Good Stuff from Rene: Volume 9 – ¡Voy a Costa Rica!

A few weeks ago I was telling a friend about my upcoming two-week solo trip to Costa Rica.

She was totally on board and really excited, until I mentioned the part where I’d be staying with a host family and going to class during the day. 😛

When I was in high school, I wanted to participate in the foreign exchange program – the idea of being able to communicate with people in another language really appealed to me. (Plus the travel part, of course.)

It wasn’t in the cards at the time, but earlier this year when I found myself with a lot of vacation time, I decided to make it happen. If not now, when?

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, but thought a Spanish-speaking country would be best (to start with) because I took Spanish in high school. From there, Central America won out because it 1) was cheaper, 2) wasn’t too far from home and 3) was in a similar time zone (so I can talk to my kiddo daily at a semi-convenient time).

I searched online for “language immersion programs” and found TONS. 

I settled on Intercultura Costa Rica Spanish Schools. They have two campuses – I’ll be staying in the one in Heredia. (No, I’m not going to the beach. It’s also still the rainy season there.)

Travel is expensive 

So where did I get the money? Traveling abroad (especially for so long) is just way too expensive. (Right?)

Enter credit card churning.

If you haven’t heard of churning, here’s how it works:

• Pick a card with a good sign up bonus 
• Spend the minimum amount needed to activate the bonus
• Use the bonus
• Cancel the card
• Repeat!

It can be a little complicated and intimidating and it’s DEFINITELY not for everyone, but if you’re interested in learning more, check out:

• The Simple Dollar’s take on churning
• 10xTravel
• Reddit’s churning subreddit (especially the wiki)
• And Google the term “travel hacking”

I applied for and got my first card last year at this time, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (or CSP for those in the know). To earn 50,000 points, I had to spend $4,000 in 3 months. (It sounds like a lot, but basically I put EVERYTHING I could on the card.)

The points were worth $500 cash OR $625 in travel.

The flight was 39,671 points (about $500). So, free flight. Woo!

I’ve been using the card as my primary one (up until a few weeks ago) and just cashed out the remaining points. 32,197 points = $321.97 in cash.

The two week trip – 4 hour classes each day, homestay with a family and two meals a day (breakfast and dinner) = $900. 

$900 – $321.97 = $578.03 for classes, room and board.

The trip will cost more than that, of course, but my point remains – the trip is completely doable.

I love planning 

It’s not just the trip that (I think) I’ll love. It’s the prep and the planning! I’ve been researching my heart out for months. My goal is to travel with a small backpack and a rolling carry-on. 

There are so many great posts about how to travel light like this one, this one and this one.

However, I’ve hit the part of preparation where I think I need everything and can’t make a decision. Last night, I spent a solid 10 minutes in Target debating between three different compact toothbrushes. I’m still not convinced I got the right one.

Time to breathe.

What’s something you’ve always wanted to do? How can you make it happen? I love to hear from you, so write me and tell me your plans.

As always, thanks for reading! 

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