Volunteer Expiriences

Volunteer English Teacher - San Carlos, Costa Rica

2006 Cross Cultural Solutions

Assistant English Teacher.

Because of its location in Alajuela, the northernmost province of Costa Rica, San Carlos has a continuously growing population of immigrants from neighboring Nicaragua who are looking to find better opportunities, but who are not eligible for government assistance.

The CCS program site in San Carlos is based in Ciudad Quesada — the regional capital and main center of services and commerce for Northern Costa Rica. Although the area is agriculturally based, the continuous influx of both Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans traveling to Ciudad Quesada causes this small town to reflect many of the challenges typically associated with urban areas. Issues such as Illegal immigration, a shortage of resources, and unemployment all affect the residents of San Carlos. Alcoholism is another common challenge in the area that affects indigenous populations and laborers disproportionately, and many times leads to domestic abuse.

Teaching children helps create a stimulating learning environment for children from low-income communities. New ideas and energy excite the children and provide much needed encouragement for the teachers and parents. The school where I worked often had very limited resources and benefited from learning creative ways to keep children and teenagers engaged and dedicated to learning.