 Conservation in Costa Rica
Standing by the side of the dusty, palm-lined coastal road, the buzz of mosquitoes in my ear, I was excited to be at the start of the Costa Rican adventure I’d always dreamed of. I was on my way to the wild Peninsula Osa region on the Pacific coast to volunteer in a National Park.
 I was excited because Corcovado National Park is virgin rainforest at its most stunning. National Geographic has called it "the most biologically intense place on Earth". Because it has been protected for so long, it’s home to wildlife no longer seen anywhere else in the country. I could hope to see jaguars, ocelots, giant anteaters, pumas, tapirs, crocs, estuary sharks, all four Costa Rican monkey species and the other usual rainforest suspects.
I lived in a small dusty village near the park, with the rolling Pacific within earshot. A permanent collection of dogs, chickens and kids who should have been in school roamed randomly up and down the 'main street' - a potholed track - looking for mischief, covered in the tropical red earth as the day went on.
I also acquired a new family who I lived with in their small turquoise house and by the end I felt truly adopted. My new little sister - Veronica, aged four - and I spent many happy hours playing snap and practising the latest dances off the TV. My English lessons with the family had them all describing the English weather to great comic effect.
The projects I worked on involved helping the local National Park rangers and workers with conservation and community tasks in the local area. I rose with the rest of the village and the cockerels at daybreak, ate an obligatory plate of gallo pinto ('painted rooster' - rice, beans, red peppers and onions) and would get going on anything from clearing vegetation from the trails with a machete to carving and painting wooden signs, from guiding tourists round the local wildlife rescue centre to hand-feeding ten baby parakeets rescued from poachers. Once I had to unblock and re-route a hidden waterfall to make it more accessible to the rare Baird’s tapirs that lived nearby.
As for the other wildlife, among many incredible sights I did see tapirs and crocodiles, and puma and jaguar tracks. I even got to know one of the families of spider monkeys that swung past my house several times a day in a long hairy line.
All in all, I couldn’t have hoped for a more amazing time. I got to live in a tropical paradise, with fantastically funny, friendly people who made me part of their village family. I learnt so much about the rainforest environment and new skills I would never have had the chance to try at home. I even learnt to dance salsa and merengue like a pro. I’ll always have the satisfaction of knowing that I made a difference to that incredible part of the world, even for such a short time. I would thoroughly recommend it to everyone.
 As a result of my experience, I went back to Costa Rica the following year with Twin Work Abroad and on my return, landed a job with them. So now I’m the one arranging life-changing experiences for other people!
Twin Work Abroad offers a wide range of opportunities, whether volunteering, paid jobs or degree-related internships. I send people all over the world, to volunteer in Latin America, Asia and Africa. From helping a tribal community develop their handicraft business to supporting kids with HIV/AIDS, we place people in the kinds of projects that they can be proud to contribute to and that appreciate every minute you can give them.
We also organise work experience in organisations within and outside Europe. You could work as an English teacher in Madrid or in a family business in the Norwegian fjords. Examples of great internships we’ve organised are in international relations in southern Brazil and web design in California. If you don’t know what you want to do or where, speak to one of our well-travelled consultants who can advise you thoroughly.
We want to help you have a fantastic experience abroad, just like mine, so we look forward to discussing your plans with you.
 Name: Twin Work Abroad
Address: 2nd Floor, 67-71 Lewisham High Street, London SE13 5JX
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