Cuirpoint Exchange
A community note on language, connection, and what we are building together this month.
Hello, everyone!
Cuirpoint Exchange is a community initiative that creates a point of connection for the international and multilingual LGBTQIA+ community in Costa Rica. Through our WhatsApp group and regular programming, we create time and space to meet new friends, build bridges, and learn together.
I hope you are having a wonderful July. June was an exciting month for our community, and I am so grateful to everyone who joined conversations, shared ideas, and helped make Cuirpoint Exchange such a welcoming place to learn and connect.
Whether you have been here since the beginning or just joined us recently, thank you for being part of this growing community. ❤️
🌟 Looking Back at June
June was packed with learning and community.
📚 Language Acquisition Learning Series
We wrapped up our four week Language Acquisition 101 learning series with 16 community members exploring how we learn languages, what challenges we face, and how we can become more confident communicators.
Thank you to everyone who participated, researched, asked questions, and shared your experiences.
🌈 Pride Month Together
One of the highlights of June was celebrating Pride together here in San José.
Community members from Cuirpoint Exchange came together to march in the Marcha de Orgullo, celebrate with thousands of others, and spend time exploring the Feria de Orgullo afterward. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect outside of Convo Club, meet new faces, and celebrate the incredible diversity and resilience of our community.
Whether you joined us for the entire day or stopped by to say hello, thank you for helping make it such a memorable experience. Moments like these remind me that Cuirpoint Exchange is about so much more than language learning. It is about building bridges, creating belonging, and showing up for one another.
📊 Community Language Learning Survey
As part of the learning series, we also launched our first community research project to better understand the language learning experiences of LGBTQ+ people in Costa Rica.
Thank you to everyone who completed the survey!
Some key results:
- A diverse learner community: the survey identified a large, active community of language learners in Costa Rica, including both native English speakers learning Spanish and native Spanish speakers learning English.
- An opportunity for connection: there is a meaningful opportunity to build bridges between these groups, as many participants currently feel isolated or limited by language barriers in professional, social, and intimate settings.
- Programming preferences: respondents were most interested in structured programming that does not center nightlife, especially conversation clubs (23 interested) and social meetups (22 interested) that support language practice and community building.
- Geographic reach: while most responses came from the Central Valley, there was also significant representation from other regions across Costa Rica.
This is just the beginning. We are excited to keep learning together and use what we discover to build better community experiences.
💬 July Convo Club Topics
Every Wednesday we gather to practice languages, meet new people, and share stories. Here are this month's conversation themes:
Convo Club meets virtually at 7:00 p.m. (Costa Rica time).
July 8
✨ Proyecto que te Apasiona
Share something you have achieved or an area of your life you are passionate about.
July 15
📍 Local Picks
Recomienda tus lugares, actividades o experiencias favoritas para que otras personas las descubran.
July 22
📸 Recuerdo Inolvidable
Share a childhood story or memory that has stayed with you.
July 29
🎵 Playlist Exchange
Habla sobre la música que te encanta y comparte tus artistas, álbumes o playlists favoritas.
Everyone is welcome, no matter your language level.
🚀 Ready to accelerate your language learning?
If you want more personalized support or more practice with another person, here are two ways to take the next step.
👩🏫 Looking for a Language Teacher?
Several members of our community offer private language lessons, and I would be happy to help connect you with someone who matches your goals.
If you are looking for an English, Spanish, or other language teacher, send me a message or fill out the Newsletter Response Form, and I will point you in the right direction.
🤝 Looking for a Language Exchange Partner?
Would you like to practice with another community member?
I am starting to connect people who are interested in language exchange partnerships. Whether you are learning Spanish, English, Portuguese, or another language, let me know and I will do my best to find a good match.
🗓️ Help Plan the Rest of the Year
Want to help build and develop the Cuirpoint Exchange community?
We will be holding a community planning meeting later this month to brainstorm events, learning series, and community activities for the rest of the year.
We are especially looking for people who would like to help with:
- Event planning
- Community engagement
- Social media
- Writing and communications for the newsletter
If you would like to lend a hand, share ideas, or simply be part of the conversation, I would love to have you join us.
More details coming soon!
🌈 Join the WhatsApp Group
Join the community
The WhatsApp group is our main connection point for sharing announcements, hearing about upcoming gatherings, and continuing to build community between activities.
To join, copy and paste this link into your browser:
Invite someone new
Know someone who would enjoy Cuirpoint Exchange?
Copy and share the same WhatsApp invitation link with friends who might like to join our community.
✨ What's happening in the community?
We want to celebrate what people in Cuirpoint Exchange are creating, experiencing, and sharing.
🎉 Community Spotlight
One of the best parts of this community is seeing what everyone is creating, building, and accomplishing.
Have a project, business, event, artwork, research project, or something exciting you would like to share?
I would love to feature community members in future newsletters.
🌟 Member Highlight
What is new in your life?
Maybe you have learned something interesting, reached a personal goal, started a new hobby, moved somewhere new, or simply have a story you would like to share.
I would love to include more member highlights in future newsletters.
🗳️ Community Poll #1
What do you think are the best activities to experience in Costa Rica?
Vote here📝 Newsletter Response Form
The response form is the easiest way to let me know how you would like to get involved.
You can use it to:
- Request a language teacher
- Join the language exchange program
- Share a project or community announcement
- Be featured in the Member Highlight section
- Volunteer to help plan future events
- Share ideas and feedback for the community
Thank you all for helping make Cuirpoint Exchange such a welcoming, curious, and supportive community.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at Convo Club this month.
See you soon!
❤️ Alex