Oregon International Education Consortium
Study Spanish and Field Biology/Ecology in Costa Rica
June 26 – July 24, 2010
The Oregon International Education Consortium consists of Central Oregon Community College, Chemeketa CC, Clackamas CC, Mount Hood CC, Portland CC, Linn-Benton CC, and Rogue CC, offering programs in four countries ranging from 2 to 11 weeks.
The Program
In the summer Costa Rica program, you 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, students also begin their Biology study with trips to nearby Zoo Ave. Wildlife Conservation Park, the World of Snakes, and a biological park. Then visit three ecological zones, beginning at the Caribbean-side tropical environment research facility at La Selva for four days of birding and natural history tours, followed by four days at Cabo Blanco to study tropical dry forest ecology and marine biology on the Pacific Coast. The final five days are spent at the University of Georgia’s tropical research station, Ecolodge, in the Monteverde Cloud Forest to study the mountain rainforest. Earn 4 credits in Field Biology (variously numbered BI 103, 141, 188, or 200). This biology course, designed for non-science majors, is open to all students with an interest in learning more about these three distinct ecosystems of the tropics. Program fee of $3500 (the same as last year) includes airfare, lodging, trip cancellation and medical insurance, all meals except about half the lunches, transportation by private bus between study sites, and National Park entrance and tour fees; 8 credits tuition is extra, paid to COCC (or to your home college).
The Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Costarricense
ICLC is in Carillo, a suburb of Alajuela, about twelve miles northwest of the capital, San Jose. Carillo homes have most of the modern conveniences you are used to. The 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, 203, 211, 212, and 213 are available). 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, including the optional afternoon Spanish activities.
Extra-curricular Activities
Costa Rica is a safe country, and students are encouraged to travel on their own during the full weekend after the first week of Spanish lessons. One Biology day trips will also be arranged on the second weekend. However, ICLC can arrange group outings, including Paquori River rafting and trips to other points of interest in Costa Rica. You can also take local buses to coffee plantations or volcano parks.
La Selva Reserve
In the first week of Field Biology tours, we’ll bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui to a tropical rain forest reserve run by the Organization of Tropical Studies in the Caribbean foothills. 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.
Cabo Blanco
The second part of the Biology field station tours is on the Pacific coast, at Cabo Blanco—a University of Georgia research and teaching site. 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 should enjoy life in a simple thatched palapa and snorkeling when the water is clear.
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, group 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).
Itinerary
WEEK ONE: Depart from Portland, June 26, 10:50 am, fly via Houston and arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica, at 8:35 pm. 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 continue through Friday. Afternoon activities include traditional Costa Rican games and two biology classes. Friday afternoon features a visit to Zoo Ave. 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), or a coffee farm visit.
WEEK TWO: Spanish classes continue Monday through Friday, July 9. Afternoon activities include a mini-course in grammar, a dancing class, and two biology classes. On Friday, Field Biology will visit the World of Snakes in Grecia; and on Saturday the group will tour INBioparque and butterfly house in Heredia, near San jose.
WEEK THREE: Sunday, July 11, we travel by private bus (3 hours) to La Selva tropical forest reserve for tours to the rich diversity of the lowland. Midweek, we bus (6 hours) to the Pacific Coast, to investigate lowland tropical forest environments and marine ecology at Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve.
WEEK FOUR: Monday, July 19, we bus (5 hours) 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. Finally, on Saturday morning, July 24, we bus back to the San Jose airport for a 2:40 pm departure, fly via Houston and arrive in Portland at 11:02 pm.
Questions? Contact your Oregon International Education Consortium Representative:
Michael Holtzclaw, Social Science, Modoc 205, 383-7236, mholtzclaw@cocc.edu or
OIEC statewide Coordinator, Greg Lyons, Library 215, 383-7526, glyons@cocc.edu.
Students wishing to apply must download and fill out BOTH the Cosa Rica application form.doc (4 pages) and the Costa Rica Release and Conduct form.doc (Word Documents). Deadline for application and full payment: Feburary 19, 2010.