Father/Daughter Volunteering Team
Volunteer: Casey Cox
Age: 53
From: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Architect
CCS Program Site: Salvador, Brazil
Why did you choose Cross-Cultural Solutions?
I did check out a couple other volunteer program websites, but partly based on my daughter’s input and looking at CCS’ website myself. CCS seemed to be very well presented, and they had presence in several different countries. When I requested info, everything was very thorough and the people I spoke to were very helpful.
What made you choose to go to Salvador, Brazil?
I had saved up some vacation time, and I was planning to take it in January, so I looked for where I could go during that time. And there was definitely influence from my daughter who had been to Salvador two times, when she was studying abroad in Brazil. She loved it there and wanted to go back. Also, being an architect, looking at some of the pictures on CCS’ website, just made me want to go there and actually see it, to see the architecture.
What was your favorite part about your experience?
I think the experience of teaching English to the students at my placement. That was the reason why I went there. The highlight was when the students had a party on our last day, it was kind of a send-off. There was a group of them that had completed their English class training, and they were excited because they were getting placed into a hotel for a three-month internship arrangement. We felt good about it because we helped them achieve that goal, and it was very important to them to help them move up the ladder, so to speak.
Describe your placement experience.
The first day, the class was about 12 people, and they were a little shy at first, but after the first day’s session, I felt that they were very eager to learn. It was an opportunity not only for them to be able to work in a hotel, but also to be able to learn another language, converse with more people, and open doors. It was a little hard because I don’t have much experience as a teacher, but my daughter is fairly fluent in Portuguese, so she made it a lot easier for us to communicate with the students. I was able to help most with pronunciation and things like that. We worked well as team, I’d like to do it again some time.
What do you miss most about your program?
Just being able to be there and experience interaction with the people there. I got the chance to visit places in Salvador that tourists never get to go. I got to go into their homes, and have dinner with them, and play some music, and that was really neat, because I play guitar, so there was a connection there. Those were the experiences I value the most.
Describe your overall experience in three words.
Exciting, Musical, Insightful
What , if anything, did you gain from the experience?
In one word it was very rewarding, it felt enriching in a way. It added in a big way to my overall life experience. I felt like it was a really unique and once in a lifetime opportunity because of the timing. My daughter is going to be graduating from college this year, so sharing that time together was priceless. Being able to experience a different culture from the perspective of two different generations just added that much more to the experience. In fact, I’m thinking about doing it again in maybe two years with our whole family.
Do you have any advice for future volunteers?
Go with an open mind and be flexible. Be ready to give of yourself, and know that by doing that you’ll receive a lot in return for the experience.
