<p>I am thinking about volunteering abroad. I am a 56 year female and, now that my D is in college (and given that my H doesn’t love to travel and would never venture to a “third world country”) I am interested in looking at a 2-3 week volunteer program. I was just looking at the website for Cross Cultural Solutions, but know there are many others as well. Any recommendations? Any experiences to share? I am thinking of spending a few months studying Spanish and then volunteering in Costa Rico.</p>
<p>My sudden desire to do this stems from a realization that I have been coaching/coaxing (generally to no avail) my 19 y.o. sophomore to do things I wish I had done. I keep suggesting classes that I would like to take, internships I wish I had explored, etc. I woke up one day and said “hey, why not me?” I enrolled in a program through UCLA extension where adults over 50 can pay an annual fee and take any number of classes through that program. Although I am in only my first class (Socrates of all things!), it is wonderful. I needed to know that life didn’t end with the empty nest.</p>
<p>Oh, yes! I too did the same for my children. Totally backfired. First thing I am going to do when one goes, hopefully, to college, is go back to studying French. And I also volunteer and that is something I will never stop doing! And as a weird coincidence I have taken numerous courses over the years at the UCLA extension.</p>
<p>The classes I am taking now are through the Osher program for older adults. In the past, I have taken general extension classes. The dominant hair color in my class is white! I actually feel like a baby!</p>
<p>Well I can relate to that. I hadn’t connected the dots until I saw your post, but I’ve always loved finding ideas for my D to consider (which she rarely ever listens to anyway but I so enjoy the exploration). And it’s through my looking for her that I’ve uncovered some great opportunities for me. So I am learning french with this amazing computer based program (I highly recommend if you pm me I’ll tell you about it). We are volunteering as a host family for UN refugees. And I’ve recently joined a training clinic for a marathon.</p>
<p>Oh as for volunteer programs, search for ones where you deal directly with the organization in need, without a big fee ( you pay your own expenses, room and board on site, and then can donate to the charity you work for). We’d rather donate some big $$ directly to the charity itself rather than let that sum go to a middle man to arrange a fancy volunteer vacation. We’d done one in a Thailand orphanage like that. And recently I saw one for teaching in Uganda. </p>
<p>Good for you, figuring out to do yourself what you tell the kids to do. Personally I find telling the kids what to do so much easier…But yes, the point here is to get a life, right? </p>
<p>When I was in Ecuador visiting my S on exchange, I went with him to one of his volunteer sites, which was an English teaching program for school kids. I met a woman there who had come to study at one of the numerous language schools. She had then progressed on to volunteering at various sites. All rather easily arranged when she was studying Spanish. Ecuador seemed to have a number of programs that one could easily get involved with, though a certain amount of Spanish was necessary to function in the country.</p>
<p>Take a look at World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It’s a volunteer programs where people can work on organic farms all over the world. A friend of mine went to Sicily and loved it. You need to be in good shape because farm work isn’t easy, but it was a great experience.</p>
<p>My tennis partner has volunteered with Global Volunteers. She has gone to Peru, Brazil and this past fall to Rarotonga (Cook Islands). She has been extremely pleased with the programs. They are not luxury and you work hard. My friend is a reading teacher. Her last trip she spent two weeks working at the only high school on the island. She goes alone. Her husband has no interest.</p>
<p>This is off-topic, but thank you RE52! You made me realize that I really still want to go to Yale. So I’ve thought about it, and have begun making plans to apply next year to start grad school there in 2010.</p>
<p>I probably won’t get in, but I need to try.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the wonderful leads and suggestions. I will definitely follow up! I am finding my current “identity crisis” to be the hardest, perhaps because it is full of the most possibilities and, in some ways, the least constraints.</p>
<p>Good luck, ScottieMix. It is never too late.</p>