San Joaquin de Flores: Home Stays

I went to the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI) in San Joaquin, a quiet village less than an hour from San Jose. Their courses include homestays, and I had the most amazing family. Aphonso and Patricia lived among an orchard of fruit trees, only a 15 minute walk from the school. Their house was cool and clean, and the family did everything to make me feel at home. Patricia was lovely, and I learned a lot about "Tico"s from our conversations. They even took me to the extended family's casa on the Pacific coast one weekend.

The woman who set up the school is from El Salvador, and their family has a very interesting history. The school, at least back then, offered customizable courses and small intimate classes, and the families they chose for the home stay were wonderful.

Friendly, hospitable, and great food!

I highly recommend this school and this village, and the homestay option, if you want to learn conversational Spanish fast, in order to travel independantly through Central America.

If you go, say hi to Carlos for me :-)