It’s a question whose answer is of great interest to professors, employers, and parents alike. Whether it is apparent or not, the bulk of a student’s time “studying” abroad is hardly spent studying. So what are we doing with our time, and does the study abroad sticker price reflect the knowledge we gain while we are away? What kind of learning happens outside of the classroom?
For starters, I’d like to make it known that my experience is going to be different from that of others. I travelled to Costa Rica in late May of 2025, near the start of the tropical country’s rainy season. I stayed with a host family and three other students in my program, and we ate breakfast and dinner together every day. Certainly, we went to class at the university two blocks away, and of course we had projects and homework to complete, but the time I, personally, spent away from the traditional classroom was hardly wasted.
In the first week, the vast majority of my cohort presented themselves as bubbly and approachable, in search of people they would be able to call their close friends for the rest of the time abroad (and going forward, too)! I learned that a little enthusiasm and openness in getting past the awkward phases of meeting peers goes quite a long way. The mutual trust that we would look out for each other and help one another overcome homesickness forwarded our friendships.
Come mid-June, my housemate informed me that our host mother’s birthday was coming up soon. He said he had to poke and prod to find this information out from a family member, who, I’m sure, was insistent on our host mother not celebrating her birthday with anything extravagant. However, my housemates all decided to get together and do something nice for her, so we bought her some pastries, and printed a photo of all of us onto a birthday card, writing sweet notes in Spanish about what we have to thank her for. Though some of us needed a translator to write out our thoughts to her in Spanish, I learned that you can feel a strong sense of family far away from home in the way that I felt connected to my housemates and hosts. The humility that our host mom showed to us every time she cooked us food, did our laundry, and told us stories showed us how much kindness she had to offer, which taught me that family can be found through love.
The weekends provided ample time for my friends to organize excursions, of which I took advantage. One weekend, roughly half my program opted for a trip to Puerto Viejo, a seaport town three hours East of where we were staying in San José. We travelled by bus with ease, and made it to a resort across the street from the beach. I learned that what you take away from your time abroad is a direct reflection of how much effort you put into planning it, and I learned that I am a competent traveler despite my lack of experience.
Overall, I would say I learned about the value of friendship, the benefit of found family, and even my concept of self. These are all important characteristics of the human experience that are so clearly evident in the connections you make abroad, even if you only go for a short amount of time. When people tell you that going abroad is going to change your life for the better, they mean it, as it indeed helps you become a curious student, a harder worker, a better friend, as well as giving you the wisdom that accompanies any immersive learning experience.
Blog by Cassian Gerasimenko, Northeastern University
Learn more about CIS Abroad programs in Costa Rica here!