Language Learning In Costa Rica With Mattison Gotcher

UT-Austin Mattison Gotcher

“Think about it ahead of time and also have money prepared” Mattison Gotcher 

Mattison Gotcher San Jose, Costa Rica

Mattison Gotcher (@mdgotcher) is a communications major at UT-Austin and she wanted to learn Spanish through immersion. So, she did what any rational college student would do; she packed her bags, and headed south to Costa Rica for the summer. Mattison lived in San Jose for two months, but she didn’t just take classes. She also did some volunteer work which she talks about in the interview.

 

 

SHOW NOTES

  • Why Mattison chose San Jose, Costa Rica 🇨🇷 [1:07]
  • Doing volunteer work 😇 [3:30]
  • Why living abroad is humbling 😌 [4:45]
  • Remembering lunches in Costa Rica 🥪 [5:37]
  • Getting into the logistics of Mattison’s trip 🗺 [7:09]
  • Missing gallo pinto and coffee ☕️ [9:06]
  • Mattison’s advice if for students planning to study abroad 🙌 [11:07]
  • Having a perfect day in Costa Rica 🏖 [11:44]
  • Coffee Break Español – Mattison’s podcast recommendation 🎙 [13:05]

3 Ways To Learn a New Language Fast [Infographic]

Learn a new language as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

How To Make The Perfect Gallo Pinto Video

Studying Abroad in Seville With Jason Kouba

Api's Jason Kouba

“We didn’t have a clue what we were doing. We had no idea where we were going, and it was totally fine” — Jason Kouba

One of the biggest reason people study abroad is to immerse themselves in a country in order to learn a language, and I haven’t had anyone on the show go for this reason until now. While at UW-La Crosse, Jason studied abroad in Seville, Spain during a fall semester in order to sharpen his Spanish skills. He ended up falling  in love with international education and decided to make a career out of it.

Jason might actually be ‘coming to a town near you’ because his job entails that he goes to study abroad fairs at different campuses around the country and talks with students (like you) who are thinking about studying abroad.

A quote Jason would like to leave us with:

“Stay true to yourself and be who you are” — Jason’s Grandmother (I think more people should quote their grandparents)

 

 

SHOW NOTES

  • Studying abroad in Seville, Spain [1:36]
  • Being the first person in his family to travel outside of the United States [1:20]
  • How studying abroad changed Jason’s view of the world [4:00]
  • Learning what it’s like to be somewhere and not understand the language [5:01]
  • Taking a trip on the ‘non plan’ plan [5:42] <- this is what travel is all about to me
  • Jason’s advice for someone thinking about studying abroad [8:14]
  • What API does (they take care of pretty much everything) [10:14]
  • Jason’s recollection of Spanish food: jamón and croquetas [12:52]
  • What Jason would do if he had to choose a different profession [15:21]
  • What Jason does for fun these days [16:55]
  • Wait Wait…Don’t tell me! and travel magazines  [18:40]

5 Tips For Living and Studying Abroad in Seville [Infographic]

5 tips for studying abroad in Spain (specifically Seville)

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