Kelly Sabo
Spanish
Department of Spanish Program in Costa Rica, Spring 2019
While studying here in Costa Rica I am attending Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. The classes that I am taking abroad are Advanced Spanish 1, Advances Spanish 2, Latin American Literature and Latin American Civilization and Culture. All of the classes are with other students that are studying Spanish from the United States but there were also options to add additional classes like Interpersonal Communications, Painting, Photography and soccer which ticos are also enrolled in. I chose not to add an additional class because I wanted to have the opportunity to exercise and explore after classes because the sun sets very early here- around 5:30pm.
One of the major differences between the classes here and the classes at WMU is that the classes are organized in modules so we actually only have one class at a time which lasts about three weeks. I actually really enjoy that we only have one class at a time because it allows me to focus on one thing at a time and I’m not worried about studying for several different classes at once. At the end of each module all of the classes get together and present a given term. For the end of the first module we were grouped up and had to present some sort of talent. My group and I cooked ripe plantains with sweet cream and cheese- they were actually quite delicious! For the term that we just completed each group had to select a typical Costa Rican game and had to explain it to everybody and then we had to play it. For example, my group explained how to play freeze tag (congelado) and other choices were jump rope (salta la cuerda), and tonto.
I have been exercising while I’ve been abroad but I’ve been doing things differently here than I would back in the United States. In the United States I belong to an athletic club where I have access to cardio equipment, studio space, basketball courts and swimming pools which is so convenient. There are gyms here however they are quite costly even with a student discount so I prefer to exercise outside. In an effort to help prevent and combat obesity the government installed several parks throughout the neighborhoods with exercise equipment and things like tires that can be used for a multitude of different exercises. I typically will run and combine it with an upper-body, lower-body or core workout. The majority of the exercises that I do are body-weight exercises because of the lack of equipment but it still gets the job done.
Categories: Central America, Costa Rica, Academics, Classroom comparison, Courses and credits, Education, Exercise, Self care, Spring.