XULA in Costa Rica was a wonderful experience. For the four weeks that I was there, I was able to learn so much about the culture and explore different parts of the country. At first I was nervous about being a beginner in Spanish, but I easily adjusted and spoke more Spanish than I ever did before. This program was very inclusive and I was able to apply what I learned from class in the clinical practicum and in conversation. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone that wants to improve their Spanish, gain clinical experience, learn about a new culture, and to have a great time!

I will never forget my time spent in Costa Rica. Everything from the authentic Caribbean food that I ate during a weekend trip to the city of Limón, to the daily Spanish conversations with my favorite bus driver was definitely worth it. Four weeks is plenty of time to be able to enjoy most of what Costa Rica has to offer. There will not be one weekend where you will not have something fun and exciting to do. In addition to being able to experience another country, culture, and language, gaining five credit hours of Spanish and participating in daily clinical shadowing rotations is what really makes this summer program worthwhile. Being able to interact with the healthcare professionals and the patients 100% in Spanish helps to develop an ear for the language fast. I would highly recommend this summer program to students pursuing careers in healthcare who want to become comfortable communicating with any future Spanish-speaking patients.

I really loved my trip to Costa Rica. ,  My host family was amazing.  The food was also wonderful, we eat different things every night. I loved going  the clinic every day, the hours were long and it was hard to wake up at 5:45 but the experience was still great.  I learned so much from Dr. Farudi during class, she was so nice and helpful, she always pushed us to try to speak Spanish and would help us when we made mistakes. I enjoyed the salsa class as well along with the trip to Guanacaste, I feel as though they were great bonding opportunities for all the students to interact with each other. I am so glad I made new friends .I am actually really sad this trip is over. All in all it was a great time and lots of fun and I would recommend this program to anyone.