All in all, Costa Rica brings a lot to the table, from construction to teaching English, to relaxing and taking it all in on the beaches of Puerto Viejo, I’ve definitely had my fair share of indulgence. 
Program Volunteer Costa Rica
Project: Volunteer in Construction & Community Development for Rural Communities in Costa Rica
I’ve been traveling to various places around the world for some time but never quite got out to Central America. Costa Rica did not disappoint.
After being bombarded with taxi requests, the drive up to the dorms was a quick chance to soak in the pura vida lifestyle. We arrived quickly to the dorms and were greeted amicably by Xenia, a sweet beautiful woman who would serve as my mom for the next four weeks.
She hooked me up with a small Spanish lesson on the second day to add to my severely limited vocabulary. I got acquainted with the rest of the volunteers quickly and was eager to travel with them wherever our feet took us.
Our first trip to Jaco beach was 2 days later, a spur of the moment kind of thing that my friend Matt suggested. We got around to Hermosa beach, done some surfing, and just had a great time in general. The drive back was an adventure in itself with limited lighting, Celine Dion, slick roads, and clowns driving pickup trucks. Anyone that knows me well, knows how terrified I am of clowns. Nonetheless, we got back in one piece and I was ready to start my volunteer project the following morning.
We arrived to the project scene around 7:30 AM and got to check out the foundation that Rodrigo and Rojillio (the construction workers) laid before us a couple weeks prior. Two laid back guys, one really involved in mathematical dimensions of the house while the other is solely on the get-go. We were assigned to aid in the construction of the house for Lyjia, a local who is trying to move out near San Padre. No power tools were needed in the construction, solely manual labor and some elbow grease. There were 4 different kinds of cement used in securing the cement blocks, in between blocks, and drywall. I’ve gotten accustomed to working with lumber so this was a change of pace. Rodrigo showed us the ropes of things and we quickly began work.
Besides doing construction, we managed to squeeze in a day at turtle conservation in Gandoca. Beach cleaning was a part of it and we managed to do some good in making sure that the turtle population was accredited to its increase. It’s truly an eye-opener whenever you see these turtles in action. If it’s one thing I can recommend to have a volunteer connection to, this would be it. All in all, Costa Rica brings a lot to the table, from construction to teaching English, to relaxing and taking it all in on the beaches of Puerto Viejo, I’ve definitely had my fair share of indulgence. I would recommend this to anyone interested in discovering a different world all while helping out the underprivileged.
Vladimir Aristov
