Stories from students, retirees, working professionals, couples, families, groups, solo travelers, first-time volunteers, volunteer veterans and everyone in-between from more than 20 countries around the world. Learn about your favorite country in their own words.
Today was the end of a full week—a week of teaching and learning for all of us. The word “bittersweet” came up a few times this morning at breakfast for Meghan and me on our last day of teaching. Last walk by the blue morning glories, the black dog, and the fig trees on […]
By Michele & Chris, Cuba Volunteers. We continue to be blessed with new Cuban friends at our volunteer project sites and enjoy deeper conversations with our teammates. It’s an abundance of talk, experience, laughter, sweat and takeaways from the Cuban life experience. Following are a few team members’ small, impactful memories. Thanks for sharing: Renee was impressed […]
Volunteers working with Cuban students of English – both adults and youth – discover sharing the language is the best way to share insights about life. This Cuba Volunteer reflects on a week of service… By Rene Moquin, 5-time Global Volunteer. As a longtime volunteer with Global Volunteers, I have no illusions about teaching conversational […]
By Melinda, Cuba Global Volunteers Another day of awareness, growth and friendship. Here are my thoughts, abbreviated in this format. Awareness The interdependent Web: Chris, Guthrie, and the professional masons chisel off the old plaster and stucco; I shovel up the pieces and rake the small stones into a pile. Guthrie shovels it up and […]
Journal entry by Ben, Cuba Global Volunteer and University of Iowa Student, written during his volunteer program in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. Over the course of my volunteer work in Cuba, I have tried to think of a way to explain to everyone back in America just what it was like to be in Cuba. I don’t think […]
Global Volunteers salutes Brenda Pearson, who has served on 9 Global Volunteers service programs since 2008, beginning with Mexico. From there Brenda was “hooked” on Global Volunteers and went on to serve in China, Portugal, St. Lucia, Vietnam and Poland (4 times). Brenda is noted for her professionalism, easy going and gentle nature, optimism, flexibility, […]
Global Volunteers Bill and Barb Chase have served together in Ecuador, Tanzania, Montana, West Virginia, St. Lucia and Costa Rica since 2006. This couple volunteering worldwide exemplifies the opportunities to discover the world – and each other – together through service. Bill, a retired physician/surgeon, and Barb, a retired teacher, are loved and respected by their team […]
By Sandy, 6-time Global Volunteer. Only two more days in Cuba for me! As usual, after a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, everyone went off to their morning project. Daniel and Bethany went to the center to prepare the ground for planting, both Johns went to the center to tutor English, and I was […]
By Stevan, Cuba Global Volunteer It has been a dream of mine of over 30 years to visit Cuba. Even though there were ways to get there via Canada or Mexico, I was just afraid and didn’t want to be a poster child for the U.S. government as to what could happen to you if […]
By Bethany, Cuba Global Volunteer. Question asked during English Conversations Q: “What is different between teenagers in Cuba & The US?” A: “There is no difference; we all want the same things – friends, time, family – we want what any teenager wants.” It seems to me that people are key, for both the volunteers and […]