Great first overseas experience

My first international solo trip was with ISV to the Dominican Republic. This program gave me access to an experience unlike any other. I was able to witness extreme poverty and begin to see how organizations work to address issues related to poverty. This trip was also a great way to meet like-minded people from different countries - my trip was in 2011 and I just went to a wedding of a friend I met and have continued to travel with and keep in contact with.

Overall, the trip was very well organized and the guides we had were amazing and contributed to the experience. Our mentors or team leaders during our projects were also awesome and very easy to relate to.

Based on my other travels overseas since then, this program does seem to be fairly overpriced and the NGO seems to have very high overhead.

One suggestion I have is considering longer term projects...2 weeks was not enough for me and I would have loved to do more before going on the adventure tour.