Zipline into 15 Volunteering Projects in Costa Rica

As a parent, my daughter's experience was cut short and she had to return home wasting her money entirely. This is due to the appalling, disgusting living conditions she was put in, beds infested with bloody sheets, bed bugs and cockroaches, nobody home at the billet house she was put into so she could discuss getting cleaner living conditions, food served to her by someone hired by the people that owned the home, which consisted of pasta with spiders crawling out of it...and then being asked to save the turtles by doing night shifts on the beach between 8pm and 4am....to protect the turtle eggs from local poachers who sell them to restaurants. This is how they make money in this poor part of the country. Imagine your daughter out on the beach in central America in the middle of the night with her expensive cell phone as security (which only makes her a bigger target for robbery) and being told "don't make eye contact with the poachers". This company (International Volunteer HQ) paints a pretty picture of rewarding travel experiences...in actual fact they've taken my child's money, put her into a dangerous situation under filthy conditions with no one to discuss it with while they are there. They should be ashamed and provide a refund.

IVHQ does a wonderful job preparing their volunteers with online orientations, answering questions, and partnering with the local teams once in country. Not speaking Spanish put me at a disadvantage once in country, and I had to quickly learn bus schedules, money, and cultural norms. The Teaching English project in Manuel Antonio was less meaningful than I expected, as I was assigned to teach a local family. The only other project of its kind is in a church after-school program with one hour of children and one and a half hours of adult instruction. The homestay had great food, and within the family complex there were six volunteers housed in different area, so we could socialize and plan things after our shifts. There was a lot of walking, bus riding, and taxi riding around town and shuttles to weekend outings, which was an extra cost. The best part of the assignment for me was making friends from all over the world, and connections within the country. As an older volunteer, I was unsure if I would be welcomed into the younger circles, but age was not an issue at all; however, I should have done more cardio for those rainforest hikes!