Program Reviews

In Havana the day started with a lovely breakfast followed by a Spanish class. The afternoons were for the walking tours which were fun and allowed us to get to know the city a bit. Evenings were for madness- dancing and driving along the Malecon with reggaeton blasting in the background! It was my Cuba highlight! :)
I very much appreciated the flexibility within the program which allowed me to change my schedule and join my friends in Playa Giron for the voluntary work and diving.
I honestly can't think of any difficulties. I felt safe and well looked after. Besides, whatever might have been a difficulty to some was simply a challenge to me! :) I guess Cuba simply suits my character :)

I came to Venezuela with no knowledge of the country or the Spanish language. I leave with a smile on my face with new experience and a brand new language to learn even more about this amazing culture.

In this trip we travelled around the whole country, into woodlands and high mountains, carried our stuff in backpacks, slept in tents and hammocks under clear night sky and under roofs with the rain in our ears, drove around in the Green truck, jumped off cliffs and swam in the ocean, ate great food and drank a lot of beers and Cuba libres. Not saying this trip was easy, but I definitely learnt a lot about myself and how to stay in a group, how to stand by my opinion and enjoying the moment. Made friends for life and experience useful for whatever I will do in the future.

Couple of things:

Make sure you bring enough cash for everything (US Dollars), the staff in the office knows how much you will need. There are some additional trips (Angel falls and the trip to Isla Margarita is a must do), money transfer to here is not much fun. Dont expect to take money out of the cashier while staying in Venezuela because of poor exchange rate.

Bring A LOT of mosquito repellent, all vitamins and medicines you usually use, painkillers and everything you consider a regular thing in your home country. These days you can't find certain things in stores (medicine, mosquito repellent, and even simple things as milk and diapers..... The list is long)

Remember to bring a waterproof bag for all your electronics! And a good cover for your phone or camera for use while on the mountains or in the sea! And headphones.

Make sure you taste coco frío on the beach. They are amazing.

2013 I stayed 8 weeks in Venezuela with Jakera, which was a great experience!! What I liked most, was that the Jakera team was very flexibel and always tried to make everyone happy! I think Playa colorada was the best place to get to know the country and the spanish language. I enjoyed the wonderful beaches over there and met a lot of lovely people from all over the world!!!!
Later I went to Merida, where I could continue my language studies more intensely and also made experiences in travelling in other parts of the country by myself.

Thank you for everything!!!! best wishes from Germany

I really enjoyed the travelling classroom experience in Venezuela and I would recommend it to anyone! The staff were all so friendly and I felt settled very quickly. I particularly liked the kayaking trips and thought it was a great way to see the surroundings. The Spanish classes were also brilliant thanks to our amazing Spanish teacher. My favourite lessons had to be when we had them at the beach. It was a great way to learn another language and nothing like school!
All in all it was an amazing 3 months and I would love to return one day!

Over all it was a really good experience! I had a great time and definitelz enjoyed the 12 Week TC Programm. Just some points that might have to emprove.

- It would be really nice to have a better list what to bring. Mabye it is possible to send that to the organisation in Switzerland (Linguista)

- It would be also good to inform the people better about what is included and what not. (for example that you have to pay the taxi when you dont leave at the same day the programm ends or pay to wash your cloths)

- It would be good to say in advanced that paypal is almost the only way to get money so people can open an account

- It would be nice to know that there is no internet the first 2 months (its is not a problem for the people but for the families back home because they expect that you write an e-mail when you arrived. If they know that there is no internet they dont wait and are not worried)

- The organisation was most of the time really good! Mabye its possible that you inform the people better about the fligth options (for example Liliana booked a flight for me from Barcelona to Caracas and then Mercedes had to change it for me because I fly from El Vigia to Caracas of corse because I'm in Merida)

1 week was very short but I experienced more than I can express in words. I didn't waste any moment of my full week. The house I was staying was comfortable. Host Mama Amarylis and Leonel always made sure my safety & comfort with big warming hearts. I totally felt like I was at home..
I took 1 week of Spanish class and yet it was short but my teacher, Pablo tried to teach me along with my Spanish skills..
Joel for a cultural/activity guide was amazing!!
he speaks little English but it worked out pretty good for me to practice my Spanish. He was very kind with full knowledge of Cuban.

For anyone that likes history, politics and architecture, this is the program for them! The museums and guides were very interesting. Learning about the how the cuban government and people viewed what happened during the revolution, after it and international relations with america is of partiicular interest as it differs completely with what most western schools teach.
The nightlife in old Habana is incredible and Jakera is situated in definitely the right place to take advantage of it. We were also fortunate to go to see the real 'buena vista social club' in hotel nacional which was the best experience of the whle trip. This should definitely be considered as an excursion as part of the program (if possible).
Information about money could be improved as I was not allowed in the casa de cambio or the atm's to use my British Current account card and found it difficult to take money out on my Post office travel money plus card. The latter is because they will not accept any card that is linked to American banks. However the breifing before we went out for the first time was sufficient to be safe and intelligent about what restaurants we went in to save money.

The housing accommodations were very comfortable, and my host family took care if me very well. I felt safe and comfortable, and the food was excellent. Highly recommended!

Our guide Yoel was truly the best. He took us all over the place, spent a great deal of time with us, and has a great disposition. He's really fun, and I came to see him as a friend. He knows everything you could want to know about life in Cuba, and he knows how to do things cheaply. Make sure you give him a good tip!!

The whole experience was great to learn how the situation is and how people live in Cuba. Spanish lessons in the morning, visits to museums, significant buildings or some neighbourhoods 3 times a week and Salsa lessons with private teacher 2 times a week in the afternoon was how our days looked like in Havana. Music from the early morning to late evenings, very hot and humid climate, lots of mojito coctails and visits to bars and restaurants with live music and bands playing and dancing filled our days. People were the best part there- very friendly and good-natured, and there was not even one moment that I didn't feel safe. In the weekends we had time to visit beaches a bit outside of the city, but really worth a visit because of the huge sandy coast and warm sea, even if it was only May. We even made a trip to the mountains, which was completely different from loud and crowded city of Havana. I really recommed it because it's a true Cuban experience, with almost no tourists, natives are more serene and the nature pristine. The only bad thing is that the time flew to fast..

Great dance lessons. Music everywhere surrounded by great architecture! Dancing salsa at hotel Florida, watching members of Burma vista social club, cycling through Cuba and exploring Havana were all highlights!