CENTRAL VALLEY PROGRAM – La Flor Community
This is a sample of
what you might experience if you were to volunteer at our La Flor Project:
Day One
(Let’s assume this is a Sunday, though you can arrive any day you wish.)
- Arrive at airport
- You’re met outside by one of our representatives, who will be holding a sign with your name on it
- Then you’ll be transported to our headquarters in Cartago where you
will meet our staff, receive an orientation and will be taken to meet
your host family - Dinner
- Rest easily in your private room and sleep well through the night!
Day Two
- Breakfast
- Your volunteer coordinator will meet you and bring you to the
elementary school where you will be introduced to the other volunteers
and staff. Any training necessary will also begin today. You’ll start
to get to know the children and will find, even though they are shy,
they will latch on to you very quickly and you’ll begin to make many
new friends. Teachers will have identified which children need extra
attention and tutoring. If you speak Spanish, you’ll be tutoring kids
(often one-on-one) in their general subjects. If you only speak
English, then you will be tutoring the kids in English. Oftentimes we
schedule in fun activities like music or art, and sometimes sports.
What you “do” often depends on what you feel comfortable doing and what
your skills are. - From here you may walk to a second nearby school to begin the same process there.
- Lunch
- In the afternoon you might volunteer for a little while in the La
Flor community garden. Perhaps some of the school kids or even parents
will join you in planting new flowers, weeding and bringing new life to
the community’s shared space. - If not the garden, then you may work teaching English with a group
of teens or adults from the community – or might help them learn some
(very, very) basic computer skills. - Dinner
- Most of our volunteers find themselves making new friends quickly
and have a long list of social invitations to attend to at the end of
the day. Or, you may be exhausted and just want to walk around the
beautiful town or read a book. - Another restful night…
Days Three through Five
- Some variation of the Day Two schedule, unless we have worked
together in advance to schedule you a special workshop to lead with a
different group in town (women’s health, sports training, first aid, or
whatever your specialty is). Your volunteer coordinator will be
spending a lot of time with you ensuring your project is going well and
making sure you are well taken care of.
Day Six
- Volunteers often take 3-day weekends to do some traveling so
they can get an idea of what the rest of Costa Rica looks like. So
today you might: - Depart for a river-rafting tour down the Pacuare River
- Arrive at our Exploration Center in Siquirres and have a hearty breakfast
- Take the van up river to the drop-in point
- Go through a safety course and start heading down the river with your guides and other travelers
- Stop for a picnic lunch along the way on the side of the riverbank
- Continue down the river, arriving back at the Exploration Center
where you will rest, have some snacks & beverages and hang out with
your new friends - Be transported to the Arenal Volcano area and arrive at your hotel
- Kick back, relax and watch the lava flow running down the volcano
Day Seven
- Enjoy some of the tours in the Arenal area, such as a Canopy
Tour (zip line), hiking, aerial tram, windsurfing on the Arenal Lake or
relax in the wildly popular Tabacon Hot Springs center and get a
massage in the jungle.
Day Eight
- Transportation back to La Flor
Days Nine through Thirteen
- Continue with your projects in La Flor
- During this time you will schedule your free, guided tours of some
local attractions, such as the Orosi Valley, Lankaster Botanical
Gardens or the Irazu Volcano tour.
Day Fourteen
- Meet with our staff for a debriefing and to fill out your evaluation form
- Depart for the airport
- Or if you are staying in Costa Rica longer, depart for your next tropical and exciting destination!