ISV (International Student Volunteers) Reviews

When I arrived at the Dominican, I thought I had got myself into trouble. Our group leader was no where to be found and the terminal starting clearing out from people. I luckily found a woman who spoke English and I was able to call the leader. He was held up in some traffic. He rolled up in flip flops and a moped. After slight panic I couldn't help but laugh. The rest of my experience was remarkable. I expected to be very tense and scared working in a local village that seemed third world, but the locals proved me very wrong. The most beautiful night in La Mina was when we had gotten to know some of the local families from repairing the school and side walks, and one of the fathers invited us all to his home for dinner. We showed up and they were all playing hand made instruments, playing dominos under tiny strung lights across the patio. The father brought out platers of spaghetti, bread, and squash and juices for us to feast on. He was so greatful to have us in his home. The locals became like family. The worked with us, ate with us, and showed us all around their land. If it weren't for the locals the trip would have been pointless. I loved that we as volunteers got to come up with the projects plans all on our own. I was a little surprised there wasn't any specific project laid out for us to follow, so that did leave some frustration for us volunteers to have to really brainstorm, which lead to conflicting ideas, but over all it was good for us to have a raw experience and I ended up liking that the work and plans was all up to us. It was much more rewarding. If I could just travel and volunteer the rest of my life I would. The challenges and the love shared between the volunteers and new cultures is untouchable to anything I have experienced in life.

South Africa was an unforgettable experience for me because I did so many things I thought I would never get to do, such as pet cheetahs, go spelunking, explore caves and interact with animals in such a close atmosphere. I think South Africa is one of the most culturally diverse places on this planet and going there opened up a whole new perspective in my life that i will always cherish. I would recommend any ISV trips to anyone who wants to adventure in a safe,learning, and fun environment.

Volunteering in the Golfo Dulce with dolphins and poison dart frogs was such an incredible experience. We spent time canvasing the forest looking for poison dart frogs. We spent time in the Golf monitoring the foraging habits of different dolphin species. There was on day where we came upon a pod of hundreds of Spinner dolphins. It was unexplained and incredible!! I learned so much and had the time of my life.

The adventure tour was so much fun, we ziplined through tree tops and went white water rafting. It was so much fun!!!

It was a life changing experience and I hope to have the opportunity to volunteer my efforts with this organization again.

Traveling to Costa Rica with international student volunteers was the most educational and exciting traveling experience of my life. I have studied abroad in Spain for one year and Costa Rica was my preferred country to visit due to my experience with international student volunteers. What made this program stand put from the rest was the chance to fully immerse in the program and have the opportunity for exploration and travel. Living with my Costa Rican family and doing the most intense labor or my life but also taught me how fortunate I am to be from American. I took for granite the amenities that the country offers. On the other hand I learned what amazing outdoor, adventurous activities to participate in such as white water rafting, natural water slides, zip lining, and exploring the rainforest. I fell in love with the culture the lifestyle and due to the experience provided I was able to see both the tourist view and local experience. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a safe, well-rounded travel experience.

I am glad I had chosen to do this program, even though it was many years ago, since July 2008. But looking back at the entire experience, even many moons later, I am glad I still keep in touch with these friends, friends that even come to visit me, or friends that I keep in touch with Facebook still. IT'S a reminder how small our globe is, and that we all share this beautiful planet. Doing the volunteering work and getting our hands dirty, allows for our own self-development for projects that I am still proud about. That balanced with a ton of fun such as bungee jumping, wine-tasting, horseback riding LOTR trails, ziplining the worm caves in Watomoa Black River rafting, and Zorbing! That was just half of the stuff I did. But making the connections, talking about my experiece, I excite fellow travelers and fellow dreamers that this is made possible by such programs, with a non-profit status. I had a lot of doctors, nurses and engineers helping me out then. It wouldn't have been made possible without a community for these opportunities to materialize. But if you put your mind to it, anything can come true. I'm glad I was able to volunteer. I've heard other programs that were just party buses destroyed ambassordorships and trashed the environment. I am glad I was not part of that business. I am glad I was supporting and participating in programs that was sustainable, eco-friendly and community building. There was so much cultural exchange between my group and the Maori at the morae, I am proud to say. We all learned so much!

Dagse! To those of you unfamiliar, this is Afrikaans, a language I was able to learn during my time in South Africa. As I stood in the JFK Airport, I was incredibly nervous. However, the other volunteers were very friendly, I still chat with most to this day, and the volunteer project had profound implications.

I had wanted to travel to Africa to experience the diverse culture, and also experience one of the world's last strongholds for wildlife. Although I was able to work on a reserve (Mesebe game reserve in the Limpopo region) and photograph some of the most beautiful animals on Earth, I was impacted even more so through the humanitarian efforts. Twice, I travelled to the village school to assist teaching. Working with adults and grade-school children really gave me a chance to impact lives and have my own impacted as well. The kids always had the biggest smiles oddly enough, were captivated by the exotic culture I represented! The short time spent with these children was enough to promise myself a return, to see their faces once again. The village where I stayed (Telekishi) was just outside a smaller town, and I would frequently discover children lingering around, waiting for the volunteers to offer a game of soccer. Sweetest kids ever. At the end of the trip, these kids drew me illustrations in my notebook, and I gave them my bracelets.

The time spent with the schoolchildren, and the kids near Telekishi, has determined my joining Peace Corps. Spending time with these kids, sharing stories from America, and listening to their stories of Africa, or their favorite animals, has influenced and drawn a career path. I am currently enrolled in a TESOL (teaching english to students of other languages) program in hopes of returning to the Limpopo region with the Peace Corps. I cannot imagine my life without seeing everyone I met in South Africa once again.
Of course, the two weeks I spent traveling were remarkable, and I created memories that even now, while writing this review, I am able to relive. If you have a passion for wildlife, these two weeks will seem like reverie. I recall spending HOURS admiring a leopardess. I sat in silence perfectly content, stunned by such beauty!

From spending time teaching in schools and playing soccer with kids, to humbly observing African wildlife, this experience has provided me with unforgettable memories and an unquenchable thirst for traveling!

In one day of the ISV trip, we slept on the bus all night to arrive at a fabulous beach, where we went ocean rafting over crystal clear water, snorkeled with colorful fish, and ended the day with a pub crawl. Each ISV trip fits in more amazing experiences than a typical year. It's been 4 years, and I still tell many stories- they are some of my best experiences. I learned how to conduct myself in a different country, how to identify invasive plant species, how to slow down and appreciate the world, and how to make friends with just about anybody, and how to live life to the fullest. I held a kangaroo, pet a wombat, hiked, scuba dived, rappelled, and rafted. It was the most amazing adventure.

I had an amazing time throughout the whole trip. We planted trees in the rainforest, caught some cane toads and helped take care of some flying foxes. And it was all a five minute walk to a secluded beach. I met amazing people that I still talk to and visit today. We had a chance to help a beached dugong. Mostly all we could do was keep it cool until some locals came by with a tractor to move him to the ocean. I like to think he was greatful for our help. He rolled to his side and offered me a fin to shake for the help. Our guide Barry Kentish was awesome. Couldn't have asked for a better one. Next came the adventure tour and I did so many things I never have before. Skydiving, rappelling and white water rafting. We got to throw boomerangs and spears, feed kangaroos and went to the Whitsunday Islands. Amazing trip that I would love to do again and would recommend to everyone.

This program consisted of a week at ENP (elephant nature park) where the highlights included feeding and bathing the elephants. The second week was spent with a hill tribe where we built a squat toilet and "taught" English to school kids, highlight was definitely playing with the kids. The last two weeks were spent travelling with the group. I would really recommend this program especially to new travellers as it is stress free and everything is scheduled and arranged for you.

The Thailand trip was a culture shock in the best way. We got to see through real life experiences how villagers live and got to experience wild elephant sanctuary and learn how life is for the elephants. Even though the stories of the elephants were heartbreaking, it was such a relief to see then flourishing. The first week without electricity was interesting. I really got to see how much we rely on electricity and all of our electronics. We had to work out in the hot sun and cook our own meals but even with all of that, we all got really close so that was nice. We bonded over playing cards, taking breaks in the shade, and eating around our giant rectangular table.The second week with the elephants was very cool. Hearing the stories of the elephants and seeing how far they have come was amazing. My heart still breaks a little when I look back at some photo and when I hear people talking about riding elephants because I know how bad that is for them and have see what it does to the elephants. The last two weeks were amazing. We traveled all over the place doing a bunch of activities. My favorite was going to the markets in Chiang Mia. There was so much going on and so much to see you never got all the way through it. My only big difficulty with the trip was the fact that people could not get over being on their phones. You are in a beautiful country, so put down your phone and enjoy what is in front of you. That would be my advice. Put down the phone and look what is happening around. Yes I missed my family and friends but I was only in Thailand for 4 weeks. My family and friend will their when I get back, so why not enjoy it.