Off-campus programs at Proctor represent our belief that transformative learning occurs when students exist in that delicate space between comfort and challenge, with one foot firmly planted outside their comfort zone.

As six Proctor sophomores wrap up a term abroad in Costa Rica, Freya '26 and Kyara '26 reflect on how perhaps the most challenging part of living and learning in Monteverde: speaking Spanish with their host families. 

For the six sophomores studying abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica this spring, their time with host families and living immersed in Costa Rican culture is nearly complete. In this week's blog, Amena '26 shares reflections and Sophie '26 a video blog about their recent adventures.

Living with host families, continuing in their tenth grade courses, and immersing themselves in Costa Rican culture affords a powerful learning opportunity that very few high school sophomores around the country have the good fortune to experience.

As Nicola ‘26 and Magnus ‘26 reflect on their time studying abroad and living with host families in Costa Rica, they share insights into the very heart of the Proctor experience: independence, the stretching of comfort zones, and pursuit of passions.

From living with a host family, to studying Spanish and rainforest ecology, to being fully immersed in Costa Rican culture, Lulu ‘26, Magnus ‘26, Nicola ‘26, Sophie ‘26, Maisy ‘26, and Evie ‘26 are experiencing a life-changing term abroad.

For the six Proctor students studying in Monteverde, this term is an opportunity to live with a host family, immerse themselves in the Costa Rican culture, earn a year’s worth of Spanish credit, and continue studying their sophomore-level courses is a once in a lifetime experience.

Proximate learning does not occur without risk, but it is in those moments when students are living their education alongside the issues they are studying that worldviews are transformed.

As the spring trimester nears an end, this term's six students reflect on their last few weeks in Monteverde.