Weekdays: While our programs are flexible and can be fitted to your requirements, an example of a typical day is as follows. Please note that volunteering on the Ecuador program is held Tuesday through Friday (expect to participate for full days, unless you’re also taking Spanish language lessons, in which case you’d volunteer for half days). Therefore the weekends on the program are Saturday through Monday.
7.30AM Breakfast at the volunteer house or homestay.
8.00AM Volunteers leave home and travel to their placements. Work and hours are dependent on the project and placement that each volunteer is working at. There is a break for lunch and volunteers are responsible for the purchase of this meal.
2.00PM - 5.00PM Work at the placement usually ends. Volunteers are free to travel home, prepare for the next day, or do some shopping and sightseeing. If volunteers are taking Spanish language lessons, these will usually take place in the afternoons and last between 2 and 3 hours.
7.30PM Dinner at the volunteer house or homestay.
Evenings: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and respect of others in the volunteer accommodation, a curfew of 10:30 PM has been put in place from Monday to Thursday and a 1:30 AM curfew for Friday to Sunday. Volunteers under the age of 18 will have a curfew of 8pm.
Please note, this schedule will vary depending on the project the volunteer is participating on. If a volunteer is taking Spanish language lessons, they will usually volunteer for half the day and spend the other half (3 to 4 hours) taking Spanish language lessons.
Volunteers on the Ecuador program can also join social clubs arranged by the local staff. The social clubs give volunteers the opportunity to meet volunteers from other projects and share in their experiences on the program. Club activities include free conversational Spanish groups, Ecuadorian movie nights and salsa lessons! All of the club activities are held in the afternoon, after volunteers have finished at their placement, and range in cost from $3 - $5.