Program Reviews

I have traveled many times before, but it has always been with family. Never have I traveled by myself before, nor this distance. I absolutely loved it. Working on the project in Australia is, by far, the best thing I have ever experienced. During the time on project, I lived in an apartment with several other girls and we were within 20 minute walking distance to the Sanctuary. The town was small and cozy. Everyone we met was so friendly and laid back. While on project I worked hard, learned a lot, made many great friends, and enjoyed every minute of it. After the time for project was over some of us stayed longer with the ISV program and went on the adventure tour. It is truly an adventure! I made even more new friends, saw breath taking landscapes and wildlife, and learned more about the culture. Our tour leader was the best and said if we ever came back we always had a place to stay. At the end of the trip I felt accomplished and grew in many ways as a person.

My experience with ISV in the Dominican Republic was one like I've never had. This trip was my first time out of the country and ISV made me feel very comfortable and safe. My two weeks as a volunteer at the summer camp was life changing. I was challenged in ways I never thought possible and it is such an amazing feeling looking back on what our group accomplished. I was completely immersed into the Dominican culture and fell in love with the country.

I’ve heard about several countries that got under my skin but the one I’ll always call home, where the heart is, is South Africa. Since I was a little girl, when people would ask me “Where would you like to travel to and visit?” I would always respond, “Africa of course!” I would get good and bad reactions in regards of my response; they would obviously expect either France, Spain, or maybe Hawaii. Traveling to Africa has truly been a dream of mine and with the amazing help and guidance of ISV, my dream came true! I know that as a women I’m being subjective but then again, I’ve seen the aspects that visitors to the country don’t usually see and I still love the place, bugs and all. There is much to love about the land at the southern tip of Africa but for me its biggest strength is its environment. With ISV, we were able to support the conservation research activities with WTSA and WEI by helping restore a reserve to its formal nature state. As a volunteer, we had the chance to get hands on experiences with endangered species and help contribute on the conservation research on the reserve. ISV also gives you the option of an “Adventure Tour” where you get the chance to be a tourists! During the 2 weeks of the adventure, I had the chance to do visit other countries like Swaziland and Mozambique and had the chance to do so many activities. For example, we did elephant encounters, caving, cliff jumping, game drives, scuba diving and more! This foreign experience of travelling to experience different cultures, lifestyles and to help make an impact in this planet wouldn’t be possible without the help of ISV. I am so thankful and blessed that I had this opportunity to help make an impact to our world. This is just the beginning of my journey with ISV and I hope to return soon to make a bigger difference! Meanwhile, I’ll keep carrying my beloved country, South Africa, in my heart and in my veins, no matter where I go.

During the second half of the 4 week trip, we had the opportunity to cliff jump, or kloofing, in South Africa. The last jump was from 30+ feet and I didn't want to do it. If it wasn't for the support of the group with me, most of which I had just met a couple days earlier, I would have never jumped off that cliff. Not only can I say that I did, I ended up making amazing friendships with what is now my ISV family.

Last summer I spent 5 weeks in the Dominican Republic with ISV and it was by far the best 5 weeks of my life! I wish I could find the words to express the ways in which this trip has changed me but I guess that’s up to you to experience for yourself. I tell everyone that I think this trip was the best way to travel the island in 5 weeks. You get to experience almost every side of life. The first week you stay with a wonderful host family which allows you to get a glimpse into the everyday life of what I would consider your average middle-class family in the Dominican Republic. Then the next two weeks doing volunteer work you get a glimpse of the more poverty stricken areas and the places and ways these people live which makes you truly appreciate the things we take for granted on a day-to-day basis. Some of the volunteer work we did included interacting with the children in the community, creating cement floors in houses that previously had dirt floors, building several latrines and a community center. The volunteer work itself was so rewarding! The work was definitely physical; I was sore after the first day of shoveling but I also found my passion for cement mixing. Then during the adventure tour you push yourself past your comfort zone during various activities surrounded by beautiful scenery. You also travel basically around the entire island moving from hotel to hotel every 2-3 days. I was expecting to stay in cheap motels, but we stayed in BEAUTIFUL hotels that far exceeded my expectations. From the hotels you take day trips to other areas with beautiful scenery. Some of the activities we did during these two weeks included white-water rafting, surfing, cliff jumping, snorkeling, wind-surfing and swimming in beautiful clear water. Through this trip I have made friends that will last a life time and I am so grateful to have gone on this wonderful trip with ISV.

I was sitting in biology class when an overly enthusiastic girl came and told us about an opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity where you not only got to travel to a foreign country, but you also got to make a difference. I spent my first two weeks at Waterfall Springs which is a gorgeous organization that focuses on the breeding and release of the Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby which is an endangered species. My group members, who soon became like family, and I worked tirelessly to clean up their enclosures and make Waterfall Springs more professional for future donators. The second two weeks were spent traveling around Australia doing once in a life time activities while learning about the importance of ecotourism. I was able to sky dive, bungy jump, scuba dive, and so much more. My project leader and tour leader were so knowledgeable and fun to be around. I left Australia wishing I never had to leave. I took a chance when I signed up because I had never been to a foreign country let alone by myself for an entire month, but travelling with ISV was the best decision I have ever made and I would recommend it to ANYONE!!

I've always wanted to travel the world, not just to see it, but to really experience different parts of the world. I believe it is important to experience the people, the landscapes, and the overall culture because really experiencing how other people think and how they do things and what they value can change how you view yourself and your own culture. It can open your mind and make you think in different ways. This program does an amazing job with allowing you to really experience the culture of the country you choose. Through this program I went to Australia, and even though I only spent a month there, I felt as though I really got to experience and understand their culture. They took us all over Australia, I got to experience probably ten different cities of all shapes and sizes, with all sorts of different people, all over Australia. It was beautifully organized, I felt safe and trusted my guides the whole time. The guides were some of the most knowledgable people I had ever met. I got to spend two weeks working to restore Aboriginal land and the last two weeks exploring different cities all over the countries having the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. Surfing, abseiling, bungee jumping, ocean kayaking, skydiving, I still can't believe I got to do all these amazing activities. Single best experience I've ever had, I definitely plan to volunteer with them again.

International Student Volunteers in Thailand gave me the most amazing experience I have ever had abroad. I have traveled to many different countries, but my time in Thailand is still my favorite. From teaching children english, building a church, to bathing elephants and zip lining, I've had so many high points of the trip that it would be hard to just share one. Educating the children of the villages of Thailand was definitely one that will always be close to my heart. Their willingness to learn and immerse themselves in a foreign language was unparalleled to anything I've seen in the US. The scenery, mountain views, and temples are unlike any other I've ever seen; they were simply breathtaking. The food is satisfyingly delicious and the language was fascinating to learn.

But when I remember my trip, I instantly remember the people and relationships I made in Thailand. The Thai people are the friendliest people you will ever meet and the reason why they are called the "land of smiles". Our ISV leaders were so compassionate, caring, and generous. They helped us along every step of the way and quickly felt like family to us. Going to Thailand, I knew absolutely no other students in the same program as me. However once we all met at the airport, it was like we all knew each other for years. We instantly became a family, helping one another through homesickness and actual sicknesses and looking out for each other. We still talk to this day, exactly a year after we came back. They were from all over Northern America and exposed me to the different mindsets, lifestyles, and customs of people who live in different regions. Not only was I getting culturally immersed into the Thai culture, but I was also learning from those who just lived in the next state over from me. The Thai people and friends I've met on this trip taught me to be more open-minded, to be more free-spirited and to "give my hands to serve and my heart to love".

The cultural immersion, heartwarming memories, meaningful relationships, and life changing experience I found in Thailand will forever make this trip my favorite.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country who's motto is Pura Vida (Pure Life) and I truly got to experience just exactly what that means. ISV provided me the opportunity of a lifetime and memories I will cherish forever. My favorite memory from the trip was one day on our sea turtle volunteer project in Osa. It was the end of the day and we were pulling in the nets and right as we got to the end we caught a juvenile Hawksbill sea turtle. We brought her into the boat and happened to see some dolphins in the distance so we headed over towards them to check them out. There were three dolphins who were so playful and came right up to our boats. It was truly magical to experience these beautiful creatures play in their natural habitat. I highly highly recommend doing any ISV program!

I know when people go abroad and travel they call it a trip of a life time, I don't want to be like everyone else but thats exactly what this trip was. I can't say I have a favorite part of this trip but the one moment I knew this trip was worth it was when we were finished refurbishing the school and the children walked in and saw the inside and their faces lit up, that exact moment changed my life forever. After that my adventure changed, we travelled all around Southern Africa and got to see more things in that 2 weeks then most people get to see in their life time, it was incredible.