This Spanish immersion program took place in Ecuador and Costa Rica for families, healthcare workers and teachers.
A well planned and executed immersion trip is the absolute best way to improve your Spanish in a short period of time. You won’t go from zero to fluent in a few weeks… that takes time. But you will grow your Spanish by leaps and bounds faster than you ever could back home. Not only that, you have the opportunity to gain cultural insights that are only learned through experiencing daily life abroad.
Our Summer ’23 Spanish immersion trips began in Cuenca Ecuador. Everyone flew into Quito on their own and then the bulk of us took a group flight from Quito to Cuenca and were met by our host families at the airport. Check out what we did in week 1!
Week 2 in Ecuador was super fulfilling as we had the chance to do some very meaningful volunteer work at 3 local organizations: Centro Educativo Nova, Cetad Exitus y Fundación El Arenal. We spent time volunteering, exploring and learning tons of Spanish! Check out week 2 in Ecuador below!
After week 2 in Ecuador, we transitioned to Costa Rica. Week 1 in Costa Rica was full of everyone getting to know each other and getting settled into their host families. We also had a chance to put together some “canastas básicas” (food donations), see the Poas Volcano, see sloths and exotic birds and the Toucan Rescue Ranch and taste Sibu’s gourmet chocolates.
Week 2 in Costa Rica marked the beginning of our real work in the local community. The medical group gave some workshops in how to prevent a variety of gastrointestinal issues and common causes of diarrhea like: hand hygiene, proper food preparation, clean drinking water, and other less common causes of stomach issue. Our families, adults and educators had the chance to work with children on educational enrichment projects.
During week 3 in Costa Rica, we continued our volunteer projects within our target communities. The healthcare Spanish immersion travelers focused their workshops on STIs, contraception and vasectomies while the adults and families continued to provide educational enrichment to community children. The teachers on Spanish immersion for educators had the chance to shadow local teachers at a partner school about 20 minutes away. Check out week 3 in Costa Rica:
Week 4 in Costa Rica was more of the same for the educators on the Spanish immersion program for teachers. They continued shadowing and supporting their co-teachers in Costa Rica while the medical group and the general adults had some down time in the mornings for self-study and a few excursions before the afternoon classes. Our pharmacy students on APPE rotations began their work in local pharmacies during week 4. Here is a look at week 4 in Costa Rica:
