June 24 - July 23, 2012
To Apply, Students Must:
A. Complete the required forms:
B. Email completed copies of the Costa Rica Application Form and the Costa Rica Release and Conduct Form to:
teter.kapan@chemeketa.edu Teter Kapan
Deadline for application and reduced program fee has been extended! Applications now accepted until May 11. Please see Teter Kapan at Chemeketa before applying for any Study Abroad OIEC programs.
The Program
In the summer Costa Rica program, you will spend two weeks studying Spanish at the Instituto de Cultura y Lengua Costarricense, in Alajuela. Earn 4 credits of college Spanish at your level of proficiency!
While in Alajuela, you also continue your Biology course with four class meetings and three field trips. Then, after completing the Spanish lessons, you complete your field biology study in two more ecological zones: three days at the Palo Verde Field Station on the Pacific slopes of Guanacaste Province, followed by three days at the Caribbean-side tropical environment research facility at La Selva for birding and natural history tours.
Earn 4 credits in Field Biology. This biology course, designed for non-science majors, is open to all students with an interest in learning more about these three distinct biological environments of the tropics.
Program fee of $2,900 includes lodging, trip cancellation and medical insurance, all meals (with the exclusion of some lunches) transportation by private bus between study sites, and National Park entrance and tour fees. The 8 credits of tuition is extra, paid directly to Chemeketa Community College.
The Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Costarricense
The ICLC is situated in Carillo, a suburb of Alajuela, about twelve miles northwest of San Jose, the capital city. Carillo homes will have most of the modern conveniences you are accustomed to. The language school is about a 30-minute bus ride from your homestay. The ICLC campus, new as of 2006, has a small cafeteria/café, inside and outside classrooms, and a small library.
Family Stays
Your host family will meet you at the San Jose airport. They will help you to become familiar with Carillo and particularly the area around the school. During our two weeks at the ICLC language school, host families provide all of our students with breakfast and dinner, but not lunch. Students may either buy foods at a grocery store for making lunches, or purchase a lunch at the ICLC cafeteria.
Language Classes
Before you leave Oregon, register for the level of Spanish that you have not yet studied (SPAN 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, and 203). Some colleges have placement exams if you are unsure, or you may want to speak with a Spanish instructor. At ICLC, students are also tested and placed according to Spanish language ability: Superior, Advanced, Intermediate, Novice. By Tuesday of the first week, classes are taught entirely in Spanish-no translations. This is total immersion!
There are four students per instructor. Instructors are rotated, and groups can change as conditions dictate. Instructors utilize speaking, listening, music, video, literature and newspapers during the course of a day. Instruction is 4 to 5 hours per day, five days per week. Students accumulate more than the minimum 40 hours of Spanish instruction required by the Oregon college system for one term of college credit. In fact, they can accumulate over 50 hours of instruction.
Ecolodge San Luis
High in the forested mountains northwest of San Jose, this research station is near Monteverde, Costa Rica's famous montane cloud forest preserve. Ecolodge also has its own pre-montane forest, rich in plants and animals. Ecolodge is another University of Georgia branch campus, including student union, computers, library, dining hall, classrooms, dorms, individual cabins, and lab facilities. We will spend five days here, learning about tropical ecology. Two terrific optional activities that yield a bird's-eye perspective on the rainforest are the Sky Walk Canopy Bridge Tour and Zipline ($55 extra).
Cabo Blanco
The second stop for the Biology program is on the Pacific coast, at Cabo Blanco. We go by bus to Puntarenas, take a ferry across the Golfo de Nicoya, and drive to the edge of the Cabo Blanco Preserve. This remote area is open only for research and academic courses. Here, students will investigate dry tropical forests and the marine environment. Students can enjoy life in a simple thatched palapa and snorkeling when the water is clear.
La Selva Reserve
In the final week of Field Biology tours we will bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquii, located in the Caribbean foothills. This is a tropical rain forest reserve run by the Organization of Tropical Studies. The species diversity is amazing, including more than 1,850 species of plants, 350 of trees, 448 of birds, and 500 of ants! La Selva is one of the world’s most important sites for tropical ecosystem research, including projects on forest dynamics, biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and native species reforestation. Tours include an introduction to birding.
Itinerary
- WEEK ONE: Depart from Portland, June 25, 10:17 a.m., flying via Houston. Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica, at 8:40 p.m. Host families will greet students and take them home to rest. After visiting with host families on Sunday, students take a Spanish placement test and an orientation tour of Alajuela on Monday. Classes start at the Instituto de Cultura y Lengua Costarricense on Tuesday, and go through Friday. Afternoon activities include traditional Costa Rican games, and two biology classes. Friday afternoon features a visit to Zoo Avenue rehabilitation project for birds, reptiles, and mammals. On the first weekend, optional activities include a guided Poas Volcano trip ($65, but this trip can also be done economically by public transit), whitewater rafting ($70 extra), or a coffee farm visit.
- WEEK TWO: Spanish classes continue Monday through Friday, July 8. Afternoon activities include a mini-course in grammar, a dancing class, and two biology classes.
- WEEK THREE: Saturday, July 9, we travel by private bus (5 hours) to to the cloud forest northwest of Alajuela and settle in at Ecolodge San Luis, a learning and research facility run by the University of Georgia. We spend five days learning about mountain tropical forest environments. Midweek, we bus (6 hours) to the Pacific Coast, to investigate lowland tropical forest environments and marine ecology at Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve, another branch campus of UGA.
- WEEK FOUR: Monday, July 18, we bus (5 hours) to La Selva tropical forest reserve for tours to the rich diversity of the lowland. Finally, on Thursday morning, July 21, we bus back to the San Jose airport for a 2:55 pm departure, fly via Houston and arrive in Portland at 11:08 pm.
Biology Instructor
Ron Boldenow says, "I earned a Ph.D. in Wildland Resource Science from UC Berkeley in and an M.A. in Forestry from Humboldt State. I have taught over thirty course titles within the disciplines of forestry and natural resources, including forest ecology, ecosystems analysis, soils and watershed processes. I have extensive experience in leading student field trips and taking students to professional conferences. My other professional commitments includes projects in fire management, watershed analysis, and fire watch for the Forest Service." Ron is looking forward to making some creative changes to the program based on last summer's student experience.
For questions and more information, contact your Oregon International Education Consortium representative: Teter Kapan at 503.399.5141.