During the first section of this course,  the class component you are supposed to take before you study abroad,  we had members of the second part of the class that I am posting from now (494RI) come in and talk about their study abroad experiences. One of the students spoke of his experience studying abroad and volunteering at a mango farm in Colombia through a program called WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.  The basic premise of this program was that volunteers from wherever could come work on registered Organic Farms for  a decided upon length ( anywhere from a day to multiple months)  in exchange for “free” food and board. Instantly, as someone who loves nature and gardening, my interest was piqued. I sought out a similar experience for myself to have during that following winter break. 

My goal was to have a trip where I could meet others from different cultures and backgrounds, and to potentially have an experience where I could practice my Spanish language use. I couldn’t afford to travel all the way to Colombia at the time, and also felt that it might not be entirely safe for me to travel there by myself. Instead, I researched opportunities within the country and landed upon a turmeric farm in Central Florida. I was excited because it looked like a very welcoming space, the work sounded fun, and the people who had left reviews before me were from all over the world: Germany,  France, Mexico, Canada, etc. etc. . 

I spent two weeks on the farm in January 2023.  I would definitely say that it was a life-changing experience, and that I got very lucky with the hosts I signed up with and the other volunteers who I ended up working with. The work was easy, safe, and fun–  almost meditative. My total cost for the trip was just under $200, which included a plane ticket and some gas money I offered to the other volunteers there who drove us around in their cars. I essentially was able to pay for everything else, a bed and three delicious meals a day, through my work. We were only working around 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. In our free time, the other volunteers and I would go for runs, cook and bake together, hike in the surrounding woods, visit local water holes and swim, and play guitar and sing around campfires. The work was so enjoyable that some of us would do more of it in our free time–more time out in the fields digging up the roots, washing the roots, and preparing them to be sent out to the vendors. It was like camp, but better. 

Though many volunteers came and went during my time there and I made many friends that I still stay in contact with to this day, there ended up not being anyone else on the farm with me who knew how to speak Spanish. However, I do believe that if an individual signed up for an experience through WWOOF,  they could make it an integrative Spanish learning experience as well if they selected a location within a Spanish-speaking country or with hosts that speak primarily Spanish. I was lucky and had already completed my integrative experience for my major the summer prior in Madrid in 2022, but I could see WWOOFing as a viable route to completing the integrative major requirement in a very unique, cost-effective, and enjoyable way.

I would definitely recommend this idea to anyone looking for a fun, hands-on getaway, and to future Spanish majors as an opportunity for them to complete their integrative experience component of the course! 

By Livia Iwanicki