Life changing discovery

It was my first volunteer experience abroad, and especially on the (Latin) American continent and I loved it ! Contrary to what I expected, I wasn't really stressed out about leaving because I was well prepared and the IVHQ staff helped me so much during the process.
I stayed in Antigua for 3 weeks and I worked in an exotic animals shelter which was 10 minutes away by bus. I could have never imagined working with so many reptilians, deal with snakes, feed crocodiles (at the Pacific coast) and so on. It made the whole experience even more surreal !
I also took part in Spanish classes 2 hours a day and it helped me so much (even though you can make yourself understood easily with basic words or in English).
The week-ends allow you to take part in bigger activities such as volcano's hiking and visiting further places (Lake Atitlan and Semuc Champey are amazing). If I had stayed longer, I would have definitely went to Tikal though.
The main point is that I felt welcomed everywhere I went and I miss the house and the other volunteers so much, Antigua is magnificent and really felt like home. I intend to go back there but I hope I'll enjoy it as much without this whole volunteer atmosphere which made it so unforgettable!