Now Chiara is at home again and she is getting used to being back home. It’s Easter and we wish you happy holidays. Here is snow and it is unusually cold. Today we will have breakfast with the family. Grandma and Grandpa are also here.
Chiara tell us a lot about Costa Rica and we think she misses Costa Rica very much. She says a lot about the organization and we would like to thank you! You took a lot of care of her. Thank you so much!

If you need support in your work with future exchange students, for example recommendations for future Participants in Germany, don´t hesitate to give our names. It will be a pleasure to recommend your Agency. We would like also to market you organization, so please just let us know and we will do.

If you come to Germany, we would be very pleased if you are our guest. In some years, we will visit Costa Rica. We wish you all the best and we would be very pleased to hear from you.

Best regards

Peter und Astrid

(Parents of Chiara Germany)

Costa Rica ist sicher für viele ein Land dessen Reichtum und Vielfalt an Vegetation nur auf Postkarten abgebildet sein mag, doch ja dieses kleine Land hat viel zu bieten. Für mich ist es das Land der Vielfalt, lebenslustigen und offenen Menschen und natürlich der unpünktlichen Latinos. Costa Rica ist ein sehr traditionelles Land, in welchem die Leute stolz sind auf was sie haben und wie ihre Kultur aufgebaut ist. Sie hegen viele Gebräuche und Sitten, bei welchen es natürlich immer empfehlenswert ist auszuprobieren und mitzumachen.

Die Costricaner werden generell einem mit offenen Armen entgegen kommen, da auch die Hilfsbereitschaft mich mehr als einmal bei den Einheimischen erstaunt hat. Es scheint ein immer gut gelauntes Volk zu sein, es zeigten viele Interesse sich mit einem Austauschschüler zu unterhalten, jedoch klar geht das Interesse auch irgendwann verloren, da lag es mehr an mir mich für einheimische Sachen begeistern zu lassen und so Kontakte zu knüpfen. Ich lernte, dass die Leute hier es schätzen, wenn man gut über ihr Land spricht, dass macht sie glücklich und zufrieden.

Gastfreundschaft trifft auch auf die Mehrheit zu, was sich vor allem auch zeigt, da sie Gäste viel bekochen und gerne noch mal nachschöpfen wollen. Es muss auf keinen Fall beunruhigen sein, wenn man ein wenig molliger wird, auch wenn es natürlich nicht das tollste ist, geht es den meisten so. Neue Geschmäcker und Speisen kennen zu lernen, fand ich immer interessant.

Sie selber nehmen es mit der Wahrheit nicht immer so ernst. Es gilt eher als unhöflich direkt die Meinung zu sagen, natürlich nur wenn es was unhöfliches ist, so dass man lieber eine schmeichelnde Lüge sagt. Auch viele werden ausdrücke verwenden wie zum Beispiel „ mal schauen“, „vielleicht oder morgen“. Man kann schon fast darauf zählen, dass dies ein nein bedeutet.

Natürlich haben sie auch andere Weltansichten, welche nicht als falsch abgestempelt werden dürfen, sie sind einfach zum Teil sehr anders zu den unsern und das sollte man respektieren. Sie sehen viele Sachen nicht so modern an wie Europäer. Da dies ein katholisches Land ist, ist von vielen Zentrum des Lebens Gott, was ich bei mir jetzt anders betrachten würde.

Der Naturreichtum ist natürlich immens. Doch es ist weder so, dass ich in den Dschungel kam, noch in die nähe des Strandes. Ich bin nicht einmal in einer ländlichen Gegend, sondern sehe nur Strassen voller Häuser, das heisst nicht, dass ich enttäuscht war eher, dass ich natürlich ein anderes Bild hatte anfangs. Es ist halt doch noch schwer ohne Vorurteile zu kommen.

Deliah

(Switzerland)

When I came here, I saw that most information I got on the internet, came true. My hostfamily, which really became my family, is awesome, all the people are kind and helpful and even if you can’t speak their language at first, they’ll be nice and try to talk to you. You’ll always feel welcome and they’ll receive you with wide opened arms.

In Costa Rica the family is one of the most important things. Instead of only hanging out with your friends, like I used to in Germany, you spend most of the time with your family. It’s nice to see that the family is so united and that you can tell them everything and count on them everytime. When my mum has to go to the supermarket at least one of us accompanies her or everybody wants to see the soccer-match of my brother, even the aunts or grandparents. It’s very important to attend to activities like that. If you would decide not to go, they’ld think you don’t like them or you’re unfriendly.

Another big point is the religion. Most of the Costa Rican are Catholic. My family almost doesn’t go to church, but God, Jesus and the virgin are very important. Maybe you don’t share the same religion or you’re not that religious, but you should participate in the prayer after Christmas and every othe religious activity. If you try hard enough, you’ld probably can change your point of view like I did. Before I came here I was christian, but I didn’t really believe in it, but once seeing all the faith of my family and hearing their stories, I started to believe more and more. And now religion is a important topic to me.

When you hear someone saying “Costa Rica”, you first think in nature and beaches, comprehensible when you just think about the meaning of Costa Rica – Rich Coast. The beaches here are wonderful. The strand of the Pacific are as beautiful as the ones of the Atlantic. I could get to know many beaches, but even when you’ll only know a few ones, you’ll fall in love with them!
Thinking about the nature always puts a smile on my face. You’ll get to know so many beautiful places, with animals you couldn’t see in Germany. It’s a big experience to see all this places, but you really have to want to know them, because sometimes it’s kind of complicated to get to all this places, that means you’ll have to climb or hike.

At the end I only can say that Costa Rica is like my second home! If you want to live an adventure and you’re open-minded, Costa Rica is the perfect country for you’re year abroad!

Sarah

(Germany)

When I made the decision to go on an exchange year in Costa Rica, I didn’t quite have an idea of what exactly was expecting me. I searched a lot on the internet and heard costa ricans were very friendly, open people and that the country had breathtaking landscapes and nature. However, I think Costa Rica is a lot more than that and there are many things you should know if you’re willing to spend a good time in Costa Rica. So here below I’m going to write a few of my experiences and impressions I took while being in this beautiful Country and also give you some advice.

The People

What I love the most about the ‘ticos’, how they call themselves, is their attitude. If something doesn’t work out the way it schould, they stay calm, are patient and even start joking and laughing about it! They always try to make the best of the situation, which I really find an admirable quality.

Highschool

It is fair to say that Costa Rica has a good educational system, although the standard may not be as high as in Europe for instance. The teacher- student relationships are much more informal and sometimes the teacher is taken more as a friend than a teacher. However, showing respect is very important to them even if sometimes you’ll get to feel the opposite. Yes you can always joke and have a lot of fun with ticos, but this with respect towards them and their culture.

Security

Compared to other countries in Central America, Costa Rica is secure and I never felt in real danger and could walk freely in the streets. However, this is not valid everywhere and you always have to be careful, especially if you’re blonde and people see from far away that you’re a foreigner! I’ve met a lot of People who tried to trick me to get my money (mostly taxi drivers). I think it’s okay to have a chat with somebody you just met in the street, but don’t be naive and give him/her a lot of personal information.

Food

Costa Ricans really love rice and beans, they eat it every day! Rice is the basic food for them and they can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even when they prepare pasta, it has to be served with a little bit of rice. So be prepared to that and maybe it will be hard at the beginning but you will get used to it.

Besides, there are a a lot of other delicious things the costa rican gastronomy has to offer: an immense variaty of tasty fruits and vegetables.  I tried so many of them I’d never seen before in my life!

Finally, I can say that living in Costa RIca changed my life in so many different many aspects. I’ve learned to take responsability for myself and not to be frustrated but patient when things go wrong.I’m happy I chose Costa Rica and I hope you will like it too. Wish you the best,

Aline

(switzerland)

Now I’ve spend a year here in Costa Rica and I have to say that it was the greatest year of my life. I really enjoyed every second and learned a lot of Spanish.

Of course, at the beginning it was very hard to understand the people and to communicate myself because I didn’t know any Spanish, but you can be sure that it will work out very fast and very good.

I really recommend you to do all the tours that AVE offers you, they are all amazing.

The people in Costa Rica are very lovely so it isn’t difficult to find new friends. You just have to talk with them and soon you will have a great social network.

The experience that I made her, is that the Ticos acept all the people how they are, so be yourself and don’t try to change you.

You should enjoy this year, don’t worry be happy. Soon you will notice that you don’t miss your country that much because Costa Rica is pretty cool.

So I hope you will have a lot of fun in your exchange year

Tim  (Germany)

Costa Rica is a little country and beautiful with a lot to discover. Costa Rica is filled with many attractions, such as volcanoes, misty cloud forests, river valleys and hundreds of beaches along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Costa Rica is one of the most developed countries in Central America with a peaceful democracy, free education and health care for all citizens.  

To describe the Costa Ricans, I would say that they are friendly, hardworking, happy, and that they care a lot about their families.

The climate in Costa Rica is warm, and the sun shines every day. From May to November it is rain season, but the temperatures are still very high. Unlike other Central American countries, Costa Rica has clean tap water.

Mari Aune

(Norway)

I come from Austria/Vienna, so as you can imagine I experienced kind of a culture shock. So I just tell my exchange story from the beginning.

On 25th of July 2014 I finally landed in San José after an 20 hours flight. The journey began with an 2 day “Camp” in San José. We talked about the rules and made the whole formal stuff. After this we finally get to our new home. I was placed in Siquirres which is a small town in one of the hottest areas of whole Costa Rica. Siquirres center is built around a football place, like most of the towns here. Around this place are the shops where the people do their shopping. Mostly when you’re going out with friends, you’re hanging out in the center or sit around the football place. Next to the center are the houses where most of the people live. Here on the landside everyone has a house, apartments you just find in the big cities like San José. The houses here are mostly pretty small with a garden. You can see the differences between poor and rich people pretty well if you look at the houses. Some of the houses are nearly falling apart with broken windows and  roofs, others are modern and clean. My house isn’t one of the most modern houses but we live pretty well. Most of the people just have cold water in Costa Rica, and I am very grateful that I am one of those who also have warm water. One thing I realized from the first day on is that here nearly everyone has at least one dog, we have 4. Most of the people here have these dogs to protect the house from thiefs. But nearly no one is actually going for a walk with the dogs. Most of the people just leave them in the garden.

Another thing is the school here. School goes from 7-5, which is quite a long time. Here the people are using uniforms which was a new thing for me. The school level is lower then in Europe but I actually enjoy school here even though it is for nearly the whole day. The thing is that most people here don’t meet after school because their hanging together for a very long time in school. A funny thing is the school bus which you can compare to the school buses you see in all the US movies. In Austria we don’t have this kind of buses, we drive with public buses so this is like kind of a funny experience.

Another important thing here is the religion. 90% of the people here are very religious and catholic. Going to church every Sunday is something very normal here. I like the church here more then in Austria because church in Costa Rica is not that boring as I am used to. Praying before eating for example is something normal here what in comparison we almost never do in Vienna. So you can say that Ticos see religion stricter as most of the Europeans.

Many tourist are coming to Costa Rica because of the beaches. The sea is really amazing and always warm! I love going here into the nature like going to the rivers or things like this. The nature is incredible with a lots of different trees and palms. They also have very exotic animals like monkeys.

The people here are much calmer then in Europe. Here is very little stress especially in little town like Siquirres. Sometimes a little bit too calm. But all in all the people here are a happy, thankful and helpful.

As an exchange student its sometimes hard because in some moments you fell misunderstood but in general I really enjoyed my stay. I didn’t have many problems with the culture change and I also wasn’t really homesick. It takes a while to get used to the way of living here but in the end its a great choice for an exchange.

I have been SO happy to be here! And AVE helped me a lot, so thank you very much!

The food is mostly rice and beans, and I was very strange compared to Denmark where there is more variation in the food. 

In the school we had to wear a uniform, witch I’m not use to in Denmark, so it was a fun experience as well, also the schools are more open, and outdoor. 

Ticos are a very special kind if people, and it’s hard to explain exactly how they are, they are Ticos! They are very friendly and sweet people who will help you the best that they can, and they have this thing called tico time, which means that 5 Danish minutes are 10-15 tico minutes.

Costa Rica is an amazing country, with all the volcanos, the beaches, all the interesting plants and animals and in general, the whole culture! 

Costa Rica is my second home, and I really really love it here!

Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a lot of nature. It´s very small, but that´s just a good thing as the country has so much to offer. Here there are volcanoes, beaches, rivers, different types of woods, a lot of animals and plants. The climate is nice and warm, and is divided in summer and winter. In the summer there is a lot of wind and it almost never rains, while in the winter it rains almost every day. Tropical rain is amazing, normally it doesn’t last that long, but you will get wet (even if you bring an umbrella).

The ticos are are really friendly and welcoming. They are proud of their country and love soccer.

My time in Costa Rica is now over, but I´ve had such a great time. Now I have another family, another house, and a lot of friends on the other side of the world. I´m now really close with my family here, because for the ticos, family might be the most important thing.

Mina

(Norway)