Testimonies / ICDS's students

Attended ICDS's program "Justice, Human Rights and Development in Latin America" during Spring 2004. Following are his comments:

"Although there are many beautiful locations to choose from when deciding where to study abroad, academically ICDS offers a truly unique opportunity, as my own experience and my conversations with other students and faculty have shown.

The professors who teach classes in the ICDS program are all experts in their respective fields, not just academically, but in practice as well. Institutionally, ICDS is focused upon policy research and implementation, and this is reflected in the classes. In my personal experience, my undergraduate education was very fulfilling in terms of learning about systems and how to critique them, but to do so in a pragmatic manner looking towards the implementation of policy and offering viable alternatives to current failures was something that to a large extent, was missing. This was the aspect I enjoyed most about my academic experience with ICDS. Not only did I learn a great deal about the cultural and political history of the Central American region, but I was challenged to come up with my own solutions to the problems which confront it in such a way that significantly enriched my learning experience. Now to speak so highly of an academic program, to many implies a heavy work load which wouldn’t allow time to travel; fortunately, that is not the case. The way the workload within each course is organized also assists this type of learning. Courses are structured akin to a graduate level program, with readers being assigned and final projects being completed at the end of the term. There are few weekly assignments, allowing students more flexibility in organizing their time.

The professors also understand that a great deal of the learning while studying abroad is experiential. In addition to the traveling that students do on their own, the program organizes several field trips for the students to take advantage of unique cultural experiences that they might not be able to have on their own. The main field trip consists on a three-day visit to a place where the students will be able to appreciate sustainable human development concepts at work, such as a farming community where students stay with rural families and experience life as they live it first-hand. Classes are complemented with site-visits to places connected with each class' subject matter, with the participation of guest speakers who address current issues related to the course, as well as with two plenary sessions for students and professors in both programs to discuss sustainable human development topics in their multiple dimensions. Some of the other trips include attending different cultural, civic, and social activities, such as the Independence Day celebrations, political talks, dance performances, museums, and any other current activities that can contribute to the students' academic and cultural experience.

Classes are scheduled Monday to Thursday afternoon, giving students the opportunity to do as I did and spend Friday through Sunday in some beautiful location learning in a different way. Costa Rica´s stunning natural beauty is no longer a secret privy to a select few, but during my trip what I appreciated the most was the kindness and patience of the people. In addition to being able to take weekend trips to beaches, both Pacific and Caribbean, the rainforest, mountains, white water rafting, active volcanoes etc., the people I encountered were patient with me in terms of my control of the language, helping me try to express what I wanted to say, and more than willing to point me in the direction of exciting things to do. This friendliness allowed me to go from speaking no Spanish at all upon my arrival to being functionally fluent by the time I left only 5 months later.

In short, my semester in Costa Rica with ICDS was the most enriching, both culturally and academically, of my college career. I most definitely recommend this experience to any student considering a semester of study abroad."