Most travelers want an authentic cultural experience when they go to a new country. They find that bumping elbows with hundreds of tourists, passing countless souvenir shops, and being in a place that exploits the tourist industry is extremely annoying and takes away from the joy of experiencing a new country. Barva has ZERO souvenir shops, and you will almost never see a non-Costa Rican in the town. Barva will give you a pure authentic Costa Rican experience.
Barva is a 10 minute bus ride to Costa Rica’s 3rd largest city. It is far enough away to maintain its quaintness and small town feel, however when you need a little more action, you are close to the city. Heredia is a great city with 7 universities where young people come to study, so there are plenty of great bars and shops, but it is also a clean safe city.
Barva is also 20 minutes from the main airport as opposed to a 4 or 5 hour drive to get to the other TEFL schools in Costa Rica. So much more convenient when you or your friends/ family arrive or leave the country.
Barva is in the mountains, so the temperature stays constant and comfortable throughout the year. Every day will be around 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) The beach is uncomfortably HOT! Which is why most Costa Ricans don’t live at the beach.
Costa Rica has very little crime, however, the amount of petty crime increases where there are more tourists, i.e. the beach. The amount of crime in Bava is laughable. Why would a pick pocket live in a place where there are no tourists? Answer: They don’t! They live at the touristy beach towns.
AND......THE 2 MOST IMPORTANT REASONS!
There are few jobs at the beach, therefore taking your 4 week TEFL course at the beach means that any friends/contacts/relationships that you make are all TEMPORARY. After the course is over you will need to uproot yourself and come to our area to find jobs. Then you will have to start form zero and do it all again. Our location is surrounded by schools where you will work. Therefore, after you finish the 4 week course you will NOT have to uproot yourself and find new friends. The friends you make during OUR COURSE are yours for your entire time in Costa Rica.
The main concern/worry of many of our TEFL students is the job search. Taking the TEFL course close to all the schools gives our students a HUGE advantage over those taking the course at the beach. Our school is 20 to 45 minutes from many English schools, as opposed to 4 to 5 HOURS from the beach TEFL locations. Many of our students are able to find jobs DURING the course simply because they can go for multiple interviews during the course without any problem.
We also have many English schools who come to our location to pitch their school to out TEFL students. They will present their school to you in the hopes of recruiting teachers. Usually 3 or 4 schools present per course, because they want our grads and because our school is close to theirs.They are NOT going to drive 4 hours one way to do this.
We also have alumni parties every month where past students can mingle with current TEL students. This is a great way of making contacts and getting the inside scoop about schools and job opportunities. Again we can have these parties because all our alumni live and work close to our location.
What are you waiting for? Talk to us about saving your spot in one of our TESOL trainings?
3 Benefits to Taking the TESOL Course with ITA Costa Rica
