Projects Abroad

I spent 4 weeks in Hanoi through Projects Abroad's medical internship program. I chose Vietnam because I have family just outside of Hanoi, so I never even considered any other destinations. My time overseas was truly an extraordinary, life-changing opportunity, all thanks to the incredible surgeons of bệnh viện nhi as well as the spectacular Projects Abroad staff.

Primarily, I simply spent my days observing surgeries. However, in the last few days of my internship, I was presented with the amazing opportunity to close after a laparoscopic surgery. On my last day (which was also my birthday) I was granted the unforgettable chance to close a neurosurgery, which was the most exhilarating and fulfilling experience of my life. I am so unbelievably grateful to the wonderful surgeons at BVN for the many learning opportunities that they provided for me.

The Projects Abroad staff truly went above and beyond to ensure that my trip was as fantastic as possible. I truly felt that they valued me as a person rather than viewing me as just another volunteer that they had to talk to because it was their job. In fact, I really felt like the staff were my friends, and genuinely enjoyed my company. Without their sincere concern and care, I wouldn’t have felt so safe and secure. During the majority of my stay, there were only about 2 or 3 other volunteers in the house with me, which meant everybody got their own room. I felt like the smaller amount of people allowed us to get closer with each other and develop stronger bonds. In fact, we still talk most days in our group chat, even though we’ve all gone our own separate ways now. The relationships and bonds that I formed in the house are just one more of the abundant takeaways that I will cherish forever.

This was an amazing experience!! Nepal was such an influential country to visit and opened so many opportunities for me to continue travelling all thanks to Projects Abroad. It was very easy to connect with in country staff members to have my questions answered and help
me with any needs I may have. My first day there, my supervisor showed me around Thamel and where the ATMs, grocery stores, health center and shops are.

My host family was amazing. They always made sure I had enough food and safe drinking water. They showed me the way to my placement and the local stores to get snacks and cash. They were incredibly nice and the house was very clean and not far from the school. The other volunteers are people whom I will never forget. My fellow volunteers made my trip so much fun.

My placement was amazing. The kids were so eager to learn and excited to see me every day. I taught them everything from Math to English to Geography and Dancing!! It was such a beautiful school and the staff was so helpful with communication between the students and I.

Nepal was an amazing experience that I would do all over again if I could!!

When I volunteered with Projects Abroad, I was a junior and biochemistry major at Northeastern University. I traveled to San Cristobal island, in the Galapagos, from Boston, Massachusetts during my summer break in May-June of 2018. One thing I would recommend, if traveling from the east coast, is to book a hotel room in Quito at the Wyndham near the airport. Typically, you arrive at the airport at around midnight, and the Galapagos flight does not leave until 9 or 10am; by booking a hotel room, we got a few hours of good sleep that worked wonders the next day. I volunteered with the ESL program, joining other volunteers to teach English at a rural location. When you arrive at the Galapagos, you are greeted by an open-air airport security center and a beautiful view. This is a far cry from dreary Logan airport in Boston! William Puga, the coordinator from San Cristobal, greeted me and my traveling partner Lindsay; from there, we took a pickup truck taxi ride (get used to these!) to our volunteer camp.
The volunteer camp is a beautiful, well-maintained row of dormitories about a 15 minute ride from the main town on the ocean. There are free bananas hanging from vines, comfy hammocks, and a clean common area where all the volunteers hang-out and get to know each other. We were taken care of by our host family, a couple in their twenties with a beautiful baby girl. My host family was nothing but professional and friendly. The rooms were kept clean, the meals were plentiful and nutritious, and I got a real taste of San Cristobal by living with them. The host “mom”, Abi, even did our laundry with a one dollar deposit per load! Speaking of food, they were also able to accommodate my traveling partners unique dietary restrictions, something that really left a positive impact on our experience.
As aforementioned, my traveling partner and I worked teaching English at a rural school in Northern San Cristobal, about a five minute walk from our placement. This was an incredible experience; we taught 7, 40 minute classes per day, from 7:15 to 12:30. If we had to form a lesson plan or do research, we would typically stay from 12:45 to 3pm at the volunteer office in town until our job was done. The teachers were very accommodating of our impromptu class scheduling and seemed excited about their students learning English; with so much of San Cristobal’s jobs being related to tourism, it makes future employees very marketable if they know even a little English. We formed our own lesson plans based on given material, and taught each age level at a different pace. I am happy to say that we finished the majority of what we had set out to teach by the end of our placement, namely high-yield vocabulary and verbs. Forming relationships with the kids and watching their English knowledge progress made getting up early really easy. All of the inside jokes and play-time during “Recreo” (recess) made teaching the kids a lot more fun and engaging. When the kids had a week of school off during our last week of placement, our coordinator, arranged for us to work in the tutoring center in the center of town. Here, we worked with three age groups and two other volunteers. It was very interesting to see how Lindsay and I viewed teaching English compared to the other volunteers, as we had been designing lesson plans independent of one another; the majority of the teaching was very similar and flowed cohesively with me and Lindsay’s knowledge.

Volunteering with Projects Abroad in Nepal was absolutely incredible! It was an amazing experience. When I first got to the airport in Kathmandu, I was picked up by a taxi organized by Projects Abroad and went straight to Prince Hotel in Thamel. I had my orientation there. During my time in Nepal, I did three projects. I did the Teaching Project, Himalayan Conservation Project, and Building Project. Each one gave me new and exited experiences and unforgettable memories. The staff was friendly and welcoming and they were always there if you needed anything. All three projects were organized, and I always felt safe.

Hi my name is Sara Stewart. I am an early/childhood education major at SUNY Cortland. This past winter I went to San Cristobal in the Galapagos islands in Ecuador.
My project that I had was teaching children in Ecuador English. I taught four classes every weekday and I planned lessons in the morning for a hour. All of the classes I taught were very different from each other. The first class I taught was a beginners class. This ranged from students who were typically five to six years old who barley knew any English. The next class I taught was advanced. This class consisted mainly of seven to eight year olds. The advanced class has mediocre English skills and the aspect that these students struggled with most was grammar. The third class I taught was level five. Level five consisted of eight to ten year olds. These students spoke some clear statements, but these students as well struggled with grammar. The last class I taught was a conversation class. This was the most advanced class I taught. This class consisted of twelve to fourteen year olds. These students when I were there had a one on one helper and I was one of the students helper. The whole time you would talk in English and ask the students any questions that cam dot your mind. This program had many supplies that you can use in your classroom and were willing to add anything you thought would be beneficial to the classroom.
The staff support was amazing. They provided me with transportation the minute I got off the flight. They introduced me to mu host family right when I got there. Later on in the first day they showed me where I would be working. They explained to me what was expected of me. Then they walked me around to show me where some cool places were. The first day of volunteering they picked me up and made sure I learned the walk to the work place. They also help me meet other volunteers. They also helped me to get adjusted to teaching ESL learners. They provided me with the resources I needed to teach the children. They even let me work on the conversation for a morning to see the turtles.
There are many activities to do on the Galapagos. I wish I had more time because there was so much I wanted to do! One thing I would recommend when being on San Cristobal is doing the 360 tour. During this tour you are on about ride. The boat ride takes you to many beaches that you couldn’t get to other than by boat. It then it takes you to other amazing snoring sites, such as my favorite kicker rock! When Snorkeling in kicker rock I saw hammerhead sharks and a few Galapagos sharks. I also saw sea turtles and many exotic fish it was a great experience! This tour was very affordable and I would highly recommend it. San Cristobal has another beautiful site, which is the volcano. The volcano doesn’t have may tourists that come to visit, but it is one of the most beautiful sites on the island. On the island there are tons of beaches, there are tons of beautiful hikes and tons of water activities that are worth checking out. The wild life is also amazing! The turtles park is a must see., They have a conversation for the turtles. You can see really tiny ones up to ones that are huge and are older
than one hundred years old. San Cristobal is an amazing place. Anyone who has the opportunity to go I would highly recommend it. I would also suggest going to the other two islands, that is the one aspect that I regret not doing most!