Social Programme

Cultural Exchange

Courses include programmes of cultural exchange, enjoying various aspects of Costa Rican life with opportunities to practise the Spanish learnt in the classroom.

Every Friday, students are involved in a different activity outside the school that gives them an opportunity to experience local everyday life and make comparisons with their own values, customs and lifestyle.

Each activity is also planned as an extension of the week's study, providing real-life practice of acquired syntax, vocabulary and register in speaking/listening activities with non-school Costa Ricans.

As a follow-up, students report and comment on their findings, comparing and contrasting the local way of life with their own.

IH Costa Rica offers a variety of cultural activities in the city of San Jose - including theatres, concerts, museums and guided tours.

Out and about at weekends

IH Costa Rica works with reliable local travel agents to put together themed packages so that, at weekends, as optional extras, students can go further afield in this country's stunning countryside and coastal regions to pursue shared interests.

One such one-day tour has an early start, makes a stop for a typical breakfast en route, and includes visits to a coffee plantation, Poas National Park (the site of the world's widest volcanic crater), La Paz Waterfall Gardens following spectacular trails to the White Magic Waterfall, the largest butterfly observatory in the country and hummingbird gallery. After lunch, students enjoy a relaxing boat trip on the Sarapiquí river with its abundant wildlife and views of the different way of life enjoyed by the people who live along its banks. The return journey passes through the Braulio Carrillo National Park, one of the most important tropical rain forest reserves in the region.

Many other tours can be arranged for one or two days with whatever focus appeals most to the students. Other favourites are whitewater rafting, visits to volcanoes, trips to the beach, and forest 'canopy' tours.