A life-changing experience

For me, my time with the Tico Lingo school felt like a life-changing experience. How you might ask? First, my ability to speak Spanish has seen a quantum improvement. When I arrived in Costa Rica, I basically didn’t speak any Spanish. I knew a few words but no way could I hold down a conversation with anyone. By the time I left the school, with a willing partner I was able to small talk talk with them for over an hour entirely in Spanish. I’m not fluent by any means I am still learning, but in such a short amount of time gaining the ability to make a connection with another person that I would not have previously been able to communicate with, to me that is priceless. The other real strength of the school is the community around it. The staff at the school is amazing. I can say with complete sincerity that I think they did everything in their power to make sure that the students had a positive experience at both the school and in Costa Rica in general. I had the opportunity to room and board with a family associated with the school. I highly recommend this for anyone attending the school. Being a guest in home where the people were all native to Costa Rica and they were actively encouraging you and guiding you through the language and the country was an invaluable experience. By the time I left, my Tico family felt like REAL family. The connections with the other students is powerful as well. Being in class together and going out exploring a new country together makes for fast friends. Since I have been back, rarely does a day go by where I don’t text with someone that I met through Tico Lingo. Also, the school is in the perfect location. The people of Costa Rica speak Spanish a lot more clearly and slowly than in other countries. In general, most of the people that I talked to there were really supportive and patient when you were making the effort to try and talk to them in their native language. Costa Rica is beautiful and very safe for tourists. On the weekends when you are not in class you can go out on adventures. I went somewhere different every weekend and there were no bad choices. Everywhere we went was amazing! My time at Tico Lingo was magical and I am shouting from the rooftops that if you are reading this you should give it a try. You won’t regret it.