"In Costa Rica, it became so much easier to live in the moment. That's something I've really tried to bring with me."

Andrea (20) from Sweden didn't know a word of Spanish when she moved in with her host mother in Costa Rica.

This text is translated using AI.

Do you want to learn Spanish and experience Costa Rica? With Kulturstudier, you can travel with a group of students while getting to know the local culture. Andrea ended up studying Spanish somewhat by chance:

– I ended up in Costa Rica because my Norwegian cousin had heard about it through a friend. We were sitting on Christmas Eve and signed up a bit spontaneously at the dinner table.

I thought it sounded absolutely perfect, but I didn't believe it would be so easy to get in, but two days later I got a reply that we were going in August. It was so exciting!

– What I miss most about Costa Rican culture is definitely the tranquility. People don't stress unnecessarily.

Me and many of my friends experienced that it became so much easier to be in the moment. That's something I've really tried to carry with me.

For example, I never stress about catching the bus now if I know there's another one coming in ten minutes. Instead, I add an extra half hour to my morning routine rather than counting minutes all the time. You feel so much better with that!

In Costa Rica, it is possible to stay with a host family so that you can learn the language even better and, not least, make new friends from your new home country:

– I lived with a host mother, Alba. It was so wonderful. It felt so luxurious to have such good food every day and to have everything so tidy around you. But the best part was still how much Spanish you learned.

Before I went to Costa Rica, I absolutely didn't know any Spanish, but after living with Alba in the last period, I could have (a bit rusty) conversations about anything. She was the best!

– I also thought the course in sustainability was so interesting, and was inspired to continue studying sustainability back home in Sweden.

There was also the opportunity to go on so many fun excursions, I only spent a couple of weekends in San Isidro, the other weekends we traveled around.

In addition to the various coastal towns in Costa Rica, we also traveled to Mexico and Nicaragua during the semester.

"Det behövs människor med kunskap om miljö och hållbarhet inom alla delar av arbetslivet"

We offer Spanish courses at various levels in Costa Rica. If you are interested in climate and environment, but also want to learn a language, you can sign up for global environmental studies and participate in a three-week language course beforehand.

– I am so happy that I went with Kulturstudier. I have made such good friends for which I am so grateful!

Getting to know each other by traveling together is probably the ultimate way to get close, as you see each other at your highest and lowest points.

It was also so much fun to have an everyday life in another country instead of just traveling around, it felt like understanding the culture in a different way.

It was so cool! I recommend everyone to go!