Program Reviews

The translucent curtain of rain draped across the sky until it dropped onto the earth like a spilled box of pins and needles. Sloshing through pools of red mud and water, my tennis shoes unlaced, and I fell socks-first into a puddle. I hastily gathered the muddied shoes into my arms and sprinted down the moonlit streets, the villagers and I seeking shelter as dogs howled behind us.
We tumbled our way into the bedroom and crowded against each other on the creaking beds. “¡Encienda la tv!” Marciano called, as someone switched on the tiny black box so we could watch Paraguay play Uruguay in the semi-finals of Copa de Latin America. I looked around the room at the people: an old man chattering his teeth in his Paraguay jersey and flip flops, a little boy holding a tin pot over his head pit-pattering with droplets, and a woman breast-feeding her newborn baby. A group of people I had never met were now sharing a cup of tea with me and keeping each other warm from the rain.
Suddenly, everything shut off: the TV and all the lights in the entire house, the entire town. We sat in the silence of the pitch-black room, the only sound, the crisp inhales and moist exhales of our bodies. Thirty seconds later all the lights turned back on, illuminating Jackie, the puppy, taking a gigantic poop right in the middle of the floor.
In that instant I thought back to my family in America. I imagined my black Labrador, defecating on our brand new carpet while we had guests over. I cringed thinking about the chaos that would result from such an act, my mom angry and embarrassed, my siblings and I blaming whoever let the dog in, and my dad rushing to clean up the turd. I sat there on the bed with all those people, anticipating a situation all too awkward yet familiar.
Something else happened instead and is the reason why Jackie’s dump keeps resurfacing in my mind long after I have returned home. Instead of bedlam, I saw my host mother and host sister look at each other briefly, their eyes squint, knees buckle, and grab hold of each other as their bodies smacked against the wall piercing the silence with laughter. It was laughter so deafening, animated, and joyful it was beautiful, so infectious that rest of the room burst into tears howling.
Back home I have encountered many more “crappy” situations, ones that previously would have induced stress or anxiety or anger. However, the memory of Jackie and the laughter of the Paraguayan people allow me to evaluate situations for what they really are and choose to react positively. Their reaction to Jackie’s simple inconvenience and their forgiving attitudes have inspired me to be forgiving as well. Who would have known that a puppie poo could have showed me that an opportunity for something good presents itself in every situation.

This experience allows you to live in a community in Ecuador teaching classes to local children. You also work with the community on a large scale project. I have so many great memories and will always value my experience

I had one of the most life changing experiences during my summer in Oaxaca. I meet amazing people in Mexico, as well as people from across the United States. I was a mediocre Spanish speaker before going to Mexico, but in those eight weeks it grew better as I communicated daily with the people around me. I went into the experience with an open mind and an open heart and it gave me one of the best memories I will ever have.

I had a great summer with Amigos de las Americas. I spent the majority of the day with my host family and also teaching classes at the local school. I had a very hard time getting over the language barrier but once that passed, I had nearly no difficulties. I would recommend this to anyone.

I volunteered in Peru last summer, 2011, and had a fantastic time. I ate a lot of potatoes and soup, consumed lots of tea, had intriguing conversations, met some of the most incredible people of my life, and improved my Spanish. My summer changed my life. I feel so fortunate that I was able to have such a unique experience. I can't say enough good things about my summer. It has been most incredible experience of my life, so far, until next summer in Oaxaca!

The most hands-on experience that you can get in high school. I never realized how intense and rigorous the program was until I went through college and explained to people what I had done. It gave me great insight on my long-term career interests although I didn't realize it at the moment. The highlight in working with Amigos was really the ability to apply what you have learned and collaborate with the global communities to facilitate health and outreach projects to educate and empower each other. Because of its rigorousness of the program, the proven difficulty was remaining open and leaving your comfort zone.

Project staff was amazing. I honestly don't think my summer would have been as great without them. And with Suhaly being the Senior PD, you are in the best hands possible. Just remember trankilopa and getting stuff done will clash these 8 weeks, but make every moment count and meet everyone you can.

During my 6 weeks in Matagalpa, Nicaragua with Amigos de las Americas I experienced some of the scariest, saddest, proudest, and most joyful moments in all my 17 (at the time) long years.
I came to appreciate the endless complexities of my rural Nicaraguan host community and its needs.
My other experiences with community service had not prepared me for sleeping in another family's bed, eating their food, sharing their latrine, watching their telenovelas. It was a slow and often awkward process, but, with help from my partner volunteer and loving Nicaraguan family, I began to feel comfortable in my host community. I spoke more often with more people, and I began to feel that I was a part of the daily life of my family. My partner and I worked each day at the school, facilitating educational activities about the environment and community health with los niños, beautiful, infinitely charismatic children who unfailingly brightened even our most homesick moments. My friends in Nicaraguan are some of the warmest, most generous people I have ever met.
Amigos has helped me to appreciate the beautiful process of building understanding between people across cultures. My experiences have inspired me to intensify my focus on social justice and human rights issues, and will certainly guide me in my future studies and career. It is so empowering to dive into such a challenging and unfamiliar experience and manage to accomplish the goals you set for yourself. You come out with valuable new leadership and communication skills and many new friends from across the western hemisphere.

I will never forget my experience in Ecuador. It was the best summer of my life. My host family was absolutely amazing and caring. Plus, the community opened up their homes and hearts for us. I worked daily with the children of the community and it was great to see the impact we had on them when we played and learned. We also painted murals, which was another way to bring the community together since the kids and youth painted it while the adults watched and now can enjoy the work they did. We also planted trees with the kids and worked in the field with different families to help them with their daily field tasks like harvesting potatoes, cutting the grass and weeds, and planting new plants.
Amigos de las Americas is one of the best organizations I have come to know. It is hard to find another program that is as supportive and helpful. The staff was always attentive and responsive in any situation. When I got sick at night, I was at the clinic by the morning to make sure everything was okay, and I was! They make sure you are always safe both physically and mentally, but they also make sure you are having a fun and productive summer. If I was having an sort of issue or confusion with my partners, community, or projects, I could always count on my staff to help clear things up and make me feel better.

The greatest part about my experience was feeling like I actually made an impact on the community and now I have a new family in Ecuador. I have a new found love for cultures, spanish, and traveling as well. The cost of the program is definitely reasonable as everything is taken care of for the whole summer. You don't have to worry about buying food, paying for your travel if you need to go to the clinic, your clinic costs are covered and the only thing that you might want to bring your own money for is souvenirs, but that is optional!

Another great thing about Amigos is that all of the host families aren't compensated for housing volunteers, so if anyone signs up, they are truly interested in getting to know the volunteers and helping them through the process of getting projects going and then implementing them.
I made some really great friends in the community along with getting to know my host family. It was fun to hang out with the local youth because they generally are helpful, and will show you a good time. They actually taught me how to dance, plus we played soccer together and laughed a lot!

The day I had to leave, I couldn't stop crying. I didn't want to leave and couldn't wait until I had the chance to go back, regardless of how many potatoes I had to eat (potatoes are big staple in ecuador, along with guinea pig!!). I learned about ecuadorian culture, I learned about my family, my community, and myself. I would recommend this program to anyone who is willing to step outside of their comfort zone and that would love to make an impact on a community while having the best summer of their life.

I went to Ecuador to make an impact on a community in Ecuador, and while I did that, they left a huge impact on me.

I really liked hanging out in my community for the most part, but i didn't feel my time as a volunteer was of value. I was there for 8 weeks and all i feel like i did was hang out. I would have liked to have more volunteer time and less fun. Also the service initiative wasnt anything with which i was involved. All we did was just give them money. I think in a less developed country maybe it would have been better. The staff was great, but i didn't like the actual program, i feel like it wasnt worth 8 weeks of my life. A lot of people really enjoyed the program more than I did though.