Volunteer Vacation Testimonials

We worked hard all week to extend a concrete patio and put up the first part of a concrete barrier on one side; we could clearly see the results of our hard work at the end of the week! We had Wednesday off for some touring around the area and a trip to the hot springs, which was awesome. We also got rained out of our work on part of one afternoon, and none of the students complained about having a little downtime at the house! We also had the chance to visit a coffee farm after finishing work one day, which was very pleasant. There was PLENTY of food, and we all enjoyed all of it! Our hosts were so gracious and generous with their hospitality. We especially liked all the local fruit and juice. We also had a great breakfast every day at the house.

Federico was a wonderful guide for the program; he knew all of the people we worked with, was clear in his directions to our group as we worked, and gave the students enough independence to make their contributions feel important. The one thing we liked the least...well, this is nobody's fault, but the narrow, windy roads sometimes made a few of us feel a little carsick! But Federico was an excellent driver. It was a great experience for everyone. We were very well-prepared with the guidebooks and with communications with Federico. Always, we met as a group after dinner to talk about the plans for the next day, and then Federico would confirm everything before we left the house in the morning. Our students really appreciated meeting the local families, and some even tried out their Spanish!

Kristin Benjamin
Orosi Valley, Costa Rica.
June, 2025

We were working directly with an active member of the church we were building benches for. We got feedback from families who fed us lunches and dinners that they appreciated the work we were doing. Federico was great! We were really grateful to have him all to ourselves! The information he shared our first night there about cultural differences and what to expect was very helpful. 

The free time was perfect! A couple hours to do our own thing each afternoon/evening was good to reflect on the day and refresh before having a meal with a local family. The extensive touring was very informative and fun without being rushed.

We loved the food, getting to learn more Spanish, learning new skills that were used to help the community, and getting to know so much about the country and valley. We are so grateful for this opportunity and all that Federico provided during our stay as well as how helpful Norma and Kimberly were in planning and preparing to go.

Lori Bane
Orosi Valley, Costa Rica.
March, 2025

“We got to do a significant amount of cultural immersion and exchange with the local community: understand their way of life and values, participate in their traditions (tamales on Christmas, for example), eat in family members' homes every day, and share our perspectives with them. We could see where our program fees would improve the local community (construction materials, families hosting us for meals, etc). We worked on a project that was right-sized for our small group of 2 people (building tables at a local community center) and were able to see the results at the end.

We had enough personal downtime to process our experiences within the community, especially with a small group of 2. Accommodations were good. There was enough space, and we enjoyed having coffee and snacks in the kitchen and trying local Costa Rican cooking. Some of the things we liked best were the cultural exchange and project work, a leisure trip to local hot springs, and our coordinator, Federico!

Federico was great. He spent a lot of time with us, communicating what to expect and soliciting our feedback on how to get the most out of our time in Orosi Valley. He did lots of translation. We also tried using our limited Spanish to interact and apps like Google Translate to carry on direct conversations.”

Keith Torluemke
Orosi Valley, Costa Rica.
November, 2024