After four amazing weeks on his teaching English project in a monastery in Nepal, Samuel Condon headed back to the US. In his final weekly report he writes that the monks hope he will return next year and that he thinks he just might have to. Hopefully his month volunteering will turn into lifelong bonds.
Read Sam’s final weekly report:
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We woke up at 8am and had breakfast in the Lodge. Everyone was learning to expect gallopinto (Costa Rican rice and beans) with every meal, and it was quite delicious with scrambled eggs and toast, and strong black coffee with milk. After breakfast we gathered outside the lodge, completely covered in bug spray, and Fabrizio led us on a hike through the woods. We would be working first, and then visiting Rio Celeste and hot springs. Camilo had to carry two large bags filled with the sacks so we assumed our work today would be similar to yesterday’s. We followed Fabrizio on a trail through the jungle up steep inclines with even steeper steps. Fabrizio told us to watch out for snakes and pointed out interesting insects and plants. The air was thick but cool. We hiked for about an hour and crossed a wobbly suspension bridge over a beautiful river and finally arrived at our work site. Because it is so muddy, the trails constantly need to be filled with rocks in order to maintain them, and that was our task for the morning.
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If you have been thinking about doing volunteer work in Ghana, traveling to the west African nation is becoming easier and easier with better airline service to its main international airport in Accra. To give you an idea of the amazing experience you could be opening yourself up to, read about Markie’s adventure in animal conservation or Charlotte’s trip teaching sports.
Travelers from the US will have a much easier time getting to Ghana with the recent inauguration of new flights from Atlanta and Washington. Virgin Atlantic also added a new flight to Accra from London, and Brussel Airlines just began flying from Belgium. Already, Ghana’s main airport, Kokota International, is “becoming the hub of air transport in the West African sub-region as nine new international airlines have expressed interest to operate in Ghana in the near future.”
I posted Samuel Condon’s experiences from his first two weeks teaching English in Kathmandu and after reading his week 3 report, I’ve almost decided I need to pack up and catch a flight to volunteer there. He is building bonds with the monks, immersing himself in their way of life and he’s really dedicated to his teaching project, which is certainly paying off.
Read Samuel’s full week 3 report:
Monday morning fourteen volunteers, Camilo and I packed into a van and hit the open road, prepared with snacks and lots of bug spray. We drove for three hours through beautiful winding roads, narrow with over-hanging trees that opened up into vast fields with clouded mountains in the distance. The road was sometimes bumpy and unpaved, and more than once we had to stop for cattle crossing, but nobody minded when we were surrounded by the amazing scenery of volcanoes and palm trees and sometimes both.
At uVolunteer we are all about finding that happy medium between work and play. Last week, our volunteers in San Ramon fully experienced the meaning of a volunteer vacation on a whirlwind tour of Costa Rica, and Camilo and I were lucky enough to go along with them. Schools in Costa Rica were closed for holidays so we planned this trip for volunteers to experience other parts of the country and partake in different volunteer projects.
Most of the volunteers had never been to any of our destinations – Rio Celeste, Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo – and none of us really knew what to expect, except of course, a good time.
In subsequent blog posts I will give you details and highlights of the amazing trip, but first, here is a quick overview – from rainforests in Rio Celeste, to wildlife in Tortuguero and finally, to relax on the beaches of Puerto Viejo:
Long-time friends Kerry and Cathy decided to come to Costa Rica to travel and volunteer together. They both have experience teaching and are using their expertise to help children and adults in San Ramon. I had the pleasure of teaching with Kerry in the adult English classes and Camilo visited both of them on their first day of their teaching English project at a local elementary school. It turned out to be a special day of celebrations at the school and Kerry and Cathy were thrown right in to Costa Rican culture on their first day of the project.
Read Camilo’s full report and check out a video of a typical Costa Rican dance from the school’s celebration:
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Jody arrived in San Ramon this weekend and is, in my opinion, so fortunate to be volunteering in the community center in Bajo Tejares, a project that I absolutely loved volunteering in a few weeks ago. Bajo Tejares is an underserved neighborhood of San Ramon and kids can go to the community center for afterschool enrichment and academic support that most aren’t able to get at home. When volunteering there it’s easy to see how one safe and nurturing place like this can really change a kid’s life and keep them out of trouble.
Laura accompanied Jody on her first day volunteering with the kids. Here is her report from the site:
After returning from our amazing week-long trip, Monday meant back to work for the volunteers. Even though we all missed the beautiful beaches, most volunteers agreed it was really refreshing to come home to San Ramon - fewer bugs, and after so much sun we even appreciated San Ramon’s milder weather.
For some volunteers Monday was the first day on their projects. Camilo took Erica to her first day on her orphanage project where she will be working with another uVolunteer Daniela.
Read Camilo’s report about Erica’s first day on her volunteer project:
Charlotte Dieteren is volunteering teaching physical education in Ghana. She is living in a homestay in the beautiful coastal city of Kokrobite, about 30 km from Accra. She has been volunteering for two weeks and has three more to go.
Read about her first two weeks volunteering with school children Ghana:
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