Location:

Atenas, Costa Rica

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

MayMester Intersession

Program Overview

Program Description:

Georgia State offers many summer and maymester programs led and taught by Georgia State professors. These programs tend to be focused on a particular topic or theme and range from 10 to 20 participants, though some are larger. Students participate in lectures, site visits, excursions, and tours as part of the program. These programs usually last between two and six weeks. Students find these programs a great way to really get to know their professors and other GSU students while earning GSU credits and grades. Students do not have to study on a program related to their major, but they certainly can. Financial aid and scholarships are available.

The Georgia State University Program, Cross Cultural Perspectives on Health, Social Justice and Sustainability, offers an exciting and engaging 19 day study abroad experience. All classes will be held in Costa Rica. The program is designed to increase students' appreciation of cultural influences within the framework of intercultural communication and an awareness of policies and practices impacting health and well-being, social justice and sustainable environmental, health and community development issues in Costa Rica and the United States. Students will participate in a wide variety of community-based experiences which will enable them to understand Costa Rican and Latin culture and social policies while increasing their own awareness and level of cultural competence. Topics related to culture and communication will be explored from a global perspective, including their influence on the development and implementation of social policies and practices affecting diverse groups. Some of the topics to be addressed include the following: the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in development; environmental policy and sustainable development in Costa Rica and Latin America; Costa Rica's eco-tourism industry; the Costa Rican universal health care system and the rapidly emerging medical tourism industry; international human rights issues; organic and sustainable agricultural production and cooperatives; and special government programs defending the rights of children, supporting women's agricultural cooperatives through micro-lending, and providing employment and English language training to youth. Learning activities will include presentations by national and international experts, tours of programs and facilities (e.g., medical clinics, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nation's supported University for Peace), roundtable discussions, and student led presentations and service learning projects. Students will participate in a Latin cooking class featuring typical Costa Rican cuisine, visit a local farmer's market, take Spanish language lessons, and visit national parks to see first-hand the natural beauty of Costa Rica. Through this exciting program, students will learn cultural competency viewpoints to help them reflect on similarities and differences they experience as compared to their own culture.

Setting Description:

All accommodations are located in the welcoming, coffee growing hill town of Atenas, Costa Rica. Atenas is approximately 25 minutes from the International airport and 45 minutes from the capitol of San Jose. Participants will choose one of following two options for accommodations upon acceptance into the program: (1) Host Families: students will be matched with and stay with a Costa Rican host family in their own room in the family's home. All local host families have experience with foreign students in their homes. They have been carefully interviewed, evaluated and are very committed to the cross cultural goals of our program. Many of the host families have some level of English with some member of the family. Two students can request to be with one host family. Laundry, breakfast and dinner are included, but not lunch. OR (2) Hotel: students can stay in a comfortable, double- or triple-occupancy hotel. Each bungalow-style room is equipped with a kitchenette, bathroom, shower

Cost:

Please contact for program costs