Pros and Cons to CCS

Pros: nice, safe dormitory style housing that was very clean and really good food. fun cultural trips. speakers that would come and talk to us about current issues affecting the country, i.e. female genital mutilation, HIV/AIDS. you are picked up at the airport by a representative and they take you back to the airport at the end of your visit. they also drive you to/from your volunteer site. one previous review said she was given a hard time about wanting to walk to her volunteer site because it was only a few minutes away. several of my co-volunteers also walked to their site daily and were never made to feel like that was wrong. it was actually encouraged. you have almost all of your afternoons off and all of your weekends so you can do your own activities (but they do get expensive).
Cons: the person that gave the informative presentations before the trip had never actually set foot in Tanzania before. she was obviously reading from a script or something. some of the information was outdated and/or false. (i.e. don't take pictures in public because the locals think having their picture taken steals their soul. maybe in the remote areas of the country, but in Moshi, there are plenty of international visitors that all the locals know what a camera is. they don't really want you taking their picture because they think you might go back home and sell it for a huge profit). I think the cost is overpriced. yes, its good if its your first time visiting the country, but if you want to return, it would be much less expensive if you rented a house with a group of people. a vast majority of volunteers will end up at schools (not the fault of CCS), but you're not really given any kind of direction for how to teach lessons or given any idea what the curriculum is for the different levels (or grades in the US). So its kind of frustrating if you have no teaching experience. volunteers are required to adhere to a curfew every night, unless you're staying away from home base (like for the weekend). I understand that CCS has our safety in mind, but as an adult, its a little condescending.
Overall, I absolutely do not regret going thru the CCS program, I had the most amazing time of my life. Just do your homework and compare as many other programs as you can. Remember to make the most of your experience, go with the flow, and have a wonderful time! And always be safe!!!