Homestay

spaanselescostarica_studwfam26Why do a homestay?

If you’re interested in jumping into the language we have great homestay families to fill your needs. Living in a homestay family will introduce you to the Costa Rican culture while helping you practice your Spanish. We have families with many children of different ages that can help you throughout your different levels of Spanish Language development. All students are housed in a private room within the family house with no private bathrooms.

You’ll have no choice but to practice speaking your Spanish so your skills will develop that much faster. Homestay are a great help with your Spanish and give you an insight on Costa Rican life that can only be experienced while living in a family.

Time outside of the classroom would be spent hiking and doing trips and activities but most important is being with family members, which will increase your learning rate dramatically. Please remember to take into consideration time for homework and conversational practice each day!

What are Costa Rican families like?

Our families are all based in town, most within a walk of 5-10 minutes to both our Hotels and Language School. Our families are a mixture… from one to many children… younger to older…active to tranquilo… no English experience to some English experience and usually with children of different ages that can help you throughout your different levels of Spanish as you develop along the way. Please let us know the your preferencs when signing up to help us co-ordinate the right match… especially if you have younger children.

Let us know your preferences

  • No, few, lots of children or it doesn’t matter
  • Pets, no pets, doesn’t matter. Do you have allergies pets?
  • Non-smoking, smoking, doesn’t matter. Do you have allergies to smoke?
  • Quiet, active family or it doesn’t matter.

Although homestay families are great for language immersion, they are not for everyone. The beds are not the greatest of quality and we cannot guarantee that you will like or even get along with your family. There are no refunds and a change of package for whatever reason incurs a fee plus paying the package difference. So please think it through carefully before signing up for a homestay family.

Whats Included

All families offer the student a private room with shared bathroom within the family house, including breakfast and dinner. We have many families on our homestay list so space is not a problem anytime throughout the year. We always book 1 foreign student per family unless a double up is requested. Laundry and lunch is not included, but both are provided in town.

All families have hot water and supply bottom & top sheets, blankets and pillowcases so you don’t have to worry about bringing yours along. There are no mosquito nets in the rooms as it is not really necessary.

What’s best for me?

A family is great for increasing your Spanish Language skills but it can be a bit difficult to go straight into a family with a beginners level Spanish. The best is to spend the first week in the hostel or guest house and then move into the family in your second week of study. You don’t need to book the family right away if you don’t feel comfortable. You can change your package every Sunday, so you can go decide after you have arrived and have had a week or so of classes under your belt.

Bring a gift!

Bringing a gift is a very nice thing to do.  We usually suggest something that shows your country or local area… calendar or photo book but food is always good as well.

Details

  • Families are regularly used to having vegetarians, and in most cases they are also able to accommodate Vegans as long as the student was willing to jump in the kitchen to help out with ideas.
  • Homestays are arranged for students taking classes only and for those family members that are accompanying the student.
  • Unfortunately we do not give out homestay family details until arrival in Orosi. We always do our best to make a good match!
  • Various people sharing a room in the family will not decrease the cost per person.
  • Any extensions (2 day max) to your stay in the family MUST be confirmed through our Spanish School office, if not a surcharge of $50.00 will be applied to your existing bill.