ISV (International Student Volunteers) Reviews

I had an amazing time on my trip to New Zealand. I helped plant trees on a wildlife reserve. The planting trees and fixing fences was hard work but I had a great team. I really enjoyed getting to know my team we spent a lot of time together and became close friends. On the second half of the trip we travelled everywhere. I went zorbing and did a horse riding tour of The Lord of the rings set. New Zealand has great extreme sports like bungee jumping and sky diving

I was nervous before going on this trip, I would be in a new country for a month with people I've never met before. But as soon as I arrived I realized I had nothing to be worried about. It was an amazing experience. I was able to learn how other people live and try to make a little bit of a difference before I left. While I loved working with the kids, I felt I was really helping out when I was assisting with the building of the school. I realized the work I was doing would be there for years to come and we saw such a huge change in our two weeks there. The construction workers that we were led by were so hardworking and supportive.

The adventure portion of the trip was unreal. South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland are such beautiful countries! I would recommend staying awake for the long bus rides and looking out the window so that you can see how the beauty along the way. There were so many activities to do, things I would have never imagined I'd try. Our group became so close. My only wish is that I would have been able to stay there longer!

Signing myself up for a volunteer trip across the world was the scariest thing I had ever done in my life. But it was completely worth it. The 2 weeks of volunteer completely changed my life. The wildlife sanctuary I worked with were the kindest group of people who truly cared about the work they do with the animals and environment. Their passion was so evident to us students and they treated us with the same kindness and care. The work could sometimes be hard but the people you surrounded yourself with made it enjoyable. Our group leader specifically, did not impress me as much. He was kind, knowledgeable, and passionate about his volunteer work but he could get wrapped up in being social with some girls in the group. Afterwords, the 2 weeks of adventure and holiday were amazing but strange. Our activities were the time of my life. I cannot emphasize how amazing it was to go zip lining, white water rafting, bathe elephants, cook thai food and wander around Buddhist temples. It made everyday of the year that I worked to save for this trip worth it. The only issues I had with the program were the costs and where our money went to. The program cost itself was expensive and I realized most of the expenses were for the 2 weeks of holidays at the end. The hotels and villas we stayed in were beautiful, but some nights we were literally arriving to go to bed and leave early the next day for the next destination or activity. Then we would come back late, go to bed and pack up the next day. There was no time to fully enjoy the evening at the beautiful wooden cabins we were brought to. As we were boarding our flight to go to the islands for the last week of our ISV trip, we found out the program had forgotten to book our tour leader her own plane ticket. She gave us instructions where to go should we have to fly without her, but luckily she was able to buy herself a spot on the plane. This should have never been an issue and it gave us unnecessary worry.

All in all the 4 weeks of Thailand flew by so quickly and I would never trade this experience for anything. Despite going back to school with hardly any money in my bank account, I would recommend this program to anyone who loves to travel, loves adventure, and loves meeting new people and new experiences.

The best part of my trip was experiencing a new way to live. Living at Austrop with solar power and out door pluming was new to me. I love the friends I made and being able to hold a fruit bat! My experience has led me to volunteer for an environmental conservation organization back home!

Doing a volunteer project with ISV was truly life-changing. While I wasn't sure where I wanted to go at first, I'm so happy I was assigned to work on human development projects in the mountains of the Dominican Republic. Having daily interactions with people who have so little and yet are still happy was incredible. Seeing the children in the Domincan have as much, or more, enjoyment from day-to-day things than people I encounter at home was truly eye-opening; despite not having the luxury of buying toys and gadgets, I rarely heard kids complaining.

Upon returning home I really started to consider how fortunate I am and how important it is to put things into perspective. I hope the families we met during the assignment will remember the experience as fondly as I do.

Spent two weeks in DR. My group ran a 2 week summer program for the kids with different activities each day. Was such a pleasure to work and play with the children. Also spent a good portion of our time building a kindergarten school and making floors for the houses of some of the locals. Lovely people and great food and company. Love the different dances and the spirit of the country

I traveled with ISV to Thailand during the summer of 2011 with 11 other college-age students from around the country. This was the first time I had been involved with a group outside of my community or school, and I would say it was definitely worth it.

I met other ISV participants at the LAX airport where we all wore our distinct t-shirts and waited in anticipation for the long flight ahead. As each group split into smaller flights, I got to know individual participants that I would be spending the next two weeks with. Three guys and nine girls from places like California, Washington, Texas, and Canada. We met our group leader at the Bangkok airport, and she immediately welcomed us and helped is feel comfortable. This would be a fun group.

We stayed at the Makhampom Theater Foundation in Chiang Dao. This organization partners with local schools to provide workshops and activities using books, puppetry, music, and theater. As a group, we got to prepare a day's worth of material to teach kids English, perform a skit about conserving the environment, and use recycled materials to create puppets and toys. We went to three different elementary schools, and my favorite part was the excited welcome we received from each of the young students. Although we couldn't communicate well through words, we chased each other across the playground, played hand games, and gave each other hugs and warm goodbyes at the end of the day. The kids loved having us there, and I learned so much from their instant love and desire to learn.

When we weren't teaching at a school, we spent our days biking to various sites. We rode past rice fields to temples, caves, hot springs, and a river where we went bamboo rafting. This trip was not without its adventures. We spent a day in Bangkok exploring the market and buying gifts for friends and family back home.

One of the best parts of traveling to a foreign country is the food. Every meal was rice based, and the dishes included a delicious variety of vegetables, meats, and spices. Breakfast always included yummy sweet foods such as dragon fruit, purple rice wrapped in a banana leaf, and pineapple. It was hard to return home without the native Thai fruits.

Yes, this trip was worth it. It was only two weeks long, but it stuck with me for life. I discovered lots about myself. I associated with people with many different beliefs and backgrounds, and we all accepted each other completely. I would recommend a volunteer trip to anyone, because you will get an important glimpse of a world beyond your own.

My group spent a week planting seeds and working with the community. The next week was spent in and Elephant Nature Park which was amazing. Overall, the people were all lovely and I never saw anyone without a smile. The scenery and nightlife were gorgeous and I loved trying out the different foods. My absolute favourite is the mango sticky rice and Thai Ice Tea. What I wouldn't give to have those right now. The remaining 2 weeks were spent in an adventure tour. We went zip-lining,kayaking,snorkelling,hiking,white-water rafting and others. The program was very thorough in taking good care of us and I got to meet some amazing people.Would definitely do it again if I had the chance

Signing up for ISV was a spur of the moment decision, and it was one of the greatest decisions I ever made. One month in Australia really opened my eyes and made me realize the true value of travel. I experienced more things in the four weeks that I was there than I ever did before. Meeting new friends from all over the world, trying new things, and seeing the best of what the country has to offer - it just doesn't get any better than that. If I could do it all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat. The volunteering alone was an amazing and enlightening experience, but Sea kayaking while sperm whales and dolphins swam beneath us; snorkelling with parrot fish and sea turtles; bungee jumping not once, but twice from the highest bungee tower in the country... I could go on and on. The fun was just non-stop the entire trip. If you ever have the opportunity to do this, DO NOT HESITATE! It will change your life!

I really enjoyed my experience with ISV in 2007. We spent two weeks doing conservation work (trail building, planting of native vegetation, removal of invasive plant species, etc.) in the Kangaroo Valley/Canberra areas of Australia, then spent two weeks playing tourist, all the way from Cairns back down to Sidney! The conservation work was meaningful and appreciated by the locals, and it was amazing to see the impact we could make over the course of just a few days. The highlights of the travel portion of the trip were playing with wombats at a wildlife sanctuary, scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef (where we saw blacktip reef sharks, sea turtles, giant clams, and so much more!), ocean rafting the Pacific Ocean, getting a glimpse of the aboriginal culture at a local historical park, rappelling in the Blue Mountains, white water rafting, looking for dingoes on Frasier Island, a dinner cruise of the Sidney harbor, and the freedom of having several unplanned days in between to choose our own adventures, like climbing to Point Byron (Australia's most easterly point) and watching the whales and dolphins down below. I made some great friends along the way, many of which I still keep in touch with to this day. If you are looking for a way to make a difference, meet new people, and quench your thirst for adventure, I would highly recommend ISV!