Costa Rica

Hi
I volunteered for 1 week in Costa Rica with CCS. We were painting a mural for an underprivledged school. Although we did make a different to the school with our presence it wasn't worth the cost nor the effort to visit Costa Rica to only actually work for 3-3.5 hours a day. The accommodation & food was great, the staff were really nice. I would definitely not recommend CCS, it is overpriced and more suited to people that don't want a "hardcore" volunteering experience. Also I felt that 1 week is not enough, don't volunteer for any less than 2 weeks. I did have a nice time but couldn't get pass the cost, non of which goes directly to the community.

I stayed in Puriscal, Costa Rica for 3 weeks and it was absolutely amazing. The staff at the house were incredibly helpful,working at my volunteer placement was very rewarding (and fun!), and I met some great people along the way. I would really recommend it to anyone who is looking to volunteer internationally as well as learn about other cultures.

I thought I signed up to ELI abroad but I guess they were just the middleman. The people were somewhat nice but all I heard was complaints from the other students about their volunteer placement. We were supposed to be volunteering in a clinic, but there was practically no work for us to do. I switch to work in a kids daycamp which was more fun. The whole experience wasn't terrible for me, but they just seem like they really over-promise and under-deliver. If you just want to do something fun in Costa Rica, this is for you. If you are really serious about volunteering, you should probably look elsewhere.

I didn't know it at the time I signed up and paid for the trip, but I guess ELI was simply a middleman to a separate entity in Costa Rica. They basically just sent me to "Amistad Institute" who handled everything. I was a little upset that there would be no representatives of ELI there, but it turned out not to be that bad. I guess this was the first year ELI worked with Amistad, and from what I heard from other students, this might also be the last. It would have been nice not to be part of the "test group" lol.

I was pretty satisfied with the homestay environment, the location, etc. However, the volunteer placement did not provide me with very valuable experience.