WorldTeach: Ecuador Volunteer Teaching (Year)

I decided to join WT when I realized that Peace Corps was not a good fit for me. WT was an excellent way to get myself abroad, with a built-in support system, a training program to prepare me since I had little experience teaching, a job and house lined up, and someone to call on when I needed help. If you feel comfortable going abroad without any of these luxuries, then WT might not be the right fit for you.

I found the WT staff to be helpful and responsive. There are so many things that are out of their control and they do their best to accommodate all the volunteers' needs. They work tirelessly for their volunteers, host families and partner institutions.

Ecuador is an amazing country with amazing people. Yes, it can be a little dangerous sometimes--mostly pickpocketing and nonviolent muggings. Not fun but not unusual in most countries where WT operates.

My best advice--check your expectations at the door. Be ready for a lot of red tape ("tramites" in Spanish--you'll learn that quickly).

WorldTeach Ecuador is a long-standing, well established program. I was very impressed with the wealth of information provided to me upon leaving the U.S., as well as once in training in Ecuador. The program directors were super organized and I felt very comfortable in their care. The country has certain places that are very safe and others that are much more risky. I felt very well aware of my boundaries and well supported by the WorldTeach program should anything happen. I LOVED my teaching site in Ibarra, northern Ecuador. It was the perfect medium size city with plenty of restaurants and places to go, but not overwhelming. My school was beautiful, and very helpful in welcoming my co-volunteer and I to the school. We were given resources left from the previous volunteers which served to be very helpful during our year. We could teach as we were trained during our orientation month, and we were very successful in the style of communicative teaching. I also adored my host mother and felt very connected with the culture thanks to my living situation. I recommend living with a host family and sticking to it, regardless of different lifestyles. It's worth the immersion! Going to live in Ecuador has proven to be the best decision of my life thus far, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could. Just do it!

I found Ecuador to be very dangerous with the majority of volunteers robbed by the end of the program. There was not a need for volunteers at my school because there were paid teachers that did the same job and were paid more. Bad host families were used over and over again by WT Staff.

The experience of coming to Ecuador with WorldTeach changed my life in amazingly positive ways. This type of program is for anyone who is dedicated, wants to teach, wants to integrate into the local community, but is also looking for support from an awesome in-country staff. Wonderful program!

I knew upon graduation that I wanted to spend at least a year abroad. A friend told me about WorldTeach, and although admittedly teaching made me nervous, I decided to apply.

I was placed in a medium-sized city on the coast and initially taught English at a trade school. The demographic of my students ranged from adolescents to working professionals. It was not a course that was mandatory; therefore, my students were there because they wanted to be.

After my year with WorldTeach ended I knew that I was not yet ready to leave. I loved my students, had a great volunteer internship at the local hospital, and was not yet ready to leave my host family. I applied for an extension and after it was approved, I got the chance to work help pioneer a new site in my city.

WorldTeach Ecuador was great for training. Orientation can be tedious but is very informative, it runs all day (8-6) five days a week. Afterwards, you return, exhausted, to your Quito homestay families. Or, on some days, go and get a Pilsner with some of the group. By the end of it, I felt over prepared. I felt like I knew how to teach, plan without a curriculum, and had a wonderful support group of friends. I think Worldteach Ecuador is a great organization until something goes wrong.

Less than three months into my year I was terminated. Not because of my actions, but because WT had problems within my school. My university is slightly corrupt, like most places in Ecuador, and I understood the decision until I wasn't given another placement.

Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador, was my only option. A person from my group terminated because the situation at the school was so terrible there, he was unable to teach. I was not willing to give up my dream of living in the Andes to move to the big and sweaty city (not to mention dangerous) and have to fight to be able to teach. When I said no to Guayaquil I was terminated.

I paid over $5,000 for those three months. I got to keep my return ticket back, and luckily, found a job on my own. I stayed in close contact with my WT friends and watched as they attended midservice and end of service. I have been in Ecuador for 1.5 years now, living and working at a school without the help from WorldTeach.

And I wish this was an isolated incidence. I have watched as this has happened multiple times in the new WT groups.

I would have never come to Ecuador without WorldTeach , and for those who didn't have problems, it was a great program. For those of us who did, however, it was $5,000 for a month long ESL course.

I feel WorldTeach is a really wonderful option for someone wanting to go abroad and volunteer in a 3rd world country for the first time. The support of World Teach is outstanding in the US and then out in the countries where the vols are. The orientations you are a part of really prepare you for all that you are about to witness and interact in. They truly prep you and continue to support you with checkins throughout. And even after your stay is over, the WT Alumni group is very close knit and well organized, updating you on new countries WT is working with and even announcing jobs that are available in WT's US offices and abroad. WT was my first experience in a 3rd world country and I continue to be so grateful for them. I met some really incredible people in Ecuador thanks to them.