Edgard Maldonado
San Juan, Puerto Rico

I volunteered at Santa Cecilia community in San Isidro de Heredia. I had the opportunity to participate in various forms of volunteer projects. During the week I worked at the Concepcion school helping the 3rd and 4th grade teacher. During the evenings I taught English to the kids of Santa Cecilia community. And during the weekends I either went to visit around, or just stayed home to help other ongoing community projects that were taking place such as the one to connect pipes to bring water to the community from the mountain river. My host family was all you can expect in a family. They even took me to the airport on my departure day. I drew many wonderful friends, and it is a must that I return next year. I encourage anyone considering volunteering in Costa Rica not to hesitate about it, you just wont be disappointed. Thanks to the people at Global Crossroad Partners, and Concepcion school for this wonderful experience.

Amy Stoltzfus

The Spanish class was very helpful. Classes were well prepared, and the teacher was attentive to my individual needs. Four hours a day is a good amount of time – not too much and not too little.

Everything was great! I wish I could have stayed longer. It was definitely better than expected!

Ben Elkington

Everything with my family was really good. They were really welcoming and I enjoyed playing games with Luis (the son). They were very kind in saying that I can come back to stay with them in 2 weeks. They always tried to include me in things that they were doing. This was good for things such as football matches and family meals together.

Families in Costa Rica are much more open and welcoming to strangers than in most other countries. I was able to go around to other people’s houses and talk to their families. Also, the families are much larger here than in other countries, so I got to meet other members of the family.

Marco was great with helping us volunteer at the orphanage. Danitica was a very good teacher, and very enthusiastic. I loved my homestay and the people I have met in Santa Cecilia, also. Christopher was great on the mini-adventure and patient with us. Thank you.

Christi pears

My host family also was great! They were very friendly and they adjusted to my Spanish very quickly. They treated me like their own daughter. Rosa cooked and cleaned for me, and did my laundry, which was much more than I expected! The only recommendation I would make would be for volunteers to bring ear plugs, because it gets noisy in the morning with the birds!

Justin Strobach

I worked at Monteverde, helping with the daily operations of the family’s business and helping to teach English to the family and the community. My placement was excellent – I enjoyed every day of it. I would have liked to have done even more; perhaps working at the local school teaching English, or maybe in the reserve, if I had the chance.

My host family was wonderful, very accommodating and extremely generous. Every time I turned around, they were feeding me! I was becoming gordo [fat]!

Ketan Mistry

The experience was amazing, and the friendships we have made will surely last a lifetime. This trip has exceeded all of my expectations, and I am very grateful to everyone at Global Crossroad.

I worked at the Escuella Santa Cecilia, teaching and helping to make a library for the kids. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming; I feel my time there was very fulfilling and educational. I learned a lot and hopefully passed on a lot as well.

I could have accomplished more if we were there for a longer period of time. I had the chance to help develop and decorate a library, to make a better learning environment for the children. I wish I could have had more time to help clean up the outside of the school as well, and make it even safer for the kids.

Kevin Doll

The language cultural classes are always in time with full preparation. Most of the time topics were mostly organized with the practical ground of Costa Rican general life. Though the language and cultural program is fully devoted to vocabulary because of my lower level of Spanish I was unable to pick it up as some other people do. The most important part of language and cultural program is that it gives me better opportunity of exploring Costa Rican life.

The next part of the program was volunteer project. Be very frank my volunteer experience was excellent. I loved Tarcoles and the family I lived with. The work was meaningful and purposeful and made me feel good. I would stay longer if I could and I would do it all again, and recommend it to many other people!

Lance Brune

I really enjoyed Costa Rica and my host family. Nelson and I both learned a lot from each other in trying to communicate. There were not many differences between my host family and families from North Carolina, which is a very good thing. It was Southern-like hospitality, Tico style!

Mathew Yao

I originally planned to work in the ebais [health care placement], but things didn’t work out for that placement. I think teaching at Santa Cecilia School turned out far better. My experience working in the school was amazing – the kids were so friendly and many relationships developed. This is something that wouldn’t have been possible had I been at the ebais. My placement was fun, comfortable, and welcoming – definitely one of the best experiences of my life!

By the way, one month here is WAY TOO SHORT!

Nicole Fuller

In the Spanish language classes, I found the classes to be well prepared, and I was impressed with the lesson structure. I appreciate Danillo’s passion for teaching; it really made me feel like I was going to excel. There was always plenty of time to practice new grammar lessons. And the afternoon activities were so wonderful and more than I expected!

My host family was very kind and tried very hard to make me happy. Mona spent a lot of time with me. I found my family to be more home-oriented – home together as a family more often than here.

The whole program was wonderful, and I would recommend it and hope to return.

Sophie English

I’ve had a great experience – the people I met have been wonderful and I love my family. The volunteer program seemed a little disorganized, but it is good for us to learn to be flexible – Thank You!

At first I felt intimidated by my lack of Spanish, but my family made me feel totally comfortable. They were so welcoming and really sweet. I would recommend them because they made me feel very comfortable which is important because being in a new country/culture can be intimidating.

Stephanie Lindquist

Overall I felt fine in Costa Rica. My host mother was a little strict, and even more conservative than the average tica mom. But I always felt safe and comfortable in my settings. My host mother always provided and helped me; for example washing dishes, clothes, and when there was no hot water, heating me water or calling a neightbor.

I learned about privacy and the relationship between boys and girls (men and women) here in Costa Rica. If a man whistles at you, it a compliment, but if the two of you talk alone, then people talk!

Wei Luo and Jermy

The language class was very good, well planned and logical. There was plenty of chance to practice, and I learned more than I expected!

Everything is good here in Costa Rica. The staff here is nice, and things are organized. I like my volunteer placement a lot; it helps me to know more about Latin American countries and people. It gives me a lot of ideas for my art works.

My host family (ant the other host families) are very good “parents”; all of us love them so much. Costa Rican families are very friendly and hospitable, and I feel very comfortable with them, even though my Spanish is poor. Whenever I visit other families in town, the hosts always offer me food and drink, and they always give me the sweetest smile! Thanks everyone especially global crossroad providing this opportunity of life time experience