Study and Volunteer in Colombia at Spanish Adventure

information AND Expectations about the experience

Why? Since our founding in 2016 volunteers have played a huge role in helping us grow and thrive. Our volunteers become like family to us and have helped us with everything from our logo, website, social media, house help, community events, teaching English and more. Our passions are teaching Spanish, adventures in nature and showing travelers life in Colombia. With the help of volunteers we are able to focus on our passions and provide an amazing experience. Everything about Spanish Adventure is an adventure, and that is why we truly love what we do.

Who? A volunteer at Spanish Adventure is someone who loves nature, is interested in learning Spanish and about life in Colombia. Our volunteers and guests have gone on to travel throughout Latin America, help out at non profits, and some even come back to spend holidays with us! We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about what they do, and can bring that passion while volunteering at Spanish Adventure. We typically have 3-4 volunteers at a time helping in various areas.

When? We accept volunteers year round and ask a commitment of at least 3 weeks. This is to ensure the projects get the love and care they need to be successful.

Where? We are located in San Carlos, Colombia. 3 hours outside Medellin. Off the ‘gringo trail’ and a unique place to experience immersion in Colombia.

What? In exchange for accommodation, breakfast and lunch you will work around 20 hours at week, however you must take one of the special packages for volunteers (either Special Adventure or Special Scout) in order to cover the price for Classes and adventures.

Study and Volunteer AT SPANISH ADVENTURE

  • Accommodation in the volunteer dorm (bunk beds) and shared bathroom

  • Access to free wifi, coffee, full kitchen, fridge, washing machine etc.

  • Guided daily (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) 3h adventures per week in the beautiful nature around San Carlos

  • Weekly salsa and dance classes

  • Breakfast and Lunch (Monday - Saturday)

  • Big Saturday adventure (includes insurance, lunch, guides and equipment).

  • Spanish Program Experiential Learning

    • 14 hours/week (group classes)

    • 18 hours/week (14 group classes, 4hours 1 to1 practice)

  • Become part of the family of volunteers and students from around the world :)

Special Adventure volunteer package (18 hours of learning at week) (930.000 COP - [232,5 USD] per week)

Special Scout Volunteer package (14 hours of learning at week) (790.000 COP [197,5 USD] per week)

 

 

VOLUNTEER WITH SPANISH ADVENTURE!

How? As a prospective volunteer we ask that you read this page thoroughly and understand the following:

  • We believe everyone should have the chance to experience Spanish Adventure. If things don’t align we still invite you to come and spend time with us. San Carlos is a great place to slow down your travels, learn spanish, have adventures in nature.

    • We try to plan our volunteers arriving at least one month in advance, sometimes more. Unfortunately sometimes we are not able to accommodate for last minute volunteers.

    • The 3 week commitment can be longer than people have in their plans. Only for very specific cases are we able to accommodate less time.

  • Workaway is the main platform we use for finding and meeting volunteers. We appreciate the ability to see a volunteer’s profile, previous experience and share feedback. You can see our account and reach us directly here.

    • Read some of the 100+ reviews of the experience to hear directly from previous volunteers.

    • If you do not have a Workaway account you can still contact us. Please provide a detailed description of what you can offer as it relates to the areas described below.

  • Additional Costs - Food: You will be responsible for your dinners. This is a great way to become familiar with the town and its friendly citizens and improve your Spanish skills! Additionally our students and volunteers usually coordinate family dinners. Transport: Bus from Medellin to San Carlos is ~28.000 COP. Miscellaneous important expenses: Beers are around 5.000 pesos, ice cream 2.500 for two scoops in a cone, the best arepas in town are 15.000 COP. San Carlos is a great place to save money during your travels.

  • The Volunteer work - 20 hours per week. We have general expectations of all volunteers defined below and specific tasks for each area outlined below in the "Volunteer Areas” section.

·        Commitment of at least 3 weeks

·        Interest in improving your Spanish by taking one of our special packages for volunteers and help with various activities and cultural exchanges.

·        Once a week help with around the school (as per a checklist) to keep it clean and organized

·        Help in the "let me tell you" project, a monthly event educating the community about other countries

·        Tasks defined below for a specific volunteer area.

We do not discriminate based on age, gender, race, nationality, disability, or sexual orientation. We have a zero tolerance policy for any intolerance. We will ask students or volunteers to leave if they are do not adhere to this.

Volunteer areas at Spanish Adventure

Please select the ones in which you are interested in helping out with.

  • Education (Teaching English)

  • Community

  • Cleaning and hospitality

  • House Improvement

  • Marketing (Social Media, Photography, Videos)

  • Marketing (Website blogs and content)

Marketing Area (Social Media, photography, Videos)

Responsible for promotion of the school and activities across social media. Facebook and Instagram being our primary focus. Increase followers and engagement naturally through quality and consistent content. We have an established way of working in this area, sharing at least 5 times a week and consistently sharing stories. We are open for suggestions on how to improve and evolve.

Requirements

  • Creativity and experience with social media and content creation

  • Self motivated, ability to work in a team and a can-do attitude

  • Knowledge in editing photography and/or videos.

  • A laptop, tablet, camera, phone. (resources to edit and share content)

Expectations for Marketing volunteers during your stay

  • Help with a 5x posts weekly on social networks (photos, videos, news, etc) and upload videos you made on YouTube, promoting activities conducted by Spanish Adventure.

  • General updates and engagement across social networks

  • Create at least one blog post during your month of stay

  • Ensure content is properly stored and catalogued for future use

Marketing Area (WEbsite and content marketing)

As we continue to grow and expand we are focused on creating content via blogs and webpages. Responsible for creation and curation of content. Facebook and Instagram being our primary focus. Increase followers and engagement naturally through quality and consistent content. We are veryopen for suggestions on how to improve and evolve.

Requirements

  • Creativity and experience with SEO, content creation

  • Self motivated, ability to work in a team and a can-do attitude. Willingness to learn

  • Knowledge of other digital marketing a plus!

  • A laptop or tablet (resources to create and share content)

Expectations for Marketing volunteers during your stay

  • Minimum of one 500+ word blog each week. Complete with pictures and information. Content created for potential students, alumni and other people looking to learn about Colombian culture.

  • Work in outreach to build valuable links to the Spanish Adventure website. From travel blogs, aggregator sites or other websites.

education (Teaching english)

A main objective at Spanish Adventure is to motivate the local community to learn languages. ​​ We believe this allows for economic and personal growth, positive development of a society and brings job opportunities. 

We offer a variety of free of charge classes and language exchanges to bring the local community and foreigners together. These classes involve conversational practice, grammar lessons, and cultural exchange. Spanish Adventure staff and volunteers constantly work to improve how our language exchange is structured. These vary in size and level.

  • Regular weekly group classes - time split between both adults and kids.

  • Individual community member or staff classes - some of our Spanish Adventure staff are very interested in improving their English, learning French, German and other foreign langages.

Requirements

  • Good English

  • A can do attitude

  • Good social and communication skills

What we expect from Education volunteers during your stay

  • Commitment of at least 3 weeks of volunteering

  • Work 20 hours per week completing tasks 

  • Conduct English classes, exchanges and conversations with locals

  • Create new content to improve the English program 

Being the only language school in the region, we have a fairly large educational impact. We want to be a learning space for the community where both languages and values​​ are taught. We want to promote and practice respect, self-esteem, self-awareness, sense of belonging, understanding, self-care, creativity, and commitment. Setting a foundation for personal development of our students and the local community.

Our projects aim to:

  • Integrate Spanish Adventure students with the local community allowing a unique opportunity for cultural and language exchange

  • Support low income communities and create educational projects 

  • Promote language and cultural exchange, respect for nature and regional traditions between our students and the community

  • Use talents and passions of volunteers to organizing the events (you could teach about, play games, conduct integration talks etc.)

What we expect from Community volunteers during your stay

  • Coordinate, plan and execute the language exchange (Saturday 8:00-9:30 pm)

  • Monthly ‘let me tell you’ event promoting and educating the local community about a specific country represented by our volunteers

  • Various events in cooperation with local house of culture, youth house, sports area and others 

  • A natural E=event Planner

Community

Focus on increasing comfort, improvement and sustainability of our property, where the school and the accommodations are located.

Comfort: Provide a pleasant learning and living atmosphere. We work on all activities which enhance comfort and optimal use of the available space. We focus on lights, electricity, ventilation, optimal division of the space in our kitchen, rooms, bathrooms, balconies, classrooms, living rooms, patios and the dining room. 

Maintenance : Ensure that all facilities work fine and promptly conduct required fixes of roofs, electricity, walls, plumbing.

Optimization of the available space: We use creative ways to maximize available space. Making changes to better organize the living areas.

Savings on utilities: We ensure that our actions are ecological and comply with the local laws. We encourage and inform about best practices to save water and electricity. Currently we are planning the system to collect the rainwater. 

Security: We ensure that respective measures are in place in case of emergency like: fire alarm system. 

What we expect from House Improvement volunteers during your stay

  • Creativity, Initiative 

  • Experience in using tools

  • Does not mind to get dirty while working

  • A can do attitude and positive spirit.

House improvement

Cleaning and

hospitality

As a volunteer in cleaning and hospitality, you play a pivotal role in maintaining the cleanliness and welcoming atmosphere of our school. Working under the guidance of our house manager, your dedication ensures that our environment remains pristine and comfortable for all.

Requirements:

  • Positive Attitude: Approach tasks with enthusiasm and positivity.

  • Responsibility and Commitment: Dedication to fulfilling assigned duties reliably.

  • Team Player: Ability to collaborate effectively within a team setting.

  • Proactive Nature: Take initiative to identify and address cleaning needs.

  • Orderliness and Cleanliness: Appreciation for and dedication to maintaining a tidy environment.

Expectations for Volunteers:

  • Commitment: Devote 20 hours per week for a minimum of 3 weeks.

  • Task Execution: Perform cleaning duties as directed by the house manager.

  • Oversight: Ensure fellow volunteers fulfill their cleaning responsibilities.

  • Maintaining Order: Consistently uphold a sense of order throughout the school premises.