Mt. Hood’s Costa Rica Study Abroad program

Close your eyes. Picture a beach – tranquil sand, the gentle lap of waves against your toes, the sun warm against your eyelids… Now, open them and look outside.

Sure sounds nice, compared to Oregon’s weather, right?

Twenty Mt. Hood students studying abroad in Costa Rica this Winter Term undoubtedly agree. Based in the city of San Isidro, a city in central Costa Rica near the capital city (San Jose) and not far from picturesque ocean beaches and tropical rainforests, students enrolled in first- or second-year Spanish or international studies are eligible for the term-long trip, which takes place once a year.

“This is our fifth consecutive year with the program in Costa Rica,” said Paul Eckhardt, Spanish instructor at MHCC and director of the school’s Study Abroad program. Previously, Mt Hood had a similar program located in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for 18 years, he added.

Apart from warm weather and a chance to check Central America off their personal bucket lists, what’s in it for Mt. Hood students?

“I think studying abroad is an amazing experience that can be life-changing for students,” said Eckhardt, checking in by email from San Isidro. “It empowers them in that they learn to communicate in another language and they learn so much about another culture, and about themselves.

“I am always amazed at how well students adapt to a new culture, and how much Spanish they learn during their time here!” Eckhardt added.

Once a week, the Costa Rica visitors have a cultural experience/field trip.

“This week, we had dance class… It is so much fun, and great exercise,” said Suzanne Zalokar, an MHCC student participating in this winter’s program. “Last week we took a day trip to visit the indigenous village of Bribri. We participated in a cultural exchange with the community and shared a lunch and cake. We also toured a working permaculture farm of one of the tribal members.

“It was simply fascinating,” Zalokar said.

Though it does sound like a wonderful opportunity, the Costa Rica extended stay is not cheap, unfortunately.

The estimated cost, as the MHCC program flier explains, is $5175, which includes: airfare; a family stay with two meals per day; Mt. Hood tuition and books; registration at the school where (participants) study in Costa Rica; a three-day beach trip; and access to “a full-time language instructor who goes with the group for tutoring and advising.”

There is a scholarship available totaling $750, and all Financial Aid money a student receives can be used for this program, so the term abroad may not be as costly as it seems at first glance, according to Eckhardt.

Regardless of the material cost, the chance to visit another country, and another culture, is one that does not come often, and students will have the opportunity to more than just improve their Spanish.

“I have learned about the importance of connecting with people from other cultures – people with other languages and worldviews that are different from what I have known in my own life,” wrote Zalokar.

“In this way, we can strengthen our understanding of people who are different from ourselves and work together to make it a better world community,” she said.

While the current Costa Rica program is well under way, there will be another taking place Winter Term of 2018, as well as a three-week visit to Japan in Summer Term for students interested in studying Japanese, seeing that part of the world, and learning new things about themselves.

“One of the best lessons I will bring home with me is the mantra of Costa Rica – not ‘Pura Vida’ (pure life) as everyone says, (but) rather: ‘Tranquilo,’ ” Zalokar wrote.

“It is kind a catch-all phrase but it is often used much like we say, ‘No worries.’ Watching what is happening in our country from afar these past 30 days or so, I have adopted this mentality as best I can,” she said. “It has improved my mental and physical health and my outlook on life.”