Central America - Spanish, Culture & Community

  Costa Rica

Arenal,  Dominical,  Guanacaste,  Jaco,  Manuel Antonio,  Monteverde,  Quepos,  San Jose,  Tamarindo

  Guatemala

San Andres

  Honduras

Roatan

  Nicaragua

San Juan del Sur

Duration of Program: 3-6 months
Typical Duration of Program: 3-6 months
Dates: Fall and Spring

Description: Our program in Central America covers Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica over the course of three months. University credit is available for a minor fee and while approximately 2/3 of our students choose to take this program for credit, many opt out in favor of a purely deep and enlightening experience. Our groups are smaller groups of no more than 12 students in order to not erode any efforts of cultural integration.

Actual volunteering takes the form of; construction in a remote village in the lowlands; environmental volunteerism in the Peten region; construction and environmental volunteerism in remote communities of the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala; volunteering with sea turtles in Costa Rica, and sustainable building/alternative material development in Nicaragua. Our programs also incorporate 4 weeks of dedicated one-on-one Spanish classes early in the program complete with individual homestays, and typically finish SCUBA diving off the coast of Honduras in Roatan.

Students can expect to be pushed by our staff when there are appropriate growth opportunities.

Please note, our programs are not for adjudicated or troubled youth and carry an ethic of drug and alcohol-free volunteering. We find this helps clarify our intention in volunteering abroad while simultaneously providing a safer environment to learn in.

Qualifications: Most students come with some background in Spanish, and while helpful, this is not necessary. Please, however, do come ready to push your boundaries and grow with your traveling community.

Cost in US$: 7,900

Credit Available: yes

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Most of our students are 19 years old and taking part in a traditional GAP Year. We do, however, regularly have students that are 17 and up to 24.

Age Range: 17 - 27

This Program is open to American, Asian, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of Maximum of 12

Scholarships are Available. please inquire for more information

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Other
• Phone Interview
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Year Founded: 1997