For anyone who is thinking about doing something like this: DO IT! It is a unique time that you experience there. An experience that you should definitely have, where you learn so many new things about yourself, about another country and another culture.
Tabea spent two months at the Wildlife Rescue Project in Cabuya, Costa Rica. She quickly settled in at the wildlife sanctuary, made new friends and soon regarded the other volunteers in the project as a little family. Working on the project was even more fun together!
I had always planned to go on a longer trip after my A-levels. As I didn't want to go to Asia or Australia like most people, I looked for organizations that travel in Latin America. I was really looking forward to this trip and the experience of doing something completely different. You think about what the trip will be like and whether it will be what you imagined. WanderWorld organized a lot of things for you: picked out the flights, created a list with general information that you need, what you absolutely have to do in advance and also provided a lot of information about the project. The seminar just under two months before departure also gave us a certain amount of security and our anticipation continued to grow.
On the day of my departure, it still felt very surreal, the day I had been looking forward to for several months had now arrived. When I arrived in Costa Rica, I started to realize that my journey was really about to begin. As I had already met other volunteers at the airport in Frankfurt, I was able to make new contacts straight away. We went to a restaurant together in the evening and talked about the upcoming trip. It was really interesting to find out what projects the others were doing and how different everyone's trips were. On the first morning, we had our introductory event, where Lisa showed us around San José and told us a lot about the city. We all had a traditional meal together and had a really nice first day. After the introductory days, we finally drove to the project and we were able to see a lot of the country on the way. When we arrived at the project, we received a warm welcome and the other volunteers were super open and friendly and welcomed us straight away. After a few days in the project and the introduction to the work, I realized that I would now be in this place for two months. I was very overwhelmed at first, as there were so many new things to take in at once. New people, a different language, work that you've never done before and a completely new culture, but also suddenly being so far away from home, something I'd never experienced before. I wondered whether it was the right decision to embark on such a journey alone. But after a week I really settled in, settled in with the other volunteers and got used to the new routine. It took time to embark on such an adventure, but I am all the happier to have overcome this and to have had this experience.
Es gab Früh- oder Spätschichten, wir haben immer Ende der Woche einen neuen Wochenplan erhalten. Wenn wir morgens arbeiten mussten, begann der Tag um 6 Uhr und ging bis 13:30 Uhr, die Spätschicht startete immer um 15 Uhr und endete mit dem Abendessen um 19:30 Uhr.
Unsere Aufgaben waren zu Beginn das Essen zu schneiden, zu kochen oder auch das Essen auf Tabletts zuzubereiten, damit es dann den Tieren zum Füttern gegeben werden konnte. Je länger man in dem Projekt bleibt, desto mehr Verantwortung bekommt man. Nach der Einführung in die ersten Aufgaben, wurde uns gezeigt, die Gehege der Tiere zu säubern und aufzuräumen. Manche Freiwilligen wurden auch auf spezielle Tiere trainiert, die krank oder verletzt waren und somit mehr Aufmerksamkeit benötigt haben. Es war unfassbar schön zu sehen, wie man mit seiner Arbeit den Tieren helfen konnte. Mit der schönste Moment war, wie man sehen konnte, dass es den Tieren von Woche zu Woche besser ging und sie Fortschritte gemacht haben. Während der Arbeit war immer eine super Stimmung untereinander, jeder hat immer gute Laune verbreitet, was die Arbeit auch nochmal viel schöner gemacht hat. Ebenso konnte man immer mit einem der Mitarbeiter reden, wenn einem was auf dem Herzen lag oder es irgendwelche Probleme gab. Durch die Arbeit habe ich super viel Neues über Wildtiere und das Leben dieser Tiere in so einem Land erfahren können. Ich habe Tiere sehen können, die man mal nicht so einfach in Deutschland sehen kann, was ein unfassbares Gefühl ist.
I made friends there straight away and got on really well with another WanderWorld participant who came with me. As we had one day off a week, which was always with other volunteers, we were able to do things together. We mostly went to the neighboring town (Montezuma). There you could go to super beautiful beaches, walk to the waterfalls, rent quats or go to happy hour and the bars in the evening. My highlight was a trip to Tortuga Island, where we took a boat tour to the island. When we arrived at the island it was raining, but at the same time it was an incredibly beautiful sunset and we all went swimming in the sea together. On the way back, we snorkeled in the sea in the dark. We also went to a traditional Costa Rican carnival, which is like a funfair here with lots of Spanish music and traditional food.
Before I flew to Costa Rica, I heard a lot about the motto "Pura Vida". I couldn't really imagine what it meant to live by this motto. But right from the start, you could tell that the local people are just super relaxed, don't stress themselves out and simply enjoy their lives. It's nice to see how people appreciate and enjoy their lives, which I think we in Germany should show much more to the outside world. At the carnival, you could also tell how happy people were, everyone was dancing and singing and it was an exuberant atmosphere.
I had many unique moments. The trip to the carnival, where almost every volunteer came along, was a lot of fun. We went on the rollercoaster together, danced and drank together and just laughed so much. I am grateful to have experienced such a traditional festival with all these people. But my last day was also incredibly beautiful: I got a tattoo together with a friend I met there, which will always remind me of this time and our friendship. In the evening, we made a campfire with all the volunteers and a few of the staff and sat around together. These were the people who have become a family to me over the last few weeks.
Es ist super schön, dass so viele Menschen von aller Welt zusammengekommen sind und ein Stück ihrer Kultur mitbringen. Durch die Arbeit der Freiwilligen ist es dem Rescue Center möglich, vielen Tieren zu helfen. Denn es benötigt ein ganzes Team, um die Gehege zu säubern, das Essen zuzubereiten etc. und ohne unsere Arbeit könnten vielen Wildtieren nicht mehr geholfen werden. Ebenso kannten viele Stockbrot nicht, was für mich zum Beispiel ein großer Teil meiner Kindheit war und es war sehr schön den Menschen vor Ort diesen Part meiner persönlichen Kultur mitzugeben.
Wir hatten ein Haus, in dem alle Volunteers geschlafen haben. Es gab 4–5 Bettzimmer, ich war in einem 5er-Zimmer und hab mit 4 anderen Mädels dort geschlafen. Es war eine schöne Zeit sich mal mit mehreren das Zimmer zu teilen, weil wir oft abends vor dem Schlafen gehen, noch zusammen auf einem Bett lagen und gequatscht haben. Klar war es mal etwas chaotisch, da die Zimmer nicht sonderlich groß sind, aber man gewöhnt sich daran. Wir haben uns zwei Duschen und zwei Toiletten mit allen Freiwilligen geteilt, was aber nicht so schlimm war, da wir durch die unterschiedlichen Arbeitszeiten uns selten durch die Queren gekommenen sind.
Wir hatten einmal eine Ameisenplage, die sich im ganzen Haus verteilt haben, in dem Moment war es natürlich nicht so schön, aber im Nachhinein sehr lustig und gehört eben zu der Dschungel Erfahrung dazu. Die Toiletten und Duschen, sowie unsere Zimmer wurden fast jeden Tag sauber gemacht, weswegen man sich sehr wohlfühlen konnte.
This trip definitely helped me progress and was a great experience. Because I started out alone, I quickly got the feeling of loneliness and although you meet new people in the project, I lacked a real caregiver. But I also learned how nice it is to be completely alone sometimes. I'm a very extroverted person, but in another country, with a new language, it's something else again and you have to overcome yourself to approach new people in a different language and I became much more confident in speaking. I have learned that you should appreciate life much more, because when you compare the lifestyles there with those here in Germany, you realize how grateful you should be for your life here. When you are there, you appreciate your home in Germany much more. A trip like this gives you time to reflect on your life and realize what you might want to change in Germany.
I found it fascinating to have lived in the middle of the jungle and to have been exposed to a completely new climate. For anyone thinking about doing something like this: DO IT! It's a unique time that you experience there. An experience that you should definitely have, where you learn so many new things about yourself, about another country and another culture. Be open to a new experience and embark on the adventure. A tip: don't worry so much beforehand about what it might be like, otherwise you will only be disappointed, because it will definitely be different from what you imagined, but definitely one of the best times of your life!
Founder of Wanderworld Travel
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