COSI-Costa Rica Spanish Institute

Noche Tica at COSI Manuel Antonio!

Posted by admin | Filed under Actividades, COSI Activity, Uncategorized

This is an invitation to all of our students in the Manuel Antonio school. Today March 1oth at 6pm you can come and try some Costa Rican food, listen Marimba (our national instrument) and enjoy Costa Rican folkloric dancers performed by a group of the community.

Asian Night!!

Posted by admin | Filed under Actividades, COSI Activity

Come to cook and meet our student from Japan, Shige! This Wednesday March 10th at 6:00 pm at COSI San José. Shige will teach us how to cook two different types of Asian Food.

Culture Night!

Posted by admin | Filed under COSI Activity

Come to COSI´s Culture Night and try some Costa Rican food and watch typical dancers. You can participate in the dances!

The festivities start at 6:00pm tomorrow night, Wednesday the 17th, here at COSI. Its free so come enjoy the food and the show!!

Costa Rica elects first woman president!

Posted by admin | Filed under Costa Rica Happenings

Costa Ricans voted on February 7^th 2010 in the elections to choose a successor to Nobel Peace Prize winning President Oscar Arias, a woman was elected to become the country’s first female head of state.

After polls closed at 6pm local time yesterday, all eyes were on whether the winning candidate would grasp the more than 40 per cent of the vote necessary to avoid a runoff. Polls showed Chinchilla garnering 46.8 percent of the vote, with 85 percent of election sites reporting. Second-place candidate Ottón Solis of the Citizen’s Action Party had 25.1 percent, while Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement had 20.9 percent.

Costa Rica has no army and boasts some of the world’s greenest energy credentials. It was ranked No. 1 last year in a “Happy Planet” Index, or HPI, published by a British entity name: The New Economics Foundation that combines measures of a country’s ecological footprint with citizen happiness and life expectancy.

Election day was festive throughout the nation, with video footage showing supporters of the main presidential candidates dressed in their respective campaign colors.

Palmares is here!!

Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized

January is here and you know what that means: Palmares! Palmares is the biggest event in Costa Rica and it takes place every year for two weeks in January. This event brings upwards of 1 million people from all over the country every year. It is organized by the Civic Association of Palmares whose goal is to raise money for the development of the community. Some of the funds are also donated to charitable organizations throughout the country.

Palmares is so popular because it starts off a new year of celebrations with concerts with national and international artists, “el Gran Tope”- the parade of horses, “el Festival Ranchero”- a concert of Ranchero music, and a Carnival with music, bright costumes, and dancing. There are also many cultural activities and sporting events to participate in or watch. Palmares proves to be one of the major events of the year.

The fun starts today, the 13th, and ends on the 25th. Don’t miss out!

Follow the link for details on events: http://www.fiestaspalmares.com/

Feliz Año Nuevo

Posted by admin | Filed under Holiday

Cahuita Sunrise

Ahora que termina un año y otro empieza, nosotros en COSI esperamos que hayan tenido bonitos recuerdos y experiencias felices, y que miren hacia el futuro con emoción, con muchos planes y metas nuevas. Deseamos que el próximo año les traiga prosperidad y muchas alegrías.
Les deseamos un feliz año nuevo a todos.
COSI Staff

Feliz Navidad!

Posted by admin | Filed under Holiday

COSI les desea una muy feliz Navidad. Esperamos que estén felices en cualquier parte del mundo y que estén disfrutando este tiempo con sus seres queridos.
Los mejores deseos,
COSI Staff

Time for Tamales!

Posted by admin | Filed under Actividades, COSI Activity, Holiday

Its December in Costa Rica and that means tamales are in season! These delicious treats are a big part of the Latin culture, especially around Christmastime.

Tamales are corn flour based, wrapped in a banana leaf, and stuffed with rice, veggies, and most typically pork, but can be substituted with any meat or even made vegetarian. In many families it is a tradition to make tamales on Christmas Eve.

Here at COSI we’ll be making our own tamales. Tomorrow, Thursday, at 1:15p staff and several mama Ticas will show students how tamales are made. It’s a great opportunity to get in the holiday spirit Tico style. Come hungry and ready to do some cookin’!

Discount for Previous Students!

Posted by admin | Filed under Discount, Información

Hello COSI students! We have an offer for you. If you’ve studied here at COSI before, loved it, and have been waiting for an excuse to come back, here it is: Previous students will receive 10% off the cost of classes! It doesn’t matter how long you’ll be here or how long it’s been since you were here last, everyone gets the discount!

So wait no longer. Come back and visit us in San José, Manuel Antonio, or both for 10% less!! We can’t wait to see you!

Study Abroad: An Interview

Posted by admin | Filed under Información, Student Trip, interview

Even though Katie Jensen and Missy Caithamer attend the same college in the United States and do a lot of the same things together, they have both had some different experiences and feelings while studying abroad. They were nice enough to answer some questions about their time in Costa Rica.

How old are you and where are you from?
K- I am 21 years old and I´m from a small town called Dixon, Illinois; the home of President Ronald Reagan.
M- I am 20 years old and I am from Naperville, Illinois.

How long have you studied Spanish and what made you choose Costa Rica to continue studying?
K- I have studied Spanish for 6 years. Spanish is one of my majors so I wanted to come to Costa Rica because my professors told me that it would be beneficial for my studies.
M- I have studied Spanish for 6 years and I decided to come to Costa Rica to study because it was suggested by my advisor and my professors that it would look good on a resume, but also because I wanted to do it and Costa Rica is a great location.

Is this your first study abroad experience?
Both- Yes

How long have you been here? How long do you have left?
Both- We have been here for 13 weeks and have 2 weeks left.

What were your initial thoughts upon arriving in Costa Rica?
K- ¨Where am I?¨ and ¨Why did I decide to do this?¨ because I was so scared and nervous. There was a lot of culture shock.
M- I don´t really know how to explain it, but I was surprised that I was actually here, that it wasn´t in the future anymore. I couldn´t believe that I was actually going to be living in this country for 15 weeks. I had a lot of culture shock.

What was your first week in Costa Rica like?
K- It was overwhelming and scary, but I adjusted.
M- Overwhelming, but also it was beautiful how different the natural life is here. It was great and interesting, it was hard to be living with a family that was not my family that didn´t speak any English. And in a town that I knew nothing about and I had to learn where I was and where everything was. It was just really foreign.

What was the hardest thing to adapt to? What was the easiest thing to adapt to?
K- The hardest thing to adapt to was being away from my family in the United States and living with a host family. Not only not being in the United States, but living alone without having my friends, I felt a lone a lot of the time. The easiest thing to adjust to was the food.
M- The hardest thing to adapt to was living with a host family. I couldn’t communicate exactly what I wanted to for the majority of the time and it was hard living in a house where I was not really comfortable because I couldn´t do my own thing. I had to be respectful of the family and I didn´t know really what I could do and what I couldn´t do. I was pretty much in my room, or eating with the family. But as time went by, I was more comfortable around them. The easiest thing to adapt to was the friendliness and hospitality of the people here. Everybody is really friendly and welcoming. Also, the food. And the beach was really easy to adapt to, it always gave us something to do after class.

How was your experience living with your Costa Rican host family?
K- When I had the opportunity to talk to my family from home, it helped me and they offered a lot of advice. Also, I talked to my other friends that are here with me in Costa Rica about how they were dealing with it, and we all stuck together. Living in Costa Rica is not as sterilized as in the United States and there are a lot of animals and bugs that I don´t usually come in contact with at home. I didn´t feel as comfortable as I would have in my own house to go get food out of the refrigerator or turn on the TV and watch it when I wanted to.
M- I dealt with it by staying positive and although I didn´t always understand what they were saying, I kept telling myself to keep trying, keep listening, speak up. If they were talking about something I couldn´t always add in my thoughts or experiences, and I couldn´t always tell them what I wanted to because I couldn´t think of the words in Spanish or how to say it. Also, it was difficult to understand my family and, sometimes, I even felt left out.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced while in Costa Rica?
K- The biggest challenge I have faced is being away from my family and adjusting to the completely different culture.
M- The biggest challenge I have faced is probably being away from my family. It is hard for me not to be able to just go home and see them for a little bit, but you just have to stay strong and keep with it. Even though my mom did come to visit, I never got the ¨I´m home¨ feeling and I´ve missed it. But you stay strong and you have fun and learn how to pass the time and where to go to have fun. I am sitting here in week 14 and I´m going home at the end of next week. The time flew.

Where have you gone and what have you done in Costa Rica?
K- I have gone to Playa Uvita and went whale watching, Dominical and experienced my first hostel, Montezuma and went zip-lining, Jacó and experienced the night life for my 21st birthday, Arenal and got to see the volcano, Nicaragua and saw a volcano, a market, and the colonial style of Granada, Puerto Viejo and saw the Caribbean coast, we lived in Manuel Antonio for 2 months and saw a lot of wildlife when we visited the park.
M- I went to Playa Uvita and went whale watching, and then we went to Domincal and stayed at the hostel Tortilla Flats and walked the town. The next place I went to was Jacó for my friend´s 21st birthday and we stayed at a hotel, went to restaurants, experience the night life, and shopped. Then we went to Montezuma and went zip-lining, hiked, and jumped in a waterfall. The next place we went to was Arenal, we got to see the volcano at night and during the day, and we went to the hot springs and rode horses. Also, we went to Nicaragua, and saw volcanoes, Lake Nicaragua and the little islands, crater lakes, and a market. Then we went to Puerto Viejo and got to see the Caribbean coast and the relaxed lifestyle of the residents. I lived in Manuel Antonio and did almost everything there. We also went to Villa Nueva and reforested for the Titi Monkeys.

Do you feel you have become more independent and gained more confidence during this experience?
K- Yes, definitely. Since I was alone a lot of the time, I had to learn to do things on my own and there wasn´t always someone there to help me communicate.
M- I do, because I´m by myself when I´m with my host family, I had to figure out how to communicate and how to be independent. I’m not in a dorm room where I can hang out with friends until it’s time to go to bed so to entertain myself I have to watch a movie or read a book or write in my journal to pass the time. I have to be independent to get myself around the town. I have to figure out bus times, directions, and how to get myself from place to place safely. Just talking to people about even things like buying a gym membership, ordering food, every day little things like that. I learned to throw myself in and try my hardest to make sense when I speak.

What are your thoughts on COSI?
K- I think that COSI is a great Spanish institute and it really helped me learn Spanish because I was immersed into a culture where I had to speak in Spanish at all times. When I was corrected it wasn´t negative remarks, it was only to help me, the teachers didn´t make me feel belittled, they only wanted to help. I think COSI does a good job at what they do.
M- I like COSI a lot. I thought the classes that we took in Manuel Antonio were good; I liked the teachers a lot. I liked the way the syllabus was set up, with the test and composition schedules, and sometimes we got movie days. I liked the food they provided on breaks. The ¨Noches Ticas¨ and other cultural activities they had planned were always really fun.

What would you suggest to people who are going to study in Costa Rica?
K- Do everything that you can, make the most of it, and keep a positive attitude. Never give up.
M- Don´t give up, be positive, when things get hard, just remember that life at home will wait for you, nothing is changing there and your having a once in a lifetime experience that you won´t have again, make the best of it, make friends, go out and see the country; it´s a beautiful country.