Spotlight On Costa Rica

“The new Hawaii”, “Central America’s jewel”, and (sorry, Bootsnall, this is from Lonely Planet) “their coffee is sublime. Even the coffee that accompanies the limp burger from the fast-food joint is a cut above your average North American cup of coffee.” Sublime coffee. Where do I sign up?

I haven’t been but it sure sounds good.

What are your options if you want to work in Costa Rica? One good place to start is The Costa Rica Classroom, a blog with the posts of five different teachers. Get your fill of practical advice, cultural tips and personal experiences here.

If you’re interested in an organized program, LanguageCorps offers a Costa Rica Flagship program, which includes TEFL training (and a homestay during that training) as well as job placement and ongoing support throughout your year. You can elect to do just the TEFL training there, or to volunteer for one to three months at an organization where “children from disadvantaged families or broken homes receive education & vocational training skills.”

Read a Bootsnall travel story about a volcano visit, and check out what the Eco Travel Logue has to say about Costa Rica’s volcanoes. Discover the pros and cons of a homestay from one traveler who’s glad she did it. And share the excitement of a traveler whose first trip out of the US was to Costa Rica, the country she’d heard stories about all her life but never seen. Your investigation into teaching English anywhere wouldn’t be complete either without seeing what Dave’s ESL Café has to say about Costa Rica.

Finally, if you’re a book lover or just an Amazon addict, you can order An Ecotraveller’s Guide To Costa Rica and the Traveler’s Literary Companion To Costa Rica.