What inspired you to work for Integrated Learning Experience?
I like the idea of collaborating in the ILEX participant learning experiences. It’s inspiring how they contribute to projects in places that need an extra hand.
Orientation with new participants
Describe a typical day at work.
I orientate participants to the expectations and standards of the foreign country. I show them how to act, communicate, work, and confront situations in a new culture that is different to their own.
Why do you do what you do?
I like the idea of helping others and also like to meet other people and learn from them. I like helping both organizations and ILEX participants bridge the gap. Some organizations in the country know what we do and they would like to receive participants from other countries to support their communities.
Introducing a participant to her host famil
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
For me, it is important to learn things. There are always more things to learn. If I know important things from my country, I think that it is important to share these things and experiences with people who are visiting the country.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
It is important to always keep an open mind for learning different things. Stay motivated. Enjoy all the different places and soak in the whole experience.
What makes Integrated Learning Experience special?
We don’t want any special status, but we would like that every participant feels that is doing something meaningful by sharing with a local family and working on a project supporting an important mission.
Why should someone choose ILEX over competitors?
We support projects and create space for the experiences of our participants. All the organizations we associate with work to support different communities in need. We believe that we are working together for a better world.
Doing some traveling with a volunteer
What hopes do you have for the future for your organization?
We would like to continue sharing and creating the opportunities for adventurous people who want to explore different countries and cultures. We would like to keep contributing to the self-growth of participants that visit the countries in search of meaning. We hope to do well and support the projects we are working with.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
Each participant comes with different goals such as: meeting new people, getting better in their talents to face different circumstances in their life, improving their language proficiency, and leaving their comfort zone.
They want to visit exotic places while supporting and working on a project. They want to put their knowledge into practice. We would like them to achieve their goals and expectations and take it home.
How do you help support participants?
We always try to support the participants. Initially they have a lot of questions and they want some support on specific things. Then they get embarrassed when more comes up. Even when they don't ask more, we try to help them understand, because we want them to feel comfortable doing the things properly. Also we feel happy to have a team who supports participants in different emergency cases.
Sharing welcome lunch with the new arrivals
If you could participate in one of ILEX programs, where would you go and what would you do?
All programs are nice and fun. I feel more comfortable working with children and youth, because I have an education background. For me it is fun to share and play games in informal classes with students. I think that I can contribute and help teachers by forming young minds.
What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?
Just do it! Traveling is a way to explore the world, learn about other places and cultures, and meet people. It is a way to prove to ourselves our abilities by overcoming obstacles in different contexts of life. Make sure to learn about the place you want to visit and some of the language spoken there.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
There are many ways to describe the word travel. From my perspective, meaningful travel means watching our participants enjoy the following things: visiting beautiful places, meeting new people, and learning about a new culture.
They eat and cook traditional food while living with a local family. Travelers hike mountains or volcanoes and enjoy lakes or the beach. They learn about the flora and fauna. They take a lot of pictures. They learn and speak a different language while working and supporting a service project. And finally, they cry when it is time to go home.
