Alumni Interview with Zach Rice

What inspired you to go abroad?

I've been on a few of these trips before with other organizations such as World Vets around South America, and while I previously have always loved working with animals, I felt that teaching English would be both interesting and educational for myself as I research literacy at my university. I love everything about South America, and Peru was right at the top of my list of places I needed to visit. IVHQ offered the opportunity at such an affordable rate that I couldn't pass it up. I decided that I wanted to do a trip and I immediately went online and signed up. I was on a plane two weeks after that!

Why did you choose IVHQ?

I chose the Teaching English Program of IVHQ in Lima, Peru because of the affordability and the location. I research literacy as a masters’ student and thought that helping children learn the language would be right up my alley. I've always wanted to visit Lima and when I saw that I was able to have that opportunity at such a great price, I couldn't say no to that.

What was your favorite part about Peru?

I believe that my favorite part of Peru was the people. Not only was my host family absolutely fantastic, meeting people on my travels through the different areas was incredible. Though my Spanish abilities were limited, yet improving, everyone was understanding and we all tried our best to communicate with ease. I met a number of people from Lima that I've kept in touch with constantly since I've returned home, and I definitely plan on returning to visit.

What made your experience abroad unique?

I think what made this trip unique was the instant connection you make with the other volunteers. I met a great group of guys who were in a variety of programs and we did everything together. Anywhere we traveled, if we went out to eat or even when we stayed at home for the night, we were inseparable. The bond we all formed really enhanced the experience that we had while there.

How did local staff support you throughout your program?

The local staff was better than I could have anticipated. Any questions we had, whether it was program, restaurants, sight-seeing, or just fun activities, they were there to help. I had the great opportunity to have the coordinator for the house also be the coordinator for my placement, and she was absolutely fantastic.

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?

There are only two things that I wish I had done differently on this trip. One would be to go for much much longer, which is why I've already started fundraising for a six month volunteer trip. The second thing would be to see more. Since I was only there for a week, I mostly explored Lima and the surrounding districts. I would like to visit Machu Picchu, see more of the area, go paragliding above Miraflores, etc. There was so much to do and not enough time in a day to do everything.

Describe a typical day in the life of your program.

A typical day for me was waking up at about 6 a.m., then showering and going downstairs to chat with the other volunteers over breakfast. At 7 a.m. we walked to the bus where we got on for an exhilarating hour and a half drive to our placement location. Once we were there, we started teaching at 9 a.m.

I was with the youngest group of students who typically had limited Spanish abilities. We spent an hour and a half going through pages in their workbook and playing games to help them grasp the material. After a short break, they returned to finish their lesson for the day at 12 p.m. The next hour and a half was spent on the bus again after we were all mentally exhausted, but still enjoying the day we had.

When we returned home around 1:30 p.m. or 2 p.m., we ate lunch with the other volunteers before planning the rest of our day. Typically we would go to the different districts in Lima to explore as much as possible. We spent a lot of time in Miraflores, walking around, looking at buildings, meeting people, etc. We returned home usually for supper at 7 p.m. before hanging out and usually just talking to each other, playing guitar, playing cards, or doing a number of other things.

What did you enjoy doing in your free time?

I personally enjoyed hanging out with the other volunteers. We spent a fair amount of our time walking around areas of Lima. On the weekends we liked to go out to restaurants and clubs to meet people. Meeting new people was great as everyone wants to hear about you and they are always so interesting themselves. I met a lot of new friends from Lima while I was there. We also spent quite a bit of time laughing with the volunteers. We talked about the countries we were from, taught each other skills, like how to play poker and some chords on guitar. All in all, I spent a lot of time finding things to do in Lima with the other volunteers.

What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?

Our accommodation was a family house. There were spots for four other people in the room I stayed in, while only three others were there. I slept on the top of a bunk bed in the room. The host family that lived there was absolutely fantastic. They cooked our meals for us, which was honestly one of my favorite parts about it. Not because I didn't have to cook, but because they made the best food I've tasted in a long time and they were so kind for doing that for us. The common areas were great for just sitting around and talking to everyone. I loved every part of it!

What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?

As a recommendation for new volunteers, I would have to say "Take every opportunity you can and run with it". Within reason, try every experience you can. One of the reasons I enjoyed my time there is that I jumped at every cultural, culinary, and social experience that was thrown my way. Life in Peru is so much different than my home country, so I would say live life like you are from the country and you will have an incredible time.

Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?

Since I've been home, I haven't stopped thinking about my next volunteer adventure. I've started to influence some of my housemates and friends into looking at some of the opportunities with IVHQ. Additionally, I've also started a fundraising campaign to raise money for my six month trip I'm planning in January 2020.

Would you recommend IVHQ to others? Why?

I would 100 percent recommend my program and the IVHQ organization to others. First of all, the IVHQ organization is one of the, if not the, most affordable  international volunteer organizations out there. Especially if you are a student like myself, affordability is key.

The fact that IVHQ offers such a variety of placement programs is amazing as well; this allows people with many different strengths to help in ways they know best. My specific program teaching English was such a blast. The students are so much fun to teach and they honestly enjoy going to the school to learn and practice their English. It is such a humbling experience to take part in one of these volunteer trips, and seeing children learn something that they've been having trouble with right before your eyes is one of the best feelings in the world.