Where to go?!?! HELPP!

Hi. I'm 16, and this summer I’m pretty sure I’m doing a 6-week summer exchange program. I know I want to go to North America, but I’m not sure what country to go to. I have to have 3 choices, and these are the countries I have to choose from...

Canada
Mexico
Costa Rica

I know my 1st choice is going to be Canada, and I'm not sure about the 2nd or 3rd choice
I was thinking maybe Mexico as a 2nd choice, then Costa Rica or Cuba as 3rd

Can someone who has traveled to these countries give me some advice?
I'm a 16-year-old girl, and I speak a little French (very little)
I want somewhere that I would have fun, and would give me a good experience

Thanks a lot!

Where in Canada would it be?

and where are you from?

canada is a VERY large country so figuring our approx what area interests you most would be a good place to start

ask yourself what do you want to see/do/accomplish on your holiday/exchange program, what do you want to see/do what activities are provided? how free are you to explore on your own.. what about costs to consider (food/cost of living/activities/shopping!) do you want to go somewhere hot and humid? do you want to go somewhere that there's sandy beaches? do you want to see culture and history? do you want to see vast wide open spaces/mountians/rivers and trees?

My parents go to costa rica every year (this is year 10 for them they are actually there right now) they LOVE LOVE LOVE it (i haven't gone personally but i've heard all thier stories, they regularly talk people into joining them) costa rica is affordable, there is alot to see and do, it's a rather friendly country but you may have a language barrier (they do speak english on a small scale but alot is spanish) it is a poorer country (not like canada of the US) so you will see things that you would not see in canada or the USA (a whole family on a scooter, lots of dirt roads, a transit system that is questionable at best where the driver that won't stop at usual stops) but on the flip side to that is that a little money can go a LONG way (one year my parents paid $400 to rent a jeep for 5 weeks!!)


i'd really suggest heading to your local library and picking up a few travel books (frommers makes a good one, and lonely planet has a good one for costa rica which my mom swears by!) and if you plan to go somewhere which might have a language barrier theres a great program called rosetta stone (found at http://www.rosettastone.ca/ i think they have a trial program too) which can do wonders to help with learning the language if needed

You only have 6 weeks, and you know a bit of French, but no Spanish, so it is logical that you choose Canada as your first choice. But as The-Blaz writes only Quebec is relevant for you if your goal is to get some language training in French.

Spanish in 6 weeks, starting from scratch and maybe being surrounded by English speaking people? OK, having learnt some French is probably a useful background, but

Apart from that: Costa Rica is the place to go if you want to see some lush forest, while Mexico is so big and heterogenous that you can find almost any kind of landscape, - but most of it is dry. Choose Mexico for Unesco sites and a vibrant culture with strong Indian influences, choose Costa Rica for the nature.

hope u have great fun.......