Program Reviews

It is hard to fully summarize this summer in writing, but I will do my best! My time in Panama with Discover AMIGOS was one of the most incredible, life-changing experiences I have ever had. Immediately meeting the other AMIGOS I was on the trip with, I knew I had found my life-long friends. The way Discover completely immersed us in Panamanian culture has opened my eyes, and will stay with me forever. I got to take part in so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including living with a host family, and teaching English at a local school. Not only did this trip greatly improve my Spanish skills, it taught me leadership, teamwork, and open-mindedness! The memories I created during this trip will stay with me for the rest of my life, and will continue to impact my view on the world. I HIGHLY recommend you do the Discover AMIGOS program, or any of the other AMIGOS programs!! It will change your life!!!

Participating in AMIGOS was one of the best decision I have ever made. The Azuero project truly pushed me to grow and develop in my interpersonal skills, language, and overall character. I lived in the Azuero region for 6 weeks the summer going into my senior year. AMIGOS is an amazing program in which I always felt safe and prepared for whatever was thrown my way. I got to make great relationships with my host family and others in my community as well as long-lasting friendships with my partners and the other AMIGOS volunteers. It is truly an experience that you cannot find anywhere else which throws you "out of your element", and changes your perspective on the world for the better. I highly recommend AMIGOS to anyone who is considering it!

I was a participant during the Cocle 6 week summer program in 2019. It's difficult to sum 6 weeks into one paragraph, but the thing I learned most from AMIGOS is how to approach challenge. I've always been a person that likes to solve challenges by myself or not ask for help; however, AMIGOS changed this–I was pushed to solve obstacles I had never contacted, big and small. I had the freedom to be myself while learning when I needed assistance and when I knew I could accomplish a task, a conversation etc. Now, as I am an incoming college first-year, this skill is evermore important. I feel confident making connections with professors and other students. I also feel comfortable asking questions and being vulnerable in my own skin–a skill I had never developed until AMIGOS.

My six weeks with AMIGOS in Palmares were some of the best six weeks of my life. I loved, loved, loved this program. Everyone I met was so kind. Ticos (Costa Ricans) are genuinely kind and caring people. Everyone in my community was so excited to meet us, to have us in our homes, to offer us a meal. The other volunteers on my project were genuinely unique and funny and accepting and I loved spending time with them. My supervisor was so supportive of me and my partner and encourage us to enjoy our time there to the fullest. The project director was so sweet, and Casa de la Juventud was such an integral part of my experience; they made a great partner agency. If you're on the fence about AMIGOS, do this program. I promise you you'll love it.

Amigos is really the best! Such a great program. My summer in Costa Rica is something I'll cherish forever. I learned more that summer then I ever thought I would. Everyone told me how great Amigos was, but I didn't understand truly how special it is until I experienced it for myself. Every day was a new adventure. Amigos gave me a family in Costa Rica, people I will never forget and who i have so much love for, and friends across the U.S. Amigos gave me the experience of a lifetime and memories to hold onto forever.

I participated in the Cuenca Gap semester from January-June 2019, and it was truly an amazing and transformative experience. I think the Amigos program did a great job of helping participants settle into their lives in Cuenca, by spending the first week in a hostel with fellow participants while getting used to the city, and then by spending the first month in intensive Spanish classes to prepare participants for their placements. My host family was incredibly loving and supportive, and I really felt like I became a part of their family and vice versa. I felt supported by Amigos staff in Cuenca, but not in an overly-stifling way. Every 2 weeks, we had check-ins with supervisors, just to make sure everything was going well, but they were always available if we needed them for anything. We also went on trips to different parts of Ecuador every month, including to the beach and to other cities, which was really amazing as well. All in all, I loved my time with Amigos and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a gap program that provides structure but is not overbearing. I think my favorite part was that supervisors really treated us like adults, and we were pretty much living independent lives in Cuenca while knowing that there was support available if we needed it.

My gap semester with Amigos was an incredible and formative experience. I think about Cuenca, my dear host family, and the lessons I learned there almost daily. Amigos did an excellent job finding a loving host family for me—they were wonderful and I hope to visit them someday. Although I did not imagine myself with the internship I had (I volunteered at a preschool in the city center), I now realize it taught powerful lessons in patience and self-advocacy. I also came to understand the great privilege it was to have any sort of job in a Latin American city. Most of my coworkers had been through extensive schooling and were in charge of these giant groups of kids day after day for years. I could get up and leave whenever I wanted!

The language classes were very thorough and streamlined (they don’t waste time teaching vocabulary or grammar tenses you will never need to know). The highly structured format of the language school field trips and monthly Amigos excursions are perfect for someone who has never traveled solo in a different language before. As someone who had previously done this, there were times when I felt we were being babysat. However, I came to appreciate the safety, included transportation, and insider access we had as a group.

I took advantage of the independent travel opportunities we had during the semester—and these trips were some of the highlights of my time in the country. It was during these smaller group trips that I really learned about myself and how I function in groups. All the while, we had the insured support of our supervisors who were just a few hours away (another thing I took for granted but now appreciate, looking back on all of the things that could have gone wrong).

The supervisors I had were great people with a plethora of knowledge and well-seasoned opinions of Cuenca. Though I did not require as much support as some of the other participants, I am again glad they had my back just in case.

Overall I recommend this program to open-minded, inexperienced travelers. While young adults from all walks of life can benefit from some way in this program, the open-minded, inexperienced travelers in my cohort enjoyed the program the most.

You’ll gain language skills, intercultural competency, and friends from all over the world (Ecuador, the US, and Europe!) Best of luck!

Beat trip ever. I made new friends, experiencing culture, and grew my Spanish. I now have more friends across the US. I talk to my friends often, and I can’t wait to see them again. I worked with community members to grow my Spanish, develop a mural, and I got out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t used to being away from home for an extended period of time, but it felt so great to be so independent. I also got to know my host mom really well. We talked a lot and she became family to me. I can’t wait to go back. I would recommend this trip to anyone willing to take a chance and go on a life changing adventure!

AMIGOS provides a unique opportunity to step entirely into another culture while being supported in all matters related to health and safety. In high school, I spent 8 weeks living with a host family and working with my AMIGOS partner and local youth on a service project. Since then, I have traveled to 20+ countries and I have always struggled to find the same level of authentic immersion that AMIGOS provided me. The Azuero project provided me with a lot of insight into how environmental issues are addressed in Panama and lots of Spanish practice. I can't recommend this program enough!

During the first half of my trip, I lived in a tiny community of 20 people called Macho Mora (mora=blackberry or “berry” for short). Macho Mora is located next to the tallest mountain in Costa Rica so it has amazing views of the valley, waterfalls, colorful sunsets. I lived with a host family with one ten year old girl and one sixteen year old boy. Additionally, my two Amigos partners lived in the same community, and we all worked on the same project. Our project was to paint an entire community center inside and out. With community input, we selected a bright blue color for the walls and red for the columns, and we also designed a mural that had important symbols of our community such as trout, waterfalls, and flowers. Finally, we added our own handprints as well as the handprints of the past volunteers in Macho Mora to illustrate the collaborative effort in our project that will hopefully benefit the entire Macho Mora community for years to come.

For the second part of the trip, my partners and I, as well as other Amigos volunteers and Costa Rican youth, traveled to Marino Ballena National Park located on the southern Pacific side of Costa Rica. If you look up Marino Ballena on Google Maps, you’ll see that it’s in the shape of a whale tail which is where the park got its name (ballena = whale). We spent our time in Marino Ballena cleaning and repairing the visitor trail.. In our free time, we would play volleyball, slip ‘n slide in the rain, swim in the ocean, and dance to Spanish reggaetón.

Over the course of my trip, I learned to be flexible, collaborative, and confident in my Spanish. I love having so many connections with people not only from all over the United States, but also from Costa Rica. I will never forget my experience because it was probably the best summer of my life. Thank you, AMIGOS!