Casa de Arlyn

This is a full house but always enough room for our Costa Rica Spanish School guest. The family is filled with young, old, and medium aged members. It is a house full of smiles and good times. It is also an excellent example of how Costa Rican families in the rural areas have more than one generation living in the house at a time. In this home you are right off the main road but very close to three other homes making it a social area and meeting area for many groups.

Arlyn is the mom of the home and she takes over when the groups arrive. She is actually the daughter of the home but like we said before there is more than one generation in this home.

Joaksane is Arlyn's son and he is an 8 year old with all the energy of an 8 year old. He loves playing soccer and especially loves roping cattle. He has been seen running in a bull ring with baby bulls which Im sure he will tell you about. Joaksane makes for the perfect homestay brother when experiencing a Costa Rica Spanish School homestay he is your perfect example of a caballero which is gentleman and an all around good "Tico".

Jordan is Arlyn's younger brother and he works in the river. This house is the river experts because when it comes to rafting 3 of the young men in this home work as river guides or kayakers. Jordan is 19 years old very quiet and one of the most likeable personalities of the village.

Grandma is named Marta and she is incharge of the house and you can find her making tortillas when it is lunch time. Her husband Carlos passed away in 2008 and was a very respected member of the community. He was always giving everything he had to make this village a better place.

Madfred is another brother of Arlyn who works in the river and is an amazing guide. You will probably have him as one of your guides if you decide to go down the river Pacuare. He usually leaves early in the morning and shows up around 5pm after a day of rafting.

Again this is a full house but so much to do with so many people it makes for an amazing experience. Also it cant go without saying that every boy in this house is part of our Costa Rica whitewater rafting adventure in Pacuare river as they make up some of the best river guides in town.

Casa de Marta

This house is located next door to Fressy's house and is the house of Dona Marta and her husband Gerardo. Their son lives in the house and his name is Gustavo. Gustavo is the town English teacher and you can often find him giving classes to the little ones of the families getting ready for the next group.

This is a perfect house for those that want to enjoy a Costa Rica Spanish School homestay and also be surrounded by nature. Marta and her husband love plants. Their whole property is practically a nursery and if you like orchids then you will love visiting this house. They have designed into a mini walk through some of the most beautiful local species. The orchid you see in the picture is called the Turrialba Orchid named after the nearby town of Turrialba. Marta takes a lot of pride in that orchid.


Gustavo is 20 years old and has worked at call centers in San Jose because he speaks fluent English. He is great to have around and his English always comes in handy but because he works in San Jose he is not always there and when he is he promises to talk in just Spanish to those participating in the Costa Rica Spanish School in Sitio de Mata.

Casa de Yefry, Lucrecia, y Wendy

If you like basketball this is the house for you. Yefry is probably the tallest kid I have met in Costa Rica. He lives with his single mom and younger sister Wendy. This is a great story because this family did not have a house until recently. The government finally helped out in with the funds to build a very simple but nice little home in the center of Sitio de Mata. The house is not yet finished but still very livable. They are proud to show off their new home and have visitors whenever they get the chance.

Lucrecia works in the nearby school as a cook and if you get the chance to stay with this family during your Costa Rica Spanish school stay you will be well fed. She makes sure all the kids in town get fed so this is a house you will not go hungry in. Yefry and Wendy are both studying and Yefrey's dream is to play in the NBA and be a river guide on the whitewater rafting pacuare river. Wendy is 16 years old and loves to dance. They are a great family and very involved in the community.

Casa de Yoselyn

When it comes to smiles and laughs the house of Yoselyn is it. Yoselyn in one of those people who always has a smile on her face and expect a big hug when you meet them because they treat everyone like family. She makes for the most absolute perfect Spanish School Costa Rican mom. She is the wife of Norberto and the mother of Charline. Although Norberto is not a guide he helps out with Costa Rica whitewater rafting in many ways such as driving and gear loading. They also have a cousin that is always in the house named Fabiola who takes part in all of the activities of the project we have going on such as the dancing, soccer games, and homestay programs.

Norberto works in San Jose at a factory where they make equipment for bakery shops. Charline is 12 years old and is in the 6th grade. She enjoys dancing and playing basketball. This house is also a big fan of jump rope so you can plan on seeing Charline and Fabiola playing jump rope during your stay. Fabiola is also 12 years old and enjoys soccer and limbo. She also enjoys writing cards to groups that plan to come and visit. Yoselyn loves to cook and she is darn good at it. She also likes to dance and host visitors when they come. She also absolutely loves to SMILE HEHEHEHEHE!!!!

Casa de Cindy y Eric

This is a family that is made up of 5 members. This house is located next to the green area of grass and the ranchito which is the ultimate socialize place. We now set up curtains and do a mock "Latin Idol" for some groups when they come and boy is it a blast. The neighbors house students also and there is always plenty people around. This house has the social bench which is just the patio that everyone seems to hang out on. It is like time square and makes for the perfect spot for a Costa Rica Spanish School Homestay. We feel like we say this about every homestay but in Sitio de Mata it is the truth.

Erick is the father and works in transporation bringing rafts down to the nearby Pacuare and Pejibaye rivers. Without Erick Costa Rica whitewater rafting tours would be tough carrying all of the rafts by foot.

Cindy is the mother and works in a hotel called Hacienda Tayutic.

Paulo is the son of 12 years and is in the 6th grade. He really enjoys playing soccer.


Jose is 10 years old and is in the 4th grade. He loves playing goaling and you will always know who he is because he is walking around with goaly gloves.

Camilia is the 2 yr old and is always happy. She has very cute curls also.

Casa de Esterh, Maryel, y Joshua

This home is located in a beautiful area right next to the ranchito with a large grass area for hanging around. The house is very clean and the family is small but one of the best. If you want small personalized attention in your Costa Rica Spanish School homestay with very very cute kids then this is the place for you.

Esterh is the mother of the home. She has two small children and she really enjoys visitors. You will be a friend of hers from the moment you walk in the door.


Maryel is the daughter of 9 yrs. She is in 3rd grade and is one of the best dancers in town. She is an amazing soccer player along with many other sports.

Josue is the little guy on the block. He is 1 year and 5 months and enjoys baby stuff.

Again this is a small family which is nice because it makes it personalized. This home is right next door to the home of Roxane and the home of Eric and Cindy. The kids in this home are amazing.

Casa de Roxana

This is one of the families we use for our homestay program. They have a beautiful house right off the main road of Sitio de Mata. When I say main road that means mabye 10 cars pass by each day. The family is made up of 5 members and they have always lived in the community of Sitio de Mata. The best part about this house is there commitment to sustainability. They have pigs about 1 block away (dont worry you can't smell them) and they trap the methane from the pigs feces and use it for cooking. This is how the world should operate and this simple family does it on their own without anyone telling them to just because it makes environmental sense. We hope when looking at Costa Rica Spanish Schools you can see the importance in a sustainable lifestyle and that culture, language, and environment is all connected as is demonstrated in this homestay.

Juan Carlos Contreras Sandoval is 40 years old. He is a husband and a father. He has two jobs from 6 in the morning until 8pm at night. In the morning he works in the municiple office and in the afternoon at the Firestone factory (Firestone Tire Factory). He works as a cook in the factory. He also takes care of the pigs and cows near his house.

Roxana Sandoval Leandro is 41 years old. She is a wife and a mother. She dedicates her time of being a stay home mom taking care of things around the house. She loves to cook and her specialty are desserts. She also takes care of a little girl of 5 years old for a little extra income.



Estefanie Contreras Sandoval is 18 years old. She is studying in the University of Costa Rica in Turrialba. She enjoys helping her mom in the house and sometimes taking care of the little girl. She also works sometimes in a restaurant in the community. She likes to try her English and she is taking classes to learn more.

Catherin Contreras Sandoval is 13 years old. She is in her second year of high school in Turrialba and she enjoys hearing music and playing with her friends. She also likes to dance and play soccer. She is also taking English classes.

Juan Diego Contreras Sandoval is 12 years old. He is in the 6th grade in the school close to our home. He loves the sport of soccer and hopes to play one day in Barcelona. He also enjoys roping cattle and even owns his own little cow with his grandfather. He also owns his own horse which his grandfather gave to him. You can count on seeing Juan Diego in the future guiding Costa Rica whitewater rafting tours.

Casa de Fressy

This is a special house because this is where it all began. She is the reason for us starting the Costa Rica Spanish School in Sitio de Mata. Dona Fressy is the mother of Marlon. Marlon became friends with Tom both working as river guides on the river and that is how the idea of this immersion began. Dona Fressy is a lady who has the natural instinct to treat people with a first class style from the moment they arrive till the moment they leave. She is a mother of 4 children and has raised them all on her own. As you will see Dona Fressy is big big big on recycling and has done many projects at her home and in the area to help with recycling. She is a lover of the environment and always tries to do her part. Her love for the environment has inspired so many to allow the little things to make a difference and if enough of us work hard enough big things will happen.

Her kids names are Marlon, Daniel, Daniela, and Jonny. Jonny and Daniela live in the house with Fressy and help with groups. Jonny is 24 years old and is training to be a guide in the river. Daniela is 21 and has a daughter named Aranza and another baby on the way. Daniela enjoys making characters out of balloons and giving them to the local kids. One of our guides is an expert in making balloon figures and got Daniela into the hobby. Her daughter Aranza goes to a bi-lingual kindergarden in Turrialba and is probably the most social little girl in the community. You will definitely know who Aranza is when you leave and she is only 3 years old. Aranza enjoys puttingon Daniela's makeup and playing with her dolls. This is an amazing homestay and the house where the guides and drivers get fed so it is a popular social gathering here and is in the center of it all.

I guess we should mention that Dona Fressy got her start working in the Costa Rica whitewater rafting company as cleaning the warehouse and washing boats after coming in from the Pacuare River.