Hi everybody! Ok so things are finally falling into place and I am going to be doing an internship this summer working with kids in children's homes in one of these countries. Does anybody have opinions on these countries??
I really know very little about Latin America so any help would be great. Ideas on where to look for cheap airfares to Latin America would also help!
Kelly

I just returned from Costa Rica and found it to be wonderful. You need to be careful in any of these countries but Bolivia is particularly dangerous. Please take it off your list!!!

EXito travel, www.exitotravel.com, typically has good airfares to Latin America.

Good luck.

Thanks Sel, ive been hearing lots of good things about Costa Rica. Just curious, why is Boliva so dangerous? Ive already turned down Colombia...my gut feeling just told me that was not a good place to be. My first choice was Mexico, but I cant seem to find anything there.
Kelly

The government goes in and out of a stable situation on a regular basis. OSU waited until the last minute to decide to do a course based on Bolivian literature because of this questionable stability. The course included a one week trip to Bolivia with a Bolivian professor and they did not want to get into a dangerous situation with the students. Native Bolivians have shared bits and pieces about the country. I hope someday to visit Bolivia, but its stability continues to be an issue. Costa Rica is the most stable of your three choices. It does not even have an military force. Ecuador continues to have uprising, although they are not extremely large or bloody.

I went to Ecuador for the summer of 1995 while I was in high school and in general had a really good time. I had already been to Spain and the differences between European/American lifestyle and what I found in Ecuador caused some culture shock. However, I absolutely loved the natural beauty of the country. Coastline, mountains and rainforest, all within a few hundred miles of each other and all of it spectacular! The native market at Otavalo was amazing!
As for flights, I found a cheap flight from Miami to Quito on the national airline of Ecuador, Saeta. Then I flew from Iowa to Miami on American. I had some adventures in the Quito airport trying to get my return flight, but in the end it was all worked out. If you do fly on a South American airline, make sure you call to reconfirm your reservation a few days before your flight, or they may give your seat away! Anyway, hope you find something interesting and if you do decide on Ecuador, feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Suerte.

Kelly, I was in various parts of Costa Rica for 10 days last month and would also recommend it as a first choice. I would have no qualms whatsoever going there. I met many Americans living and working there in all kinds of positions and they were very positive - if not downright enthusiastic - about it.

You may already have done this, but you should read the US Dept. of State travel warnings at http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html

I check them regularly and although Bolivia is not on the current list of warnings, I'm pretty sure it was a few months ago. Anyway, it's a good site to check regularly.

Hi. I used to live and work in Costa Rica as an English teacher. I would definitely recommend going to Costa Rica. It is the "Switzerland" of Latin America. The country is extremely beautiful and the people are amazing. They are very open and generous and at least a few years ago, there was a general liking of Americans. I don't think this has really changed much, but many Costa Ricans were against the war in Iraq and were unhappy when their president sided with Bush. Anyway, it is a wonderful, wonderful place to live.

I have also lived in Mexico and although I have a great love for the country, I still would recommend Costa Rica over Mexico. I believe it's safer for a single woman (which is my assumption).

Anyway good luck!!!
Jennita

Jennita, do you have recomendations as to what time of year would be best for a visit to Costa Rica? They have a rainy season in the summer, don't they?

Correct. They pretty much have the rainy season.. and the not so rainy season. The rainy season is generally from July through November more or less. However I lived in San Jose during this time and it rained for about two hours every evening at 4:30pm on the dot. I'm from Colorado, and although we get great snow storms, we don't get much rain. So I was completely amazed at the rain there! But the nice part about that time, is that there aren't tourists all over the place. So personally I would say any time is a good time in Costa Rica. Just prepared for a siesta during the rainy hours.

Good luck!!

Things are finally set up. Im going to be in Costa Rica, in Cartago, doing an internship with an agency that works with children with speech or hearing impairments. Perfect for me because my major is bilingual speech language pathology Thanks for all the input everybody! I'd love to hear more about Costa Rica!!!
Kelly