Program Reviews

Morocco was so beautiful and different. Mohamed, the director of Morocco was there almost everyday. He really made everyone feel welcomed and safe. He tried to make sure that everyone had a great time. The staff was so warm and nice. I had a great volunteer site. I was at the children's hospital playing and doing crafts with the patients. The enclosed courtyard room we would use would be empty but the when me and the other CCS volunteer would come the children would leave there rooms and come. It was great seeing the smiles on their faces as well as their parents/grandparents. It was amazing how we communicated even with not having a common language. The parents would hug us and thank us when their children got to leave the hospital. Recommend going on a weekend trip to the Sahara but it will take up your whole weekend.

Thailand is wonderful. I love going with CCS because all the volunteers share a house. So there is always someone to go and explore the city or take a weekend trip with. The staff (especiialy Pimsutta the woman in charge) was so warm and friendly. i would recommend going out to eat to try different Thai then what is prepared at home base. The street vendor food is also very good. What I liked is that you saw the CCS staff everyday during the week. I also liked that they planned a mixed of cultural activities for us to enjoy and learn about Thailand.

It was my second to last day at my placement and was near the end of the month. Not a lot of families had money for medicine or to see a doctor, so I asked the doctors if we could walk around outside and see more of the ‘dump’. They said yes and took us outside on a walk further into the ‘dump’. I will never forget the smell, the sounds, or anything that I saw. It was then that I had a moment that has impacted me everyday since. A little girl stopped after passing us and turned around to us. She shouted out and then told us thank you for making me feel better. I had seen that little girl twice while I was in the clinics and gave her medication/treatment. She didn’t speak much while being there, but those words and moment have remained in my head. I realized that I really was helping and serving even with the smallest things. It reminded me why I have this passion and why I want to do this with my life.

Loved the experience and the culture of Costa Rica. It is a great place to go for anyone. The cross cultural solutions staff are very knowledgeable and if you dont know much spanish they have very helpful spanish professor come to the home base to teach everyone. The country is beautiful and it is a must see.The natives there are very friendly and make you feel like your at home and as if you are among family that you have known for years!

The program encompassed every aspect of a meaningful trip. From language immersion and giving back to cultural engagement, this experience had it all. The program staff were excellent and made the transition very easy. I would definitely do another trip if given the opportunity. My volunteer site was great: I still keep in touch with the nurses that I worked alongside. My life is forever changed by having this experience.

Very fun! The only problem I would say is that it's all daycare work which can feel kind of limiting because you have less impact than you'd like to. However if you love little kids they are of course amazing and sweet, and you do get the chance to a) give the teachers a bit of a break and b) let the children be more creative than they are usually given the opportunity to be.

Aside from the volunteer placement the home base is great, the staff are all amazing and Bela Singh the program director is super helpful and very open to questions about the culture, program, and her personal life.

I highly recommend Cross Cultural Solutions for beginning – AND - experienced travelers.

Beginning travelers – are helped, advised and taught how to travel safely, how to love and appreciate differences and how to gain self reliance in the wonderful world of travel. Being met at the airport, driven to daily volunteering, taken on field trips, and served wonderful food give the volunteers a safe learning environment. Living and working together with new friends provides lifelong memories.

Both groups learn language skills, local customs, and knowledge about preparing and eating new foods – and both groups grow and expand new friendships, and life experiences. Teaching, helping and learning with local people give feelings of accomplishment and self satisfaction.

Experienced travelers - are allowed much more freedom. They may choose to travel alone on weekends, do extended solo trips before and after their volunteer experience and design their travel (solo or small groups) to expand special interests and skills. The staff usually makes helpful recommendations, useful suggestions and necessary information about “in country” dangers. There is usually a “blog” book of good and bad experiences of former travelers.

I went to Lima, Peru with my community college who partners with Cross Cultural Solutions and it was a life changing experience. We met a lot of different people from families to individual people who were there by themselves. This was my first experience abroad and I want to keep traveling. I chose to do the study abroad trip with my community college to do something for myself and see how other people in the world. I think seeing other parts of the world helps you see the world with better eyes because you realize that not everyone is equal with work or there environment.
The staff was wonderful. For me the language barrier was probably the hardest thing to work with but it was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I discovered that I actually understood more Spanish then I realized I did. Everyone who works with Cross Cultural Solutions does a wonderful job at explaining all of the different programs and matching people to the different volunteer sites that are available.
The coast off of Lima is breath taking and I think that everyone should see it at some point in their life time. The architecture is beautiful and it amazes me how old architecture was built so beautifully and structurally safe.
I think that my favorite part of going to Peru with Cross Cultural Solutions is that I felt safe no matter where we went, wither it was with a couple of people or a bigger group of people.

My fiance and I would go back to volunteer w/CCS in a heartbeat! This was my first time traveling abroad and the CCS staff was extremely helpful and supportive. We were in Peru for 2 weeks and we were able to experience so many beautiful locations and meet amazing people. I loved the Home Base and the Director. It was awesome to feel at home, even in a country I had never been to and didn't speak the language.

I went to Morocco in May of this year. I must say that if there is anything one must do is visit Morocco. May is a beautiful time of year, to be able to go out and interact with people and take in its mystical air. A wonderful experience. It is sad to see the poverty, one can only do what they can. I had the ability to be with children at a hospital. A part of you will stay there in Morocco. What will leave with one is perhaps a few pounds from the delicious food they have. ;)