Testimonies / ICDS's students

From the standpoint of social, political, and even natural history, Costa Rica offers a unique brand of Central American life that is very accessible to international students interested in living and learning away from home. Everything that is Tico provides an appropriate setting for the student of sustainable human development to engage in real questions of public policy, poverty, empowerment, and political and social inclusion in a way that goes beyond just theory, and enters the realm of real practical application. Beyond the academic aspect of this program, study abroad offered me the opportunity to think of government, politics, language, familial relationships, in ways that would have remained unquestioned had I not left the comfort found in my home culture. My experience made me question what I had taken for granted about myself, my place in society, and my assumptions about life, creating an exciting tension that has not yet resolved itself, and perhaps never will, but nonetheless tells me that I grew and matured in ways that I didn't know were possible before leaving home. I would eagerly invite anyone to share in such an experience.