Incredible Volunteering in Mexico: Costs from USD 270

I chose to volunteer with IVHQ because my school required me to fulfill an international experience in order to graduate and most students there have volunteered through IVHQ. I decided last minute I wanted to do this instead of another program offered by my school, I didn't know where to volunteer in, and I didn't have the time to research other countries either. I thought Mérida was a good idea because I already spoke Spanish, it was affordable, and the travel distance was relatively shorter compared to other locations... And it was the best the decision I could've made! I have met wonderful people here, I have made new friends, and I have visited the beautiful surroundings including downtown Merida and Uxmal ruins. The schedule is perfect for both volunteering and exploring, a typical day includes around four hours of volunteer work in the morning with the afternoons are free. The project I worked on was sustainable agriculture in which I helped in a community garden, and I learned how to grow tomatoes, pumpkin, and eggplants. I also had the opportunity to support the childcare project at Amiguitos, and I must say this placement was my favorite! At Amiguitos, the children were exposed to an interactive, fun, but structured environment. It was just wonderful! The kids would play outside, every day they would have a different outdoor activity; then they would come back inside and toys were set out for them, this was to keep them entertained while waiting for their turn to take a shower; then they would have lunch, brush their teeth and prepare for nap time. I was impressed with the level of discipline these kids had! Overall, IVHQ-Mérida was a great experience, you won't regret your decision if you choose this program!

My trip to Mexico was an incredible experience for the most part! I had an amazing time teaching English to the wonderful students at Serapio Baquiero Preve. I met some amazing people in my volunteer house who I became close friends and had a lot of fun with. The schedule was intense but I learned to go with the flow and find ways to make the most out of my time there. There were absolutely some challenges along the way. Running on a lack of sleep was something that I struggled with throughout the trip, but I was able to deal with it more effectively as time went on. The volunteers working at my placement were the ones that had to get up the earliest, since the classes at the elementary school sometimes started as early as 7:20, and we had to be up quite early in order to catch the bus there. But the flipside of their early start time was that their English classes for the day always ended around noon, so we would have the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted and enjoy ourselves. I had a great time exploring the Mayan ruins, going to cenotes, beaches, malls, and clubs with my friends, and just relaxing at the volunteer house and hitting up the gym that I found nearby. The students were all very bright and incredibly sweet. They had an insane amount of energy and it was often hard to get them to focus on the material we were trying to teach them - especially the younger ones - but they were all very clearly grateful for our presence there, and shared an infectious energy and enthusiasm. It was a more smooth process teaching English and playing games with the older kids, who understood the language a little bit better and were more calm and engaged with the material. The littler kids, even though a lot of them didn't understand what we were trying to teach, were all very sweet and thrilled to talk to us in Spanish and in the little English that they did understand. I can't overstate what good kids they were. All of them were so, so sweet. A lot of them were rowdy, but none of them were punky or mean kids. There was not a bad one in the bunch. Overall, I had a great time (even though I was exhausted for most of it!). It's an experience I'll never forget, and I'd love to volunteer abroad more in the future. As far as being ready, I would just advise future participants to be mindful of the amount of sleep they might be getting during their time abroad, and to be mindful of the heat and how that can really suck the energy out of you. Otherwise, just do the training, bring some bug spray (and VapoRub for mosquito bites! It helps the itching!), and you'll be good to go!

My experience with IVHQ was one I will always cherish. It was such a milestone for me and a great opportunity to expand in every way. I didn’t even know IVHQ existed until I googled and started to looked into the program. For me it was a great fit as I didn’t have too much time to dedicate to volunteering on my 2 month vacation, I also didn’t have a lot of money to spend on a volunteer program and wanted the chance to have a flexible starting date. IVHQ ticked all these boxes. From the get go (once the Teaching English volunteer program in Merida Mexico had sparked interest in me) I emailed the team and they were so patient, as I had endless questions. Going to the other side of the world, not speaking the language fluently and not having been there before, clearly there were many questions that came up. I found the team were so great at answering my queries and I found the online videos so helpful. The process form registering to my first day was really effective and informative. Once I’d arrived into Merida I was met by a representative from the local team and he was more than happy to help me get settled in as much as possible, helping me get a local sim card and my first lot of cash out securely. The host family I stayed with could not have been more accommodating, then again, this is the nature of everyone I came into contact with in Merida and in the Yucatan Peninsula. The host family had a room for me with air conditioning that worked a treat, and they respected my space as well as inviting me into theirs. The meals they prepared for me were tasty and the family made it clear that if I was ever hungry to help myself to the fridge. They were always up for a chat and were so kind and polite. I was so glad I chose the family stay option as this improved my Spanish so much and gave me a real insight into the everyday lives of the local people. A point to note is that most of the Volunteer Family Homes for this program are around a 40 minute bus ride out of the City Centre, or a 15minute Uber ride away. The homes are situated in the “safe” area of Merida, so just keep this in mind that you’ll need to take public transport or an Uber to get into the heart of town, which is 8pesos each bus – to get to the centre from the Homestays it’s usually one bus, and to get to Serapio School is 2 buses one way, so keeping a change pocket with you is a handy tool! I met with the other volunteer teachers and together we decided how we would plan our lessons based on the rough outline we were given by other volunteer teachers who preceded us and also what the usual English Language Teacher had set out. This was a great opportunity to be creative within an outlined structure. We found it was so important to have a lesson plan which gave the children the best opportunity at learning as possible within the timeframes we had with them. Spanish is definitely needed to work in this role effectively, and our group were lucky we had someone who spoke Spanish fluently. Serapio, (the School) were so welcoming, and the children were so loving, they taught me what’s really important and I’m so thankful to have had the experience of working with them. Even though Serapio School was labelled to be in a “rough part of town” there are no “rough parts of town” in Merida. I felt the safest I’ve felt in anywhere I’ve travelled extensively through Central, South and North America, as well as other countries around the globe. Merida really is a little pocket of heaven, it has such great sites to see, natural beauty is bountiful. The people, the local food, the way of life in this amazing hub is truly something special. I’m so thankful to all who I met on my journey, for every person that made my experience in Merida what it was. Volunteering in Merida has inspired me to do more of this work and I can’t wait to see what other destinations will call me, thanks to IVHQ, now that I know they are worldwide I look forward to the next adventure.