We loved everything about NSI and our homestay experience. Could not recommend highly enough! The setup at NSI was great - Alejandro was an amazing teacher balancing the curriculum with spontaneous conversations to keep everyone engaged. Our class was small with only 3 of us so it felt highly personalised. Everyone at the school was welcoming and really committed to improving everyone’s Spanish skills. There was a good amount of social opportunities too with an intercambio and salsa classes in the evening. Our homestay host, Maria was incredible. Her home was comfortable - she gave us our own space but was also happy to chat in English and Spanish. Maria’s cooking was restaurant quality with a huge variety of meals - cerviche, meats, fish and plenty of fresh fruit and veg. Maria is a surf instructor so also took us out for a lesson on one of the days which was a highlight. We loved our time in Nosara. Anyone thinking about signing up with NSI should do it - you won’t regret it!

I loved the fact that all of the classes focused on speaking and becoming more comfortable conversing in Spanish, rather than just reading, writing, and learning grammar. While the teachers still taught us those aspects, too, the focus was more practical. Also, the teachers made it so fun to learn that the class time flies by! The activities outside of class allowed us to learn about Costa Rican culture and history, while also giving us an opportunity to get to know the teachers and other students better. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I look forward to taking future classes!