4 Wochen Volunteering, English Tutor at the beach, ein Erfahrungsbericht von Drew

During my time in Uvita, I had the chance to meet regularly with 8 local children whose ages ranged from 6 through 12. I used different teaching strategies to best suit each child, keeping them interested and eager to learn. I would have liked, prior to my arrival, to have been more prepped on what the students were learning as it could have made my earlier lessons more productive and less repetitive. At times I’d question the children about what they were learning in school, and some were uncertain while others were helpful and provided me with their homework and projects. Had I been on the project for a longer period, I would have developed some learning tools to help the students better interact, as I quickly learned that using pictures and drawing made the kids much more intrigued to participate. It also would have been beneficial if the students were split up by age, and not necessarily by household. In 2 of the 3 households I visited, there was a significant age gap between the children, and this made it very difficult to tend to both their levels. Aside from those suggestions, the project was formatted well, and Jamso Trainee and Senora Mayela made my volunteer process easy.
As for the accommodation I was pleasantly surprised. I came to Costa Rica expecting to eat solely rice and beans and live in poor conditions. While we ate rice and beans very often, both the house moms were excellent cooks, and I was very impressed with some of their meals. The house itself was also more than enough for my stay, and I liked the privacy of my own bedroom, but also the shared outdoor spaces to interact with the other volunteers. Jamso Trainee was also helpful in transportation, as they helped me navigate my way from the airport, to the bus stations, and ultimately to Uvita. This was my first time on a volunteer project to this nature, and they made it as smooth as possible. I also loved Uvita for how relaxing it was, and how much there was to do. I had the chance most days to visit different beaches and waterfalls and live the “pura vida”. I hope to return to Uvita, but maybe next time not during the rainy season.