Program Reviews

Although I only undertook my placement for two weeks, I feel like I have learnt a lot of things in that time! I have discovered an environment completely different from those which I am used to, and I have been able to understand the importance of conserving that environment. It’s been amazing to see animals that I would never see in England, and to see many different places as well! Not only have I done the placement at Villa Blanca, but I have also had the opportunity to travel around as much as I could in two weeks, to beautiful places such as Puntarenas, La Fortuna and La Isla Tortuga. As well as this, I have met some really nice people who hopefully I will stay in contact with, and I think that my Spanish has improved a lot! I would definitely recommend staying with a host family, since they are so kind and generous, and I will be sad to leave! All in all, coming to Costa Rica has been a great experience, and I would love to come back one day! Also, do not be scared about coming on your own, because the country is very safe and you stay with the host family, so it is not like you have to stay anywhere on your own.

My name is Louisa and I was a volunteer in Costa Rica for 6 month. I had applied for the Wildlife program because I wanted to do something which was unique for Costa Rica and which I couldn’t experience in Germany. I also like animals and enjoy to be in the nature, so this was my decision. I was very excited what my project would be alike and when the information and my project details reached me I couldn’t wait to start.
My project was in an Ecological Park in La Fortuna, which is a nice, little village next to the volcano Arenal. There I lived in two host families. That was because the first family and I had some problems but luckily I could change the family and the new one has always been very lovely. That is the thing with these experiences. It doesn’t always work without obstacles.
I was in my project together with another volunteer. The park is not that big but it’s really beautiful and they have many species of Animals (crocodiles, butterflies, frogs, snakes, caimans, turtles). As a tourist you can book a day tour where you are shown the exhibition part, or a night tour, where you walk around the trails and look for wild animals. And there are so many! Our main job as volunteers was to help the park as tour guides. The cool thing about that was, that we could do the tours in english, spanish and german. What I also really liked was that you get to know so many different, lovely people. And also all the information we had to learn before, we won’t forget so soon, which is amazing too. To learn so much about the different animals. We also had to help the gardener in his tasks. Almost everyday we had to clean the trails, the reception and the toilets. In the end we could help in attending the tourists at the reception. Sometimes we helped in cleaning the butterfly cage, and one time some tourists left the doors of the cage open and we had to catch all the butterflies again. We also found many wild animals in the wilderness, mainly snakes and frogs, and one baby sloth.
In the end I have to say that I changed my project, due to the lack of things volunteers could do there. Also the working climate didn’t work out so well. But all in all was this project a good experience with amazing moments. I had never fed a baby sloth before and will probably never do it again. But those moments were little moments which couldn’t make up for the rest...
My second project then was in an kindergarden in San Ramon. And I really loved to work there. So in the end everything turned out very well for me. As I already said, even though not everything turns out as you expect and wish it to, you can always make your own decisions and create your own, unique experience. And mine was a really great one, which I will never forget!

I had an awesome time in the day care center for children from 0 to 6 years in Zaragoza. On my first day everyone was welcoming me very warmhearted. Even though I was obviously nervous I felt very well right from the beginning. Everyone was interested in where I come from and why I want to spend 10 weeks here.
In the beginning obviously it was a little bit difficult. Mainly because of the communication, because my spanish still wasn't as good and I wasn't as confident to speak freely. Still every single woman of the staff supported me a lot.
After about two weeks I really got into it and could finally start enjoying my time with the children. Of course sometimes you also need to enforce consequences due to the children's bad behaviour but all of that was kept within bounds.
What I really enjoyed was that I could also share the mostly traditional and very nutritive meals with the children and the staff. I also got to know how everything works, for example with the money for the food and so on.
The project helped me a lot to improve my spanish skills and also my social skills. I have never had contact with that many children (30 in total) that young before. It helped me grow a lot and taught me to be a lot more patient.
Now that my time in te day care center is over I am really sad. I will miss the children and the staff a lot. They had a great farewell party for me on my last day and really showed me how big the impact was that I had on the children and there lives.

Tuve la oportunidad de disfrutar este programa por 3 meses. Durante este tiempo visite distintas aldeas y comunidades en las que se encontraban grupos de mujeres con intenciones de capacitarse en distintos oficios como reposteria, tejido, etc. Lo que estas mujeres muchas veces no contemplaban, era la posibilidad de sacar mayor provecho de todos estos aprendizajes y asi poder cubrir sus grandes necesidades economicas.
Con la ayuda del programa pudimos mostrarles que tenian al alcance de su mano la posibilidad de emprender un negocio propio y asi obtener sus propios ingresos.
Las mujeres fueron siempre muy agradables y abiertas a recibir todos los consejos que uno puede darle. Y lo mas importante, es que en cada momento y en cada aldea visitada, me hicieron sentir como en mi propio hogar. Tambien te ensenian que la gente que menos tiene, es la que mas esta dispuesta a dar. Uno aprende demasiado de todos ellos..
Por ultimo, vivir en la casa de una familia local fue excelente! Uno se siente parte de este pais desde el primer dia y termina amando sus costumbres, su comida, TODO! Uno termina teniendo una nueva familia a muchos kilometros de su hogar y esto nunca se olvida.
Espero poder sumarme a algun otro programa porque es una experiencia increible que uno no quiere terminar!

My experience was amazing and also really good to get to know myself better because I had the possibility to get to know a completely different culture and adapt myself. On top of that I had fun in my programs and they were really interesting. I learned a lot helping in the school which has been my first program and every body was so nice and helpful there which is why I will miss them a lot. It was so beautiful to be able to help teaching the kids a little and I had a lot of fun. Furthermore I loved being in the kindergarten and made many experiences with babys, smaller kids and also children that already go to school. Of course I also got to know a lot of the country by travelling at the weekends and by living in a hostfamily and this was amazing.

3 months I lived in Costa Rica, 2 ½ months of this time I worked as a volunteer in La Mision Bajo Tejares in San Ramon, a nice town with a pleasant climate northwest of San José. First of all I can say that the stay was an extraordinary and wonderful experience for me.
During the preliminary meeting in Germany, I realized very quickly that as a 62-year-old person I had little chance of meeting aged volunteers during my stay in Costa Rica. I was the only one among (very nice) young adults, most of them had just graduated from high school. I am very glad that this circumstance did not stop me from my intention!
I lived in a Costa Rican family together with another young German volunteer. Despite initial communication problems (my Spanish was still very poor when I left Germany), I felt very well there. The daughter of the house spoke English with me, if there was no other way and the German volunteer was also a great support. I was invited to family activities, but I could also retire, if I felt like it. I especially remember the family trip to the sea over New Year's Eve, to which I was taken along: extended family, big house, relaxed company with a lot of fun, swimming in the warm Pacific, wonderful! I felt well integrated and nearly as a member of the family.
I felt sad when I left.
Voluntary service: Here, too, I have had good experiences. I found the staff to be very nice and very attentive to the children / teenagers and adults. I was allowed to work with the children and adolescents in a reading and calculating program, to prepare for parties, to help with cooking, to write lists, to do handicrafts ... I have received good insights into the lives of the people (Nicaraguan refugees). That was sometimes emotionally disturbing, because the conditions in which they live are quite difficult. At work I sometimes wished that I had started learning Spanish earlier, so I could have made easier contact with the children / young people.
Again, my farewell was not easy.
The support before the trip by Experiment e.V. and in Costa Rica by INLEXCA I found to be very pleasant and supportive. Tanya, our caregiver, lovingly looked after and helped when needed. She even helped me when I was looking for Christmas presents for my host family!
The young volunteers on site were really nice, several times they tried to involve me. I really appreciated that. Especially the contact with the young volunteer in my family was extraordinarily positive for me. Nevertheless it would have been nice, if among the volunteers there would have been some of my age. On the weekends you have time to go on excursions. And the idea of what you want to do differs slightly depending whether you are 20 or 60 years old.
Finally, I can say that this "experiment" has been completely successful. I do not want to miss the experiences I made. Also for people of my age such an intensive getting to know a foreign country is infinitely enriching.

My fondest memory was the surprise party that my students threw on my last day of the programme. My most beautiful memory was when I saw the blood red full moon rise at the Mirador de San Lucas Milpas Altas.

I was in a programme that involved teaching English and Maths alongside a Guatemalan Teacher. I was based in small town in the mountains - and lived with a lovely family, who, from day 1, made me feel part of the family.

We got on so well, that we often did outings together at the weekend. Some weekends I would meet up with other volunteers - we went on to visit Antigua, Guatemala City (go with a local!) as well as the towns dotted around Lake Atitlan, which you get to by boat.

INLEX coordinated my stay - they did everything from helping me to get organised pre-departure, to finding the school and the host family. On arrival they provided me with a thorough induction - the advantage of going with an organisation is that someone is there to support you and advise you.

Advice for future Guatemala volunteers: Bring with you a decent supply of hand sanitiser, toilet paper, napkins, wetwipes and, if you can, more than one debit/credit card. Where I stayed, running water would be a bit on and off, and although not amazingly glamorous, those wetwipe camping-style showers are a godsend! This depends on the region, obviously.

Finally: Absolutely do go to Guatemala! It's an amazingly colourful place - not just the clothes and the buildings, but it's got everything from volcanoes to jungles to Mayan pyramids etc etc. You're going to love it.

I work with Go Overseas and had the opportunity to participate in a INLEXCA's volunteer project in Costa Rica this past month -- I cannot rave more about my experience! I highly recommend this organization to anyone who is looking to volunteer abroad in Central America.

INLEXCA was highly organized start to finish. I was connected with my project coordinator (Tanya) pre-departure and felt fully supported of before leaving the United States. Upon arrival in Costa Rica, Tanya and Carlos (INLEXCA's Co-Founder) were at my gate right on time with big smiles on their faces. I came to Costa Rica knowing little-to-no Spanish, so the smooth pickup was extremely comforting!

I was impressed that Tanya and Carlos went the extra mile to personally drop each volunteer off at their homestay and spend time at the house while the volunteers (myself included) got adjusted. Tanya even had each volunteer's contact on Whatsapp and remained connected throughout my stay. I already miss her daily check-ins!

My host family was more than I could have asked for. I spent the week with the kindest, most caring couple and their family. While they spoke no English, and I barely spoke Spanish, so we found ways to communicated through food and dance. Every night I came home from my project and my host family would give me amazing food, turn on music, and we would enjoy each other's company. It was very clear that they viewed me as a part of the family. All of my meals were home cooked (I felt so spoiled!) and I found that I needed to learn how to say "gracias, estoy lleno" very quickly.

The project itself was also great. I chose a childcare project in San Ramon, at Guarderia Creciendo con Amor. I spent my days busy playing with children from infancy - 12 years old. Even after only a week, I felt that I was able to provide concrete assistance to the teachers and form strong connections with the children. They were lively, sweet, and eager to learn. It's amazing how much care the staff at Guarderia Creciendo con Amor put into their work and I'm proud to have been a part of the impact these experiences will have on the kids.

One thing I will say is that there is a solid amount of free time when you are not working on your volunteer project, and it is up to the volunteers to make the most of it! Carlos and Tanya provided us with every single outlet we needed to make the most of our stay and encourage the volunteers to meet up with each other and get out of the house. Many of my nights were spent at a cafe or restaurant after my project getting the know my fellow volunteer which really made my experience the most memorable. I'm thankful for the strong connections I was able to make in such a short amount of time.

Again, I can't recommend this program enough. If you're an experienced Spanish speaker, or know no Spanish at all, INLEXCA will have a project fit for you. Take advantage of the staff's amazing support and guidance, and make a big impact on the community!

Overall I really enjoyed my time in Guatemala. I started with 2 weeks of Spanish lessons which were extremely helpful in my travels, here I also got to meet the INLEXCA team who were all very friendly and welcoming, offering lots of advice of what to do in free time and weekends. The micro finance part was good, however as I was only there for a month there was understandably not much I could help with. I still found it very interesting visiting clients and gaining insight to the world of Guatemalan micro finance. Additionally all staff at ADIGUA went out of their way to make me feel welcome and the whole office was a pleasure to work in. The host families I stayed with were both fairly typical Guatemalan households, both very pleasant and helpful in my transition. I also learnt a lot about their culture from spending time with them, one much different to the English culture. I would recommend the programme especially if you’re able to work for several months, the staff of both organisations certainly played a role in how much I enjoyed my time in Guatemala.

I had an amazing experience with my host family & with the program. The coordinator Tanya is amazing, she is always there when you need her. I worked at a church with several kids but the church needed a bit more organization & to distribute work for all volunteers. Overreal amazing experience & I would definitely do it again. The children made a huge impact in me & it felt amazing to help them as well. This experience really helped me understand the lifestyle & culture in Costa Rica