I had such a great experience with all of my classes. Working as a teaching assistant was amazing. The teacher and the small staff made me feel so welcome and the kids were so adorable. I often left school with flowers, stickers and notes from the kids and ended up becoming friends with the English teacher. 
Program Volunteer Costa Rica
Project: Volunteer Teaching English in Costa Rica
I could go on and on about how happy I was with the staff at uVolunteer. Everything was more organized than I expected and the staff was so cool and friendly. The volunteer dorm was also nicer than I expected and Doña Isabel, who cooks and takes care of the dorm, is the sweetest woman ever.
After working as a graphic designer for 10 years, I decided that I needed a career break. I knew that I wanted to volunteer abroad somewhere but I wasn´t sure exactly what I wanted to do or where I wanted do it. I started researching different companies online and came across uVolunteer. After reading through the website and volunteer stories, I was pretty sure uVolunteer was the right fit. I called for more info and chatted with Christina, who was so sweet and helpful! After some back-and-forth, I finally decided on 1 week of Spanish school in San Jose and 1 month of teaching English in San Ramon.
My experience volunteering was great and is definitely on my list of best life decisions. I knew exactly why I needed and wanted to volunteer and what I wanted to accomplish for myself and for others. uVolunteer provided me with everything I needed to make the most out of this experience.
I was so excited but a little nervous about all of the unknowns. I flew into San Jose and was picked up by Wagner, one of the Spanish school´s coordinators. He was super nice and made me feel very welcome. He took me to my host family´s house and introduced everyone. I wasn´t sure about living with another family after living alone for so long, but I felt really comfortable right away. My host mother and sister were so sweet - I ended up spending most of my free time with them. Even though I was only with them for 1 week, I grew attached and was sad to leave! The Spanish school was great too. I highly recommend it and only wish that I could have had another week there.
On my last day of classes in San Jose, two of us were picked up by Fio and Meaw and taken to the dorm in San Ramon. I could go on and on about how happy I was with the staff at uVolunteer. Everything was more organized than I expected and the staff was so cool and friendly. The volunteer dorm was also nicer than I expected and Doña Isabel, who cooks and takes care of the dorm, is the sweetest woman ever.
My volunteer schedule included 2 days at the Bolivar school (grades 1-6) assisting the English teacher and 4 nights teaching English at the community center (2 beginner classes and 2 intermediate classes). I had such a great experience with all of my classes. Working as a teaching assistant was amazing. The teacher and the small staff made me feel so welcome and the kids were so adorable. I often left school with flowers, stickers and notes from the kids and ended up becoming friends with the English teacher. We spent time outside of class so that I could help her with her Advanced English homework and using the internet. The night classes were also a great experience for me. My Intermediate class turned out to be really advanced so we would just sit around reading and chatting - it was fun. I had to plan more for my beginner class, but both were equally rewarding, as the students that came to class came because they really did want to learn. They were so appreciative of my efforts even though I had no prior teaching experience.
Having Fridays off was a bonus and I was able to travel to Turrialba for rafting, Manuel Antonio for the park and beach and San Jose for a soccer game. I made some really great friends while working, living and traveling with a group of very cool people.
My experience volunteering was great and is definitely on my list of best life decisions. I knew exactly why I needed and wanted to volunteer and what I wanted to accomplish for myself and for others. uVolunteer provided me with everything I needed to make the most out of this experience.
Sara Ramsey
