Research, Communication and Preparation

I did tons of research before I found my favorite and most helpful resource, volunteerlatinamerica.com. Their website shows a list of different projects with brief decriptions. The only downfall is that you have to pay for the full descriptions, prices and contacts. I found the organization that I decided to work with through Volunteer Latin America, so I thought that the $20-$25 dollar fee was worth it. The online order form is very simple. You can put in specific requests, if you see some projects on their website that you want receive more information on, or you can order a general brochure in which you will be provided a spread of projects.

Once I received my brochure, I went through the 40 pages of information that volunteerlatinamerica.com provided me with. Each page has an in-depth description, a contact that is either a volunteer themself or a permanent employee for the project, prices, the website for the project, phone and fax numbers, minimum and maximum amount of time for the project, languages spoken onsite, project location and a list of the daily activities.

The thing to keep in mind while communicating with the contact is patience. If you are dealing with a country that doesn't speak the same language that you do, do your best to ease the communication.

I have had a mix of experiences with the language barrier. I speak very little Spanish, and my grammar is a bit rusty to say the least. One program I was writing back and forth to in Bolivia had no problem understanding English or replying back in English. Another program in Costa Rica had a bit of trouble understanding all of my questions in English, so I went to an online translator. I posed my questions in English and then below I put the translation in Spanish. Using this simple method, I noticed a much faster response and a very grateful contact.

So the project I finally decided on is on this link, http://asvocr.org/leer.php/58. I will be volunteering with seaturtles and learning how to surf in Costa Rica . It is such a great program, check it out. There are many other volunteer opportunities on this website too!

I leave on January 24th, and I couldn't be more excited!

Pilot

Well, I guess the best way for me to start is just to say a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Northern California, and I have been dying to explore the rest of the world since I was in junior high. I am in the stage in between college and real life, and I am just about to give-up on finding my dream job since I am not quite sure it exists. My two passions are writing and everything relating to the ocean, original right?

I have decided to start this blog and start traveling. I want to try and see the world the most cost-effective way possible, volunteering. I am going to Costa Rica on January 25th to volunteer with a community of people who protect sea turtles. Since I am not one of the lucky people who get to travel without worrying about money, I also have a job. To be more specific, I have a temp job that lets me take up to a month off at a time to travel and volunteer.

My purpose with this blog is to travel to different locations and rate them based on safety, my experience, the staff and so on. If anyone has any requests or ideas about different volunteer locations, please let me know. I have been using a company out of the UK called Volunteer Latin America, but you have to pay for the information on the places you are interested in volunteering.