Oh, what I would do to have some of the best dishes from Costa Rica right now. The food in this tropical country of Central America is usually very natural and fresh. Street vendors can be found selling fruit on…
A Costa Rican Perspective: The Greatest Benefit of Study Abroad
When people ask me about the most rewarding part of my study abroad experience, many things come to mind. Language acquisition is definitely at the top of the list; being able to travel and live in another country for nearly 7 months is…
Miracles and Riots: Being in Costa Rica for the World Cup
I watched the first World Cup game at my friend’s family’s house. We paid two mil colones (about $4) to the host to help cover the cost of food, we sipped on beer we brought ourselves, we took chili guaro…
It’s a Jungle Out There
This weekend some friends and I went to Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. It is located on the southwestern tip of the Peninsula de Osa and according to National Geographic is “the most biologically intense place on Earth in…
Dancing in the Moonlight: Move like a Tico (or try to at least)
Both of the orientation programs I had when I came down to Costa Rica (one through KU that lasted an entire month and one through the Universidad de Costa Rica that lasted one day) involved dance lessons. I have to…
Learning with language barriers: that one time when I cried in my History of Africa class
A few weeks ago, I was supposed to give a twenty-minute presentation about slavery in my Historia de Africa class at the Universidad de Costa Rica. Eventually all forty of my classmates and I would have to present, but a…
Oye Machita!: Everybody’s Little Blondie
By Betsy Tampke Before I came to Costa Rica, I was warned about the machismo culture. I was warned that I would be yelled to, whistled at, and stared upon with hungry eyes. I was also told that as a…
COSTA RICA INFO SESSION – November 13, 3:30 PM, 203 Lippincott
WHERE? Lippincott Hall, room 203 FOR WHAT? To learn more about KU’s exchange program with the Universidad de Costa Rica, the longest running exchange program in the Western Hemisphere! Two KU staff members within the Universidad will be skyping in…
Costa Rica : Travel Writing
Don’t Fight the Ocean Betsy Tampke You are hot, sweaty, and tired when you finally reach the top of the cliff after hiking through the Costa Rican forest with three other girls on your two week study abroad trip and…
Semester or Year in San Jose, Costa Rica
The University of Kansas Program in San Jose, Costa Rica, began in 1958 and remains the oldest exchange program in the Western Hemisphere. UCR’s fall semester begins in August and ends with final exams in mid-December, and spring semester begins…