My Nonprofit Reviews

I traveled to Cartago, Costa Rica and have so many fond memories of my trip there. Yes, it was expensive, but I can say that to me, it was worth every penny. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was in Cartago for a total of 10 weeks and would jump at the chance to volunteer with CCS again.

You really need to look at what you want out of your volunteer experience. If you are looking to solely volunteer in a country, then Yes - I am sure you can find a much more inexpensive route to go. HOWEVER, CCS offers other components to their program that you may not get through other programs.

One of the reasons that I chose CCS was because I liked the three components that it had: volunteering, cultural immersion, and free time. Yes, I wanted to volunteer and was more than happy when I received my placement to work in an orphanage with kids 0-16. I met some wonderful people, both workers and kids alike through my placement and will carry those memories with me forever. I also loved that CCS offered MANY opportunities to get out in the community and learn more about the country/area that we were in. We had Spanish classes, dance classes, field trips to local gardens, hiking spots, parks, hot springs, city tours, etc. I was there for 10 weeks and felt I got to see and learn more of Cartago and the surrounding area than I knew about a city I had lived in for 4 years! And to me, the third aspect of the trip was just as enticing - the free time. I had never been to Costa Rica before and loved how CCS had set up our volunteer placements to work M-F so that I was able to travel with the other volunteers on the weekends. I made some lasting friendships with many of the other volunteers and am still in contact with some of them 4 years later. While I was able to spend the weekdays in Cartago and felt like I lived there, I was also able to get a vacation in every weekend. I got to see the mountains, cloud forests, rain forests, volcanoes and beaches during our off-time. It was the perfect situation for me and I felt like I got to do it all.

Your experience really is what you put into it, though. During my 10 weeks there, there were many other volunteers that passed through my CCS location. Some stayed only 1 weeks, others as long as 12 weeks. The majority of us had wonderful experiences and took with us not only great memories, but also skills and experiences that we may not have gotten elsewhere. There were others who may not have the best things to say about their experience for a number of reasons. Maybe they didn't like their volunteer placement; maybe they didn't mesh well with the other volunteers; maybe they were homesick; maybe they thought that "getting away" would help, but it turned out not to be the case. To them, I would just like to say again, It is what you put into it. You need to go in with a positive attitude. Yes, I had some hard days: days when something didn't go well at my placement, days when I missed my family, days when I disagreed with another volunteer, days when I was just plain grumpy. Whatever the case is, you just need to remind yourself about why YOU are there. What do you really want out of your experience? That's what will make it a truly wonderful lifetime experience for you.

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