Adventure travel, community service, lush jungles, waterfalls, howling monkeys and pristine beaches surround us as we absorb the Spanish language and Costa Rican culture.

We start our trip with a language school that gives us the building blocks for an amazing summer. With a maximum class number of five, we meet four hours each afternoon to learn Spanish through conversation, cooking, games, and dance. Feeling comfortable speaking the language enriches our cultural immersion and we partner with Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI) to offer classes for all levels of Spanish students. During this portion of the trip each student stays with his or her own "tico" host family. Mornings are spent exploring the area through outdoor adventure activities such as surfing, sailing, snorkeling and more!

Our next experience is a service project with the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. By volunteering in low-income areas, we experience the life of local families. A new "tico" host family adds more diversity and a different perspective to our trip as we assist in beautifying a local community, planting trees in the rainforest and the preservation of sea turtles on the Pacific coast.

We finish up our trip by spending several days traveling with one thing in mind... adventure! There is barely time to rest between jungle zip-lining, snorkeling, mountain biking, tubing, and sailing. Watch red-hot lava flow down one of the most active volcanoes in the world and raft through Class IV rapids alongside monkeys and toucans. Join AAVE in Costa Rica for the summer of your life!