Italy: Animal Care Project

Participating in the animal care project with IVHQ was such a great experience and eye opening for me! Starting from arriving in Italy and to the end of my trip! I was so excited to be in Italy and get to help change the world w my volunteering! I worked with the cats at the animal shelter daily and learned so much more about taking care of animals and gaining more confidence in myself especially because most of the workers didn’t speak much english! This experience was very impactful for me and i loved being w the cats! My role as a volunteer here involved multiple daily tasks such as cleaning, feeding, and playing with the cats! As i was with the animals more i got attached and now want to take all of them home with me! The cultural aspect of this trip was a huge part as well! I learned how different it is here in the US and how difficult it can be to communicate with others but duolingo and just listening more helped! I also was able to explore the city and see all the historical monuments that everyone dreams of seeing! I was also fortunate enough to travel to Paris and other cities in Rome while I was here! An experience i will never forget! Of course there were lots of challenges along the way but i had some great new friends that where there with me and helped me and helped eachother get through those bad experiences! The local team here was great and very helpful when trying to communicate with them and the workers as well at the shelter! As well as extending my trip and more! The program support IVHQ provided was excellent! I felt very safe when getting too and from my project, during orientation and more! Overall, my experience here was great and will be an experience i will definitely never forget! I got to meet and make new friendships that will last forever, made some crazy and fun memories and got to help change the world with amazing people! I will definitely be doing another project with IVHQ someday and recommend it too others as well!