Volunteer Abroad in Italy with Volunteers For Peace

...And I ended up in the emergency room, but not because I injured myself "on the job."

It was about midnight when I realized I needed to go to the hospital, and woke our volunteer coordinator to let her know. (At best, I speak about 5 words of Italian. Clearly, I was going to need her help.) We ventured out into the main square of our tiny town in Umbria to find a cab but there were none. She asked a passerby where we might find one. He responded by putting us in his car and driving us himself.

My care at the hospital was excellent -- my volunteer coordinator translating every word, while the nurse practiced her little bits of English. Upon leaving, the hospital informed me I owed them a mere 25 Euros. And...could I come back and pay tomorrow? They couldn't accept my money at the time.

The next day, I gladly returned with another staff member, and 25 Euros. What could have been a frightening experience -- sick overseas -- turned into an unexpected exploration of a foreign health-care system, amazing treatment at a fraction of the cost I would expect to pay at home, and compassionate care by every Italian I encountered that night and early morning. Grazie.

My first volunteer abroad program with VFP was to an eco-village in NW Italy, near the border of France. It was absolutely magical! We lived and worked in a newly-restored medieval village and helped the village families harvest olives, tend the groves, gather wood, and do other odd jobs.

On one day off, we took the bus to town and the train to France.. On the other, we hiked to several miles over a mountain top into France and stayed the night in at an alpine hut.

All our meals were vegetarian. Breakfast (as is typical in Italy) was essentially coffee and toast (sometimes cookies). I like a big breakfast, so if I were to do it again, I'd bring a jar of peanut butter! Lunches and dinners were lovely, big Italian meals. Dinner (again, typical in Italy) was served late.. around 8-9 pm.

In this particular camp, we had beds in rooms shared with 2-4 other volunteers. We also had indoor bathrooms and solar heated showers, which is luxurious compared to a lot of other camps. If creature comforts are important to you, I'd advise you to pay close attention to this sort of thing when you are choosing a camp, because accommodations vary widely.

I met some of the most wonderful and interesting people from all over the world. We worked hard during the day and spent our afternoons and evenings cooking, eating, drinking, singing, dancing and forging strong, lasting friendships. I honestly didn’t want to leave when it was over.

I have volunteered in Italy through Volunteers for Peace three times - twice in the south and once just outside of Venice. Each project was a unique experience, but all of them included opportunities to learn about little corners of Italy that I would never have found as a regular tourist. Perhaps most amazing of all were the opportunities volunteers got to meet and work with local people - at one project we were taught the traditional regional dance and went on holiday outings with groups of local people, and at another we volunteered every day with retired Italian men and women. The sense of connection was so strong I felt like I had found a home away from home!

VFP and their partner organizations in Italy were just wonderful to work with. I honestly can't say enough good things about my volunteer experiences with them.