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Study Abroad Opportunity Available for Students in Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica is one of the many sites students can visit during a study abroad trip scheduled for this summer.

Biology Instructor Scott Jackson and Spanish Instructor Danielle Richardson will spend the summer teaching at the Costa Rican Language Academy in San Jose, Costa Rica, where A-B Tech students will have an opportunity to earn course credit through a highly intensive study abroad program.

Scheduled June 13 - July 11, the academy will offer four Spanish grammar classes, a Culture of Latin American class and an Environmental Biology class and lab. This is Jackson's second summer at the academy and the fourth for director Richardson. Richardson is a faculty member at Randolph Community College, but will be an A-B Tech adjunct for the summer.

The Spanish grammar classes fulfill core requirements for humanities/fine arts. The biology class is a four-credit lab science fulfilling core requirements for the natural sciences, and the culture class counts as elective credit. No prerequisites are necessary to take any of the classes.

Spanish courses will be taught by Richardson and faculty at CRLA, and the academy will arrange homestays. Students will stay with a Costa Rican family close to the school. Host families will provide breakfast and dinner as well as laundry.

"We will be based in San Jose, the capitol city, but we will take field trips on the weekends, " Jackson said. "Biology students will do extra activities on these field trips, and will have a weekend of just biology students to explore tropical rainforest ecosystems."

Classes will take place 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. Students will take a placement test at CRLA and be matched with other students of similar level. Students have a choice of three options for coursework ranging from six to 10 credit hours.

"The Spanish 141 class is not a Spanish language class. It will be an exploration of Latin American culture, particularly the culture of Costa Rica," Richardson said. "It will consist of class time on the A-B Tech campus and also in Costa Rica at CRLA and on field trips. Students taking SPA 141 will attend at least two cultural experiences on the trip."

The experiences can range from a night at the National Theater to see a play in Spanish, going to the theater to see a movie in Spanish, eating at an authentic Costa Rican restaurant, attending a soccer game, visiting an orphanage, or other activities the instructor finds available.

Students interested in participating in the study abroad program should contact Jackson at sjackson@abtech.edu or at 254-1921, Ext. 235. There will be an orientation meeting from 9 a.m. to noon May 2 in Sycamore 215 on the Asheville campus.

Scheduled trips include:

• Café Britt (coffee plantation) Students will see how coffee is grown and produced at a working plantation that provides educational programs.
• Sarchi - The town of Sarchi is perhaps most widely recognized for its colorful and decorative oxcarts that have been made there for more than a century.
• Grecia - Known throughout Costa Rica for its beautiful and intricate arts and crafts and souvenirs, this town is an important tourist destination mainly due to its unique metal church.
• El Teatro Nacional - The nation's architectural showpiece is the theater inaugurated on October 19, 1897, to a performance of Faust by the Paris Opera and its great Corps de Ballet.
• Museo Nacional - The national museum is located in an old fort, which was marked by bullet holes during the 1948 Civil War. The archaeological room offers several Indian artifacts made of stone and clay, like pottery.
• City Tour - Sudents will be given a guided tour of different landmarks located around San Jose.
• Inbioparque - Inbioparque is a theme park that offers an interactive experience with nature with groupings of plants and trees from the tropical rainforest.
• Poas Volcano - National Park near San Jose, excellent example of cloud forest ecosystem.
• Weekend trip to Volcán Arenal - The Arenal Volcano is the only volcano in Costa Rica constantly active since it woke after 400 years. The 1968 eruption continues to produce huge ash columns, explosions and glowing red lava nearly every day.

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