Author: Ama Frimpong

I returned from my time abroad in Costa Rica a few weeks ago and during my time back in the States, I’ve had time to reflect on my overall experience. Most trips are exciting and maybe even adventurous, but the trips that are set apart are those that leave a lasting impact on your life. The ones that help instill a deeper sense of self, broaden your perspective, and develop skills that will last a lifetime. These are the trips that 20 years down the road you’ll still reflect upon and share about.

My time abroad in Costa Rica was definitely one of these trips. I’ll never forget the things I learned while I was there, and I’ll share these takeaways with you so that you can have an idea of what you may learn in your time abroad! I’ll share some of the experiences I had in my last week abroad!

Takeaway #1: Language Skills

Since my study abroad program was a language camp, my whole trip was centered around learning Spanish. Every morning I had a three-hour class in which I learned grammar and vocab in a conversational method, but I think I learned the most in the times outside of class. In the times at my host home when I’d be describing my life back in the States, in a restaurant when I’m trying to order my food, and in all the moments when I simply needed to communicate in daily life outside the classroom. These moments challenged me the most, and where there is the greatest challenge there is often the greatest reward.

While I was in Costa Rica, I could tell that my lingual abilities had improved a little. I was more confident in speaking and I could say a lot more. By the end of my time abroad, I could communicate much quicker and I could understand more of what was being said to me. My last day of classes I was even able to completely improv my presentation about my time in Manuel Antonio, a feat I wouldn’t have been able to do before my trip. However, it wasn’t until I arrived back home that I realized how much I had improved.

I realized that my vocab was a lot more expansive than it had been, and I could communicate more readily than I had ever been able to. I think this is an important lesson to learn: since learning is often a progressive action, the progress that’s been made isn’t apparent until it’s viewed from an outside perspective. This is like when a child is progressively growing and they don’t quite realize how expansive that growth is until their grandparents, with an outside perspective, comment on how much taller they’ve become. This is the same with learning, so in those times when you get frustrated because you don’t think you’re learning a language fast enough, or anything else for that matter, take a step back and you’ll find that many steps forward have been taken.

The language skills I acquired in Costa Rica were one of the biggest takeaways for me, as that is the what my program was founded upon. This takeaway has helped me to make major advancements in learning Spanish, and I am certain that this trip will always be a significant step in my Spanish language acquisition.

Takeaway #2: Broadened Horizons

My time in Costa Rica also drastically opened my eyes to the vast opportunities in the world. I feel like too often people from the United States have a one-tracked mindset, or perhaps everyone does, but I think it imperative to look at many different paths of life before choosing the one you want to follow. I know that going to Costa Rica allowed me to see a lot of different opportunities that I could take after high school, that I would never have been exposed to had I not ventured outside of my little world in Missouri.

Not only were my eyes opened to more opportunities for myself, but I also was able to see many different ways of life. I think having this wider perspective allows you to connect to more people and to understand them more deeply than you could have before. This is a vital experience for everyone, and it really helps to know yourself better as you begin to find out what makes you unique when you are with people that live completely different lives and are from a different culture.

Takeaway #3: Meaningful Relationships

During my time in Costa Rica, I got to know some awesome people. People with stories that are so much different than mine, and who have so much to offer to the world. We got to share a little bit of our lives together, and during that time we built friendships that will last long after I left Costa Rica. I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend for those great people and also for the opportunity to virtually meet some pretty awesome people at Greenheart Travel.

I’d like to especially thank Megan and Jill for making my trip possible and being a blast to work with! I think meeting people is one of the best parts of traveling. You may forget the scenery or what you did, but you’ll never forget the moments you spent with friends you’ve met abroad.

My trip to Costa Rica was awesome, and I know I’ll never forget the moments I had there.

Owen Arnall is 17 years old and lives in Springfield, Missouri. His goal during his language program in San Jose, Costa Rica is to “embrace the pura vida of life so that I can be completely submerged into the culture and build meaningful relationships with the Ticos!” Follow Owen’s adventure in Costa Rica on his weekly blog post updates.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to learn Spanish in an immersive teen summer language camp in Costa Rica. During my time here, I have improved my language skills greatly and learned a lot about the best ways to learn a new or previously studied language. I have also had a lot of fun doing so, and I’ll include some photos of my favorite activities so you can partake in my trip!

Before I dive into what I’ve learned, I’ll give you a briefing on the Spanish background I had before going into my time in Costa Rica. In the States, I have taken 4 years of classes at my school, and during those years I had accumulated a lot of knowledge. I could write a decent paper, get a good grade on a test, and carry a somewhat staged conversion.

My speaking ability going into these two weeks was minimal, and I lacked a lot of crucial vocab to carry a conversation. That was my Spanish foundation going into this program, but my first piece of advice is to not let your current language background prevent you from stepping out and further learning a language. We all start somewhere, and now is always the best time to further your language skills.

Me “jumping” right in to a new culture and language while on a zip-lining excursion in Costa Rica.

With that, I have three pieces of advice to improving your language skills:

Immerse Yourself in the Language

The best way to learn a language is to surround yourself with an atmosphere of which promotes learning your language. The most natural way to do this is to go abroad and surround yourself with another culture and people that forces you to use the language you’re trying to learn in daily communication.

I have found that my time in Costa Rica has rapidly improved my speaking abilities, much faster and easier than four years of Spanish classes did. These classes provided me with crucial knowledge of how to conjugate verbs, form sentences, and a plethora of other knowledge that had helped me greatly, but immersing myself with a culture of learning and Spanish helped me turn that knowledge into experience.

It helped me to turn what I knew about the language into something I could use to communicate with people I would never had been able to talk to before and to partake in a different culture. The process was also a lot more natural than learning a language in a classroom in the United States, as it wasn’t done out of a desire simply to learn, but to communicate. That’s why my time in Costa Rica has improved my language abilities so drastically, as I was able to put into practice in a practical sense what I had learned in school.

Don’t Be a Thought Translator!

When I first arrived in Costa Rica, the woman who runs the transportation service for my program told me that a piece of advice that helped her learn English was to create a box in her mind and keep everything regarding English there. That way, when she needed to speak English she could pull whatever she needed from that box. This is a very practical way to help you begin to think in the language you’re trying to learn.

Thinking in the language you’re trying to learn is an important skill because it takes a lot less time to communicate, this is particularly beneficial in verbal communication, and because it will allow for a more natural expression of ideas. This is because instead of thinking in your current language and then translating your idea to another language, which will probably be different in form and structure, you can simply express your raw thoughts in your new language.

Poco a Poco

Poco a poco is a saying in Costa Rica that I have heard many times in the two weeks I have been here. It means little by little, and it is a saying commonly used when people are learning something new, especially a language. This is because learning something as complicated and complex as a language is going to take time, and you’ll learn it little by little, bit by bit. Just have some patience, and you’ll find that you’ll slowly begin to understand and speak more and more. Patience and time are the essential ingredients for learning anything new, and learning a language is no exception.

I hope that these tips are of some help for you in your adventurous task of learning a new language, and I wish you the best of luck!

Speaking of adventures, it’s not just about learning a language but getting to experience new things while traveling. Like me petting a baby crocodile.

 

Owen Arnall is 17 years old and lives in Springfield, Missouri. His goal during his language program in San Jose, Costa Rica is to “embrace the pura vida of life so that I can be completely submerged into the culture and build meaningful relationships with the Ticos!” Follow Owen’s adventure in Costa Rica on his weekly blog post updates.

Hello, my name is Owen and I’m currently in Costa Rica for a summer language camp. I’ll be here for two weeks learning Spanish and embracing the pura vida way of live that characterizes Costa Rica. During my time in Costa Rica, I’ve learned a lot about the language, people, and culture of Costa Rica, and I hope my experience can help you in your time abroad.

Here are four pieces of advice that will help you enjoy your time abroad and hopefully allow you to live the pura vida:

Burst your bubble!

Whether it’s deciding to go abroad or you’re already abroad and are decided whether or not to do something totally out of your comfort zone, just dive on in and give it a shot. My comfort zone has already been challenged many times while I’ve been in Costa Rica, and I’ve done things and eaten things that I never would have when I was home.

One of the favorite things I’ve done so far is surfing in the Pacific Ocean. I had never been surfing before, but now I can see it becoming one of my favorite things to do. Now all I need is an ocean in Missouri, and it’ll all be good. I’m not trying to give the false impression that everything you try is going to turn into your favorite thing, but I guarantee that you’ll always regret not stepping out.

For instance, this week we had Salsa dance lessons and I really don’t like to dance. By no means did salsa dancing become a passion of mine or even something I had a blast doing, but I’m glad I had that experience! Stepping out of your comfort zone, getting out of that bubble of what we call “normal,” is the only way to truly discover what you like to do and who you are.

It’s how you find out whether you like to surf, or whether you like to salsa dance. Whether you enjoy traveling constantly, or picking one place to hang out for a while. It’s in stepping out that you become who you were meant to be, not who you are expected to be.

Get to know some people!

Without fail, people are one of the coolest things about traveling abroad, especially on programs that have people from a lot of backgrounds. You’ll find people that are from completely different backgrounds than yourself, people with drastically different lives than you, and people who have different passions than you. Every person you meet broadens your perspective of the world and opens your eyes to just how unique each person is.

I have met some awesome people here that I would never have had the opportunity to meet if I didn’t strike up an “awkward” conversation (and you’ll find that it’s never quite as uncomfortable as you think it might be)! I met a couple from Argentina, a lady from the Netherlands that now lives in Costa Rica, and a lot of other awesome people in Costa Rica. You’ll never regret introducing yourself and getting to know the uniqueness of another person!

Try the local food!

I can’t vouch for everywhere, but the typical food of Costa Rica is delicious! I have really enjoyed getting to try new foods that I most likely would never have eaten at my home in the States.

Gallo pinto, a typical rice and beans dish, and chicken and rice are just a few of the meals that I’ve eaten. I would also highly recommend taking a cooking class or having one of those new people you’ll meet teach you how to cook some traditional meals. This way you can have your friends and family back home try some of your favorite new foods.

I had a cooking class this week to learn how to cook the traditional arroz con pollo, which has a lot more ingredients than just chicken and rice. Not only was it a lot of fun to take the class, but we also got to eat a scrumptious meal afterwards!

Put a smile on your face!

Whatever you’re doing, whether it be sitting in class learning a new language or getting to do something you’ve been waiting weeks to do, do it with a smile on your face. Go into whatever activity, whether mundane or exciting, with a good attitude and a positive expectation and you’ll find that no matter what, you’ll have a good time. Whether rain or shine, (in quite a literal sense here in Costa Rica since it’s the rainy season) you’ll be able to rejoice in the pura vida.

I hope these consejos (tips) come in handy during your time abroad, and I wish you the best of luck in exploring more of the world!

Owen Arnall is 17 years old and lives in Springfield, Missouri. His goal during his language program in San Jose, Costa Rica is to “embrace the pura vida of life so that I can be completely submerged into the culture and build meaningful relationships with the Ticos!” Follow Owen’s adventure in Costa Rica on his weekly blog post updates.

Greenheart Travel is excited to send a group of amazing high school students to language camps overseas as part of our 2016 Travel Correspondent Scholarship awards. To help introduce our inspiring writers, we are doing a series of spotlight interviews to help you get to know a little more about who they are, where they will be headed and what inspired them to learn a new language abroad.

Read on to meet 17-year-old, Owen Arnall, our Greenheart Travel Correspondent from Springfield, Missouri who’ll be traveling to San Jose for his summer language camp in Costa Rica!

 

Favorite thing to do in your free time?

My favorite thing to do in my free time is to explore the outdoors and enjoy nature. I like to go with my friends on long hikes through the Ozark temperate forests, kayak the Buffalo river, and camp in the woods!

Have you traveled abroad before?

Last summer I went to Lesotho, Africa for five weeks. I lived in a rondavel, a traditional stone hut, and embraced the culture of the Basotho. I really enjoyed my time there, and it really fueled my desire to see more of the world!

What got you interested in learning Spanish and traveling abroad?

I’ve taken many language classes in school, and I’ve developed a strong desire to utilize and strengthen the skills I have acquired in those classes. That’s one of the main reasons that I wanted to travel to a Spanish speaking country, and I also love learning about different cultures and different people groups. I can’t wait for my time in Costa Rica to do all of these things, and embrace the Tico lifestyle!

What are you most excited about experiencing during your language camp in Costa Rica?

I’m super excited to dive into the Costa Rican culture and experience a new way of life, and I’m pretty excited about going to the beach as well! I’m also looking forward to building on my language skills so I can improve my ability to communicate with more of the world.

Why do you feel it’s important to travel to a new place and learn a new language?

I think it’s important to travel to a new place and learn a new language, as these things help to build a bigger perspective of the world. Too often people get caught up in the mandates of their own lives that they forget that the world is full of possibilities and opportunities. I believe that having a larger perspective of the world opens up people’s minds to the fullness of life and to the beauty each person’s life holds.

What are you nervous about as you prepare for your program?

I’m not really nervous for the trip at all; I just hope I don’t get sick!

How well do you speak Spanish at this point?

I’m not as strong in my ability to speak Spanish at this point, but I can communicate relatively effectively in writing. I can express my thoughts verbally, but my vocal ability isn’t fluent or beautifully expressed yet!

How do you think you will change the most during your time abroad?

I think gaining a new perspective and learning new things about a different culture always helps you to find your own identity, and to strengthen your confidence in who you are. There is something about seeing the uniqueness and beauty each culture and individual carries that emboldens you to embrace yourself and to express yourself more openly.

 

Owen Arnall is 17 years old and lives in Springfield, Missouri. His goal during his language program in San Jose, Costa Rica is to “embrace the pura vida of life so that I can be completely submerged into the culture and build meaningful relationships with the Ticos!” Follow Owen’s adventure in Costa Rica on his weekly blog post updates.