Maximo Nivel

I hope to give some details on my personal experience, and on things that I was looking for in a review before I did TEFL.

I only wish that I would have jumped into this opportunity & experience sooner than I did. I found out about TEFL about 3 years ago, and dreamed and planned...and dreamed & planned. The desire came back around a year ago as well, and for all of life's reasons it wasn't my time to go yet. THEN, November 2018 became official--I was on a plane to Costa Rica, had a homestay set-up in San Jose for my first night, where I woke up to find 3 lovely other students that would be on my journey with me. I would then travel off to Manuel Antonio to take my TEFL course with Maximo Nivel/COSI. Our instructor Audra was hands-down INCREDIBLE. She was not only very knowledgeable and educated but also extremely easy to learn from and get along with. I said it then, and I'll say it again, this course could have been real dang dry and boring, but not with the lovely, energetic, & hilarious prof. Audra in the room! Grammar & literally everything else was 'Fun, Fresh, & Frisky!' My 8 other cohorts and I effortlessly bonded with one-another and sometimes laughed 'till tears in class. This made it easy to retain the information we learned and it kept us engaged in the sometimes grueling 8 hour class days. I'm not going to lie, the course isn't for the faint of heart. It is solidly 150 hours of learning, 40 hour weeks of in-class work, time studying outside of class and a whole week of practical teaching that you will be so grateful for. IT IS SO WORTH THE WORK AND THE TIME. I've never been a big lover of school, but this is the most motivated and best effort that I have given to formal learning--it's the best kind. You will come out the other end alive, and more knowledgeable and experienced than when you went in. Audra doesn't let you go down without a fight (or you know, AT ALL).

I came to this course being shy, hating public speaking, not even sure if I wanted to teach, and not a clue with what I wanted to do with my life. I made it through, I made incredible friends, enjoyed my local Tico Family, loved the heck out of beautiful Costa Rica and I am so grateful that I had Audra and the entire Maximo team on my side, for support & encouragement throughout my month with them. It's very organized, goes like a breeze and there's always a staff member on the ground ready to help you & answer all of your questions.

If you're debating on this, and mulling over whether or not you should dive in and do it, my advice to you is JUST DO IT! And do it with the lovely Maxmio! Do it for me, but most importantly do it for yourself--chances are you won't regret it once you get past any fears you may have. And as they say....'You can do ANYTHING for 30 days!'

I volunteered through Maximo Nivel in Costa Rica for 5 months and it was the best choice I have ever made! I worked alongside nurses and doctors in a retirement home and learned so much! As a nursing student, I felt the medical project really helped me become eager to learn more about healthcare in poverty countries. The staff was beyond helpful and so compassionate, they always made sure I felt at home and never had any questions! Even my host family felt like real family by the end of my trip. My housing was beautiful as well, and I still keep in contact with the family! I highly recommend volunteering through Maximo Nivel, they are an outstanding organization. Even if you can only make time for a week, take the chance and do it anyways. It truly is life changing!

I had a great time here and definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to help out and have fun at the same time! There's so much to do and I wish I could stay longer! I did the holiday club and Casa Nazareth projects. The holiday club was great way to have a blast while helping the community, and I got to meet all kinds of awesome people. The Casa Nazareth project was so meaningful and I learned a lot in the field of healthcare. I took the Spanish lessons here and I think it really improved my language skills. Additionally, I loved my host family and had such a great time learning about them and practicing Spanish. If I had any advice to other participants, I would definitely tell them to plan to stay in Costa Rica for as long as possible! There's just too much to do in just one week, I'm sure people are bound to regret not staying longer; you can go on tours, ziplines, cruises, and so much more!

I was fortunate enough to take part in the Holiday Experience and the Childcare Program in San Jose. Coming here, I was super nervous about travelling alone to a country I was not familiar with and could barely speak the language. Thanks to Maximo I was never alone! I met some great friends on my very first day and saw so much of Costa Rica with them.

The Maximo Staff were so helpful in organising volunteer activites, activities outside of volunteering and were always willing to help in any way they could - whether it was recommendations or just a general chat. The Maximo facility was a cool place to hang out, eat and use WiFi.

The Childcare Project was so much fun! The kids are always so enthusiastic and willing to get to know you. We organised craft activites, soccer games and indoor sports. Even though there was a strong language barrier I still got to know them so well and enjoyed my time with them.

Costa Rica is a must do! Aside from volunteering there are so many weekend/ half day trips. There is always the opportunity to be doing something or going somewhere. I would definetly recommend.

I had the opportunity to become involved in Maximo Nivel's program here in Costa Rica for two weeks. I was intending on only doing the childcare program, but ended up being a part of the Holiday Program as well.

For the Holiday Program, Maximo worked with local daycare and nursing home facilities where volunteers, such as myself, were able to go and interact in various ways. On the first day of the Holiday Program, we were actually able to do a beautification project, in which we visited Ositos Daycare and helped clean up, paint, and improve the visual and overall quality of the playground, allowing kids to fully enjoy their time. Not only that but we were also able to return to the same daycare and entertain the kids as well. Some were able to teach them a little bit of English and/or draw and write with them. In complete honesty, there was a mutual learning experience. We taught the children a few English words, and they, in return, taught us a few Spanish words. The nursing home was just as enjoyable, and being in an environment where we were welcomed and loved despite our short time there really lifts spirits. The project manager there said it best: "You will leave here with your hearts filled with love."

The Childcare portion of my stay here was definitely an experience that I am happy to have had. Many facilities in Costa Rica have a ratio of 20 kids to 1 teacher, and being able to help those teachers was the least we could do. During this week, we assisted in playing with the kids, completing activities, watching over them during the times they were at the playground, and at times, feeding them. The kids always have love in their hearts, and if you take the step to return that same love to them, the experience will not only be worth it, but you'll wish that you can stay longer. :)))