Volunteer to Teach English in Costa Rica

I had a lot of fun! Wish I had more time on the base. You really get to see the difference you had on the community, and I got to meet really nice local people! The staff were very friendly and cooperative.

In my 6 weeks in Cartago I had the chance to participate in many different volunteering activities (teaching, gardening, women's empowerment) as well as to travel around Costa Rica at the weekends. The meals cooked for us at base were amazing :)

I have had an incredible experience at GVI Ghana and feel very sad to be leaving. I have gained much more from the experience than I imagined I would in terms of personal growth, and feel so privileged to have connected with the children I've been teaching in the way that I have. One thing I will say is that I didn't expect to be teaching. I was extremely nervous about this when I first arrived, as it wasn't what I thought I had signed up for. That being said, as soon as I settled into the routine and began to trust that I could do a worthwhile job, I saw the value in what I was doing and threw myself into it as much as I possibly could. I have been the most grateful to have been given the opportunity to work on 'cultural considerations' with some of the Ghanaian staff and extended my trip by 2 weeks to be able to do it more justice. I have really enjoyed getting to use my degree in International Development and my passion for Anthropology (which I am doing further study in) in a practical and meaningful way by developing some training activities in cultural reflexivity that will hopefully support other participants in becoming the best global citizens they can be. Coming to GVI Ghana does need confidence and some hardiness. For this reason I put 9/10 on how likely I am to recommend it to a friend as I think you do need to be the right kind of person with the right intentions to be able to give the best that you can and the best that the kids deserve. That being said, everyone has something to offer, and I think people will inevitably come away from the experience changed for the better in one way or another. Be it anything from confidence to perspective. I doubt this will be my last experience with GVI, and hope I can do more for GVI Ghana in the future.