmade tortillas and empanadas made with love. Our host mother treated to a delicious breakfast of empanadas with carne and a delicious jugo of watermelon and strawberries. With our bellies almost full, we still wanted to try the fresh and exotic fruit Costa Rica had to offer. We sampled papaya, mamones and avocado. It was a great experience and introduction to the diverse and delectable cuisine Costa Rica has to offer. It was simply farm fresh at its best. Make sure to visit a ferreteria when you have the chance with your host family. ¡Pura Vida! - Candace Barclay

Hello parents and students, I am Alejandro Medina. I want to share some of my experiences of this wonderful trip to Costa Rica. Costa Rica is such a stunning, magnificent country filled with culture and traditions. I have only been here for two days and I am really enjoying myself. The day I arrived to Heredia, I was excited and nervous to see my host mom. She is such a kind, hearted woman with so much energy and positivity that roams around other people. She makes me laugh with her hilarious jokes and she tells very intriguing stories about her personal life. My host mom really wants my roommate and I to have a good time at Costa Rica for the next two weeks. I can go on and on about my host mom, but I also want to talk about the sites I have visited the past two days. On Sunday, the students and I took a tour around the beautiful town of Heredia. We have such a lovely, informative tour guide guiding us all around the town. Heredia is extremely different from the United States, but tha...

After over a year of preparation, there is now a little more than 24 hours before 28 students from T.F. North and T.F. South board a plane for an immersion experience in Heredia, Costa Rica. An experience like this is impossible without support from parents. The district 215 parents of the 28 students headed to Costa Rica have been the most supportive parents imaginable. They have attended meetings, participated in fund raising events, attended more meetings, financially funded the adventure, purchased suitcases, gotten passports, exchanged US dollares into colones, made packing lists, done research on Costa Rica and international travel, made doctor appointments, brainstormed host family gifts, spoken to cell phone providers about international plans, talked to banks about international travel clearance on debit cards, purchased travel necesities, and spoken with their son or daugher about the opportunity and given them encouragement, trust, and support, perhaps even in the face of th...

If you want to read about the adventures of our TFD 215 students who are studying this summer in Heredia, Costa Rica, then you have come to the right place! Our trip is 17 days away, and we are ready! We will be posting on this blog regularly to share our experiences with our community back in Illinois. Thank you for your support! Our home away from home will be the city of Heredia, Costa Rica, which is 10 kilometers north of the capital, San Jose. Heredia, Costa Rica We will be staying with host families in Heredia and taking part in daily activities around the city to learn about the culture and history of Costa Rica. Heredia, Costa Rica While in Heredia, students will be taking a course at Universidad Latina. Universidad Latina in Heredia, Costa Rica. Please check back in on this blog to see what we are up to and feel free to share the link with others who want to keep track of our adventures. This experience would not have been possible for us without the suppor...