BUILD SKILLS FAQ’S
1. How long is the flight to this country?
1A – Direct flight from Newark to San Jose takes approximately 5.5 hours.
Direct flight from Houston to San Jose takes approximately 3.5 to 4 hours. Notice that at the end of the trip departure is from Panama City not San Jose!
2. Do we need to get visas for this program?
2A – Students from the United States and Canada will be issued a 90 day tourist visa on entry into Costa Rica & Panama. Students from other countries should check with their consulate.
3. What immunizations do we need to get for this trip?
3A – See CDC or WHO websites.
4. What provinces or regions of the country does this program pass through?
4A – Students will travel through the following regions while in Costa Rica; San Jose, Alajuela, San Carlos and Limon regions. Then after arriving to Panama they will travel through the departments of Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui and Panama.
5. What kind of food will we be eating?
5A - The food is mainly Central American dishes while staying with families (rice, beans and different kind of meat) but there will be a variety of restaurants along the way that will keep the food options widely open.
6. Where will we be eating most of our meals?
6A – Students will mostly eat at their host family’s home but there will be various occasions when they will eat together as a group at local restaurants.
7. Will we be drinking bottled water?
7A - During this trip students will not visit any areas where running water is not recommended. However, the option of drinking out of bottled water will be offered if wished for.
8. What will the accommodation on this trip be like?
8A – All families are hand picked and will vary case by case, however hygiene is our number one priority and can be expected at all times during this trip. Accommodations will provide students a separate room of their own while the bathroom and shower is often shared with other members with the family.
9. How often will we be able to do laundry on this program and what will it cost?
9A – Laundry service will be offered on a once a week basis at a cost of $5-$10 (depending on the amount of clothes), however we are flexible when it comes to additional enquiries.
10. Can Rustic Pathways cater to specific diets on this program?
10A – Yes. Costa Rica& Panama being a tropical paradise offers a great variety of fruits and vegetables that makes it easier for us to accommodate special diet needs.
11. What will the climate be like on this trip?
11A – The temperature of this Central American region remains around 70-100 degrees throughout the year and there are mainly two seasons in both Costa Rica & Panama. The rainy season starts around the end of April and lasts until around the beginning of December and the rest of the year is called the dry season. Although these two seasons are distinguished these countries are covered by rainforest therefore rain can be expected on a daily basis throughout the entire year for several hours a day.
12. Will mosquitoes be a problem on this trip?
12A – Mosquitoes are present all around Central America and therefore bringing repellent is definitely something important to keep in mind when packing.
13. Are there any extremely physical or strenuous activities on this trip?
13A – There will not be any strenuous activities included unless desired by students and if so, there are rainforest hikes and kayak tours that students can chose to do.
14. Are there any language immersion possibilities on this trip?
14.A – Besides the classes there will be constant and direct contact with locals including the host family, the Rustic Pathways guides which enables students to have a fairly good immersion into the Spanish language on a day to day basis.
15. How often will I have access to email and phones?
15.A – There will be a good chance to be around public phones on a daily basis and access to E-mails on a weekly basis if needed but generally we try to be flexible to accommodate ourselves to our students need to a manageable extent.
16. What costs are not included on this trip?
16.A – Phone cards, internet use, any item that is purchased for personal use (soap, clothing, souvenirs, camera…etc.), activities that are desired by students throughout the trip but was not advertised and mentioned in the itinerary.
17. How much spending money should I bring?
17.A – This will depend on each individual and how much you want to be spending on presents and souvenirs. To cover basic personal expenses students should bring around $350 - $400 for the duration of this program. It is also possible to add allowance once students are in country at an additional administration cost.
18. What sort of electrical voltage adapters do I need to bring?
18.A - Electricity in Costa Rica and Panama is 120 Volts, alternating at 60 cycles per second. If you travel to any of these countries with a device that does not accept 120 Volts at 60 Hertz, you will need a voltage converter. There are three main types of voltage converter. Resistor-network converters will usually be advertised as supporting something like 50-1600 Watts. They are light-weight and support high-wattage electrical appliances like hair dryers and irons. However, they can only be used for short periods of time and are not ideal for digital devices. Transformers will have a much lower maximum Watt rating, usually 50 or 100. Transformers can often be used continuously and provide better electricity for low wattage appliances like battery chargers, radios, laptop computers, cameras, mp3 players and camcorders. However, they are heavy because they contain large iron rods and lots of copper wire. Some companies sell combination converters that include both a resistor network and a transformer in the same package. This kind of converter will usually come with a switch that switches between the two modes. If you absolutely need both types of converter, then this is the type to buy.
19. Is there a language barrier, and will this be a problem for me?
19A – Both Costa Rica & Panama are Spanish speaking countries so speaking the language will be of much use, however no language proficiency is required for having an awesome experience. There are a lot of people in these countries who speak good English and our guides will also be there to ease the language barrier if there appears to be one. |
Build Skills is an excellent language immersion program placed in two different Spanish speaking countries; Costa Rica and Panama. Many multilingual people consider real life experience to be the best language teacher and so this healthy balance of daily Spanish classes, home stays, real life situations and exciting cross-cultural adventures is the perfect combination to learn not only the language but the culture itself, whether you are a beginner or a more advanced speaker of the language.
activities Panama offers just like they did in Costa Rica. 
